Cheap VSphere Training

[bobj75]

I'm pretty new to VMWare. I worked a little bit with ESX 3.5 and was wondering if there was some cheaper training out there for VSphere, and by "cheap" I don't mean bad training, I just mean something that is going to cost quite a bit less as I am just looking to learn VSphere and not necessarily take that tests? I appreciate anyone's feedback!

Thanks

[Troy_Clavell]

You would need to contact a VATC or VMware, this will be the only way you would meet the requirements for the VCP.

You may want to start at

http://mylearn.vmware.com/portals/certification/

[HughBorg707]

I'd say by far that if you can build a small test lab and get used to using the software that's probably your best bet initially.

[bobj75]

Thanks Troy for your quick reply. The VMWare training by VMWare is a little too pricey for me right now. I know I will need it when I want to get certified, but right now I just want to learn it. I was hoping there were some other options out there. Thanks again.

[bobj75]

Thanks HughBorg707. I will try to find some hardware on ebay, but I have a feeling that the price will add up pretty quick and I won't be able to learn some of the more advanced features. I was just hoping there was another option... books, training online, cbt, something under $150. Please, if you come across anything please let me know. Thanks again for your quick replies.

[HughBorg707]

You would be amazed what ESX 3.5 will run on.... My test lab: For VMotion I am running 2 Intel 915GEV motherboards with 4GB RAM and 2.8Ghz CPU. They are only good for 32bit systems. These boards are 5 years old. I have them hooked to an ISCSI SAN target running the 30 day trial of SanMelody 3.0 running on a D965WS with 2GB RAM 1.8Ghz. (I intially had it running on a Compaq DL380 G1 (yes 1) and it worked well enough to do a VMotion.

I also have 2 nVidia 680i motherboards running a Quad Core and Core 2, but both of those are 3 years old too.

I do have one Dell PowerEdge 2900 to do higher end testing on, but that's the exception not the rule.

You do need a GB switch to do VMotion but those are way cheap for 5 port now. Keep in mind you want to build a test lab just to get a feel for how everything works, not put it into production.

To just learn the basics of VSphere, you could do it on 1 machine. (well 1 ESX box and 1 machine running VSphere client) You only need multiple machines when you get into SAN and moving stuff around.

[HughBorg707]

Oh, and ESX 4 is running on the 680i's, sorry left that out.

[admin]

Trainsignal offers Training on VMware products, check out their demos:

http://www.trainsignal.com/

VMware-GSS,

VMware Communities User Moderator

[bobj75]

Thanks so much. I had no idea that it would run on much older hardware. The hardware compatibility lists only have the new servers, so I assumed it wouldn't even run on the older hardware. I think I'm definitely going to get some cheap hardware to run it on now. Still, let me know if run accross any cheap training since I'm pretty new I would love to be able to read about or watch a movie and then test it out in my environment.

[bobj75]

Thanks. It looks like trainsignal only has training for 3.5, but I will keep an eye on them for a new release for VSphere.

[bobj75]

Also, thanks for the tip about San Melody. I had never heard of them before. It sounds awesome!

[bobj75]

Well, I think I found what I was looking for. I've been scouring the internet for about a month and came across

I joined about a week ago and the training is excellent! It's super cheap too. Only $25 bucks and I get access to ALL of their training, not just the VMWare stuff, even though that was the main reason I joined.

They have a ton of VMWare and other virtualization training, and they said they are going to release their vSphere training in a couple weeks. I'll post again once they release the vSphere training and let anyone that is interested know if it's good or not.

Just want to give everyone a heads up though, if you join itdvds.com it is a membership, so for whatever memberhip period you signed up for (i.e. I chose monthly) your card will be billed automatically at the end of the month if you do not cancel. But, they are pretty clear about it, and you can cancel anytime. I actually emailed them to make sure and the cancel link is on the page after you log in. Anyways, just didn't want anyone to be caught off guard.

[bobj75]

itdvds.com released their training for vSphere new features about a week ago and it is Fantastic! It looks like they plan on releasing a whole lot more training too. Hope this helps someone else.

[JNami]

trainsignal released vSphere training too, i took a look at itdvds vs trainsignals and trainsignals was much, much better.

link: trainsignal

[TrooperX]

VMware Has on demand webinars that are at least 2 Hours long and go through the entire VSphere 4 process from start to finish. You have to register for them though. Covers some pretty good details too.

ITDVDS also has some very good online Vsphere training to get you prepped.

[ghostndamachine]

Hi Bob,

Just saw this thread. In addition to whats already been mentioned another great low cost option for you would be to check out:

Larry who developed the course is former VMware Senior Consultant and Instructor. His customer reviews were always outstanding. They have vSphere (ESX4) and VI3.5.

[bobj75]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. It's been a while so I thought I would update this. I also tried trainsignal's vSphere training and it was good, but I had to pay quite a bit more for it and I actually liked the vSphere training on itdvds.com better. I didn't get a chance to try the virtualization university training though. Anyways, I really appreciate everyone's help and I have learned a lot about vSphere.

[Kasraeian]

I'd say by far that if you can build a small test lab and get used to using the software that's probably your best bet initially.

I'm agree with HugBorg707,

Using LAB would help you a lot not just for preparation for the exam, also for learning and for making your lab you can find some useful information in the 2 following links

vm-help

Ultimate ESX Whitebox

Here you can find the devices you can use to build your own whitebox and then your lab.

-= If you found this note/reply useful, please consider awarding points for "Correct" or "Helpful" =-

-= If there's any mistake in my notes, please correct me! =-

-= Thanks =-

MCTS, VCP