Depends what's your goal, if you just want to learn how to manage ESX infrastructure without paying than reading VMware documents online and access you can pretty get a lot of resources you need. Attending the course provided by VMware Authorize Training Center is basically a requirements for your VMware Certified Professional if you intended to be certified. If you already played and deployed ESX at your company, I would personally suggest reading and play with a sandbox more often and post questions or lurks around this VMTN forum you'll get almost things you need.

There might be independent trainers like Mike Laverick, Edward Haletky and people from VMtrainers.com could help you as well if you contact them. I believe Mike Laverick has the most experience in teaching and author of awesome VI3 Advance Technical Design Guide will be release soon you should buy this if you're really want to know about ESX.

I would invested 2 ESX sandbox and build a great lab at home playing with HA ,DRS, VMotion, VCB, Update Manager and VDI to start with and learn more advance stuff when you got along. Here are some great blogs that have great stuff.

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and much more just surf and learn.

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Regards,

Stefan Nguyen

iGeek Systems LLC.

VMware, Citrix, Microsoft Consultant