Review: vSphere 4.0 Quick Start Guide

I was planning to do this over the Christmas break but I hardly turned my computers on. I did pop a quick review on Amazon but I wanted to expand on it a bit.

I first heard about the book in the run up to VMworld 2009 back in September. I would very much have like to go but could not. I gather that some preview copies of the book were given away there. Luckily I know and live quite close to one of the authors and managed to get my hands on a copy. I can't recall what my expectations were but the book that I started reading that night was easier to read and more compelling than anything that I'd picked up for a while.

The structure of the book is fairly loose – there are no chapters. It is broken down into different sections covering vCenter, Networking, Storage etc and in turn each of those is broken down into sub topics. These take the form of FAQ type questions that are then answered or are descriptive sections of text. Throughout the book are helpful scripts or commands that can be used, the majority being written in PowerShell.

The quality of the content is very high and should appeal to seasoned vExperts and relative beginners alike. While reading it I certainly found areas where my knowledge was rusty or non-existent and many other areas where the book will serve as a handy reference when I can't remember something. And given the size of the book (~240 pages and pocket sized) it's very easy to carry around.

There is talk of further titles coming from the same authors and if this volume is indicative of the quality that we can expect then I am looking forward to seeing more. I also hope that it inspires other people to consider sharing their knowledge like this.