Day Against DRM 2015 Campaign
Posted: May 6, 2015 Filed under: Book Reviews, Tid-bits | Tags: drm free, packt, vmware books Leave a commentWe can all appreciate those content creators that are willing to keep their work DRM free. My thought on DRM-free is that, while the content is legally free to share, consumers are encouraged to pay for the content they deem worthwhile and, in doing so, they support the creators of the content and “cast a vote” for more, similar content. One type of content that I’m happy to pay for is technical literature, especially that which focuses on my core competencies, namely VMware technologies, storage, and networking. When I first started in this field, there were very few books from which to build my knowledge base. Today, thanks to publishers like Packt Publishing, there are dozens of relevant books.
To celebrate International Day Against DRM, Packt Publishing, which produces DRM-free eBooks and videos, has a special offer. All their eBooks and videos are on sale for $10 for today only, 6 May, 2015. I have more than two dozen of their books, nearly their whole collection of VMware-related tomes, as a testimony to their usefulness and relevant content. In addition, I even started writing a book for them on vCenter Server Heartbeat before VMware killed the product. If you haven’t read a Packt title yet, I encourage you to take this chance to pick one up on the cheap and give it a read. I’m confident you’ll be back for more.
Full disclosure: Packt Publishing has offered to send me a free eBook of my choice for helping to share this sale today.
10 Years, $10, 10 Days at Packt Publishing
Posted: July 4, 2014 Filed under: Book Reviews, Tid-bits | Tags: packt, packt publishing, vmware books Leave a commentPackt Publishing is celebrating 10 years publishing its technical tomes and they’re inviting everyone to celebrate with them. While this post is coming out at the tail end of the promotion, you still have time to get in on the action. It’s good until July 5th.
You can buy as many books as you like for $10 each. Check out their deals here:
Initial thoughts: VMware vCenter Operations Manager Essentials
Posted: May 16, 2014 Filed under: Book Reviews, VMware | Tags: book reviews, packt publishing, vcenter books, vcenter operations, vcenter operations manager, vcops, vcops book, vmware books, vmware vcenter operations manager Leave a commentI recently had the opportunity to review this title by the good folks at Packt Publishing. They provided me with a free e-copy for this review. It was good timing, too, because a new project of mine involves more in-depth work with vCOPs than I’ve had so far.
My experience with vCOPs has been a couple installations and initial configurations for clients. I have not customized vCOPs greatly and have mainly used it’s default capabilities to glean health, performance, and capacity metrics for reporting purposes. So far, the topics I’ve found most useful include the troubleshooting performance sections in Chapter 4. This is where many people will find value in vCOPs. In addition, Chapter 5, covering capacity planning, is another area in which I’ve spent most of my time.
For someone like me who has dabbled in vCOPs, I’ve found this book useful more as a reference than one I need to read cover to cover. I imagine, though, for those new to the product, the chapters on installation and initial configuration will be worth your time.
I also encourage you to visit Lauren’s blog, check her out on the twitters, and support her book.
Book: VMware vCenter Operations Manager Essentials
Blog: AdaptingIT.com
Twitter: @malhoit
Book Review: Implementing VMware vCenter Server
Posted: March 23, 2014 Filed under: Book Reviews, VMware | Tags: packt, packt publishing, vcenter, vcenter books, vmware books, vsphere books Leave a commentI was recently given the opportunity to review Packt Publishing’s recent release of Implementing VMware vCenter Server: A practical guide for deploying and using VMware vCenter, suitable for IT professionals. At first glance, I wondered how an entire book could be written about vCenter alone. While reading it, though, I was pleasantly surprised time and again when I saw how much good information was shared. This book is an excellent primer for those new to vCenter and really, VMware in general.