VI3 Class starts tomorrow...What to expect??

[311bobby311]

Well I finally got the company to pay for VI3 class so I can get certified and class starts tomorrow at 9am. This is the first training class that I have ever attended (other than college courses) and was wondering if people could post about their experiences during the class?

Like what should i bring?? I am going to take my laptop, power cord, ethernet cord,etc. Notebook, a bunch of pens.

How do they handle lunch? Do you have a half hour to go grab something or is this catered??

How fast does the course go?

Does everyone get their own lab in class??

Any pointers are truely appreciated.

Thanks!!

[Rockapot]

Sure..

First of all, expect a great course.. I done my course in Central London.. trainer was excellent and very knowledgable..

Class runs for 5 days from 9am until 16:30ish.., Fridays you usually get out at about 14:30 however you can stay and use the remaining time to run over any items you need further clarification on..

What should you bring..

Nothing really.., everything is provided, pens, notepad, course material..., there is coffee available in the class room at the back of the class from what I remember.

No laptop required.., you wont really have much use for it..

How do they handle lunch? Do you have a half hour to go grab something or is this catered??

Lunch is usally around 13:00 and the intstructur will most likely take the class for a different lunch each day at some local restuarants etc.. however you are free to do whatever you like really..

Does everyone get their own lab in class??

The class i attended has 6 people.. working in pairs for lab assignments.. You have your own PC and connect to your own ESX server which is hosted remotely.

Just go there relaxed and willing to learn..

[MrBiscuit]

As Carl said, you get pretty much everything provided down to the tea and a nifty VMware bag to carry all your materials around in.

One thing I would recommend, if like me you are the kind of person who likes to highlight important aspects of the text for studying later, take a couple of extra highlighters with you - when I did mine a couple of years ago there was only a cheap yellow highlighter which gave out on me halfway through the week

Ask the instructor if they can give you the list of additional reading texts you'll need to pass the exam, he may do this anyway - will save you a bunch of headaches with the exam if you know exactly which additional texts to focus on.

[Phil_White]

I am not sure where your class is but I will highlight my experiences at the Chicago MicroTek facility:

• They provide free drinks(apple juice, OJ, Water, soda) and our lunch was catered

• You will be given a pen, paper, and course documentation

• Wear a sweater

• Try to keep your body stimulated via food or some other energy creator. I always fall asleep in lecture heavy classes unless I am eating or browsing the web NOT paying attention when I should be.

• If food is not catered, you will get an hour lunch.

• All instructors I've had have given us a 20 minute break in the morning and afternoon in addition to the lunch break.

• There is a heavy emphasis on teamwork. Make sure to shower and brush your teeth.

[henrydenhengst]

First, the best of luck with VMware training!

Like what should i bring?? I am going to take my laptop, power cord, ethernet cord,etc. Notebook, a bunch of pens. You can but don't need to, everything is taken care of.

How do they handle lunch? Do you have a half hour to go grab something or is this catered?? Lunch comes with the training and is usually good.

How fast does the course go? 4, sometimes 5 days.

Does everyone get their own lab in class?? yes individual sometimes in pairs.

Any pointers are truely appreciated. Ask a lot what is important to certify.

[khughes]

It usually depends on the place, we didn't have lunch provided for us which was ok. You do more work in pairs than you do alone I would say. It is a quick course but the instructors go through it pretty well. I took my laptop with me as well, but I never pulled it out of its case. I would say write as many of the commands down as possible.

Good luck with the class, and the test later down the road.

[Patrick_Miller]

Didn't want to start a new thread on this...

Does anyone know if you can use the PSO credits for live training? On the MyLearn portal, only the live-online classes have the option of using the PSO credits. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[azn2kew]

Here's my experienced with two different ESX class trainings!

If you're lucky enough to have good instructors than you will enjoy it because its very interactive if you know your stuff and raise questions especially real life experience. If you really need to get VCP than you must attend the class, but if you want something technical and free of charge. My experience is load ESX 3.0.2 on your laptop that has dual core and capable of running ESX with VMware Workstation 6.0 you almost do everything you can with the VI3 class.

But if you insist going since its free, take advantage of it and make sure play with the lab rather than focus on the book, you can go home and read the book but most documentations on vmware.com is the best for everyone. Lunch is provided and break is really good too you won't be bored unless you have bad instructors just know the book but not real life experience. Majority of them are pretty knowledgeable and hope you enjoy the class.

MAKE SURE TO RAISE GOOD QUESTIONS DURING CLASS THAT WAY YOU CAN HAVE A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM CLASSMATES AND INSTRUCTOR.

You will benefit from raising administrative tools, DR plan, SAN designs and other complex and scenario so your money can be worth it.

[rollin71]

I just finished the class in the chicago suburbs at Hipskind in Hinsdale, IL.

Our teacher was excellent and I learned a lot about VI3. Our class asked a lot of questions and the teacher didn't hesitate to help us out with our enviornments. The pace of the class was fast at all and at any time the instruction would go over things in depth if someone didn't understand.

Well worth it.