I recently finished reading the book VMware VI3 Implementation and Administration by Eric Siebert (ISBN-13: 978-0-13-700703-5). VMware VI3 Implementation and Administration was a very enjoyable read. I don’t mean to sound cliché but for me it was one of those books that is hard to put down. Released in May of 2009, along with the next generation of VMware IV (vSphere), the timing of its arrival to market probably could have been better, but better late than never. Datacenters will be running on VI3 for quite some time. With that in mind, this book provides a tremendous amount of value and insight. I can tell that Eric put a lot of time and research into this book; the quality of the content shows. Much of the book was review for me, but I was still able to pick up bits and pieces here and there I wasn’t aware of, as well as some fresh perspective and new approaches to design, administration, and support.
To be honest and objective, I felt that Chapter 9, “Backing Up Your Virtual Environment”, lacked the completeness which all other chapters were given. A single page was dedicated to VMware Consolidated Backup with no detailed examples or demonstrations of how to use it, which would have been found throughout other chapters. To add, there was only a few sentences covering Replication which is a required component in many environments. Eric likes to discuss 3rd party solutions and this would have been a great opportunity to go into more detail or at least mention some products affordable to businesses of any size which could leverage replication solutions.
Overall, this is a great book. Eric has a no-nonsense writing style backed by decades of in the trench experience. Along with the print copy, you get a free electronic online edition as well allowing you to access the book anywhere where there is internet connectivity. Pick up your copy today! I thank you Eric and look forward to your upcoming vSphere book!
