VMware ESX Server Training

Why Pay $5,000 for VMware ESX Classroom Training? You Can Now Learn Enterprise-Level Virtualization from an Expert VCP... for a Tiny Fraction of the Price!

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David Davis VCP4, VCAP-DCA, vExpert, CCIE #9369

$397
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Scott Skinger Founder & President of TrainSignal, Inc.

Overview

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By David Davis
VCP, CCIE #9369, CWNA, MCSE, CISSP, SCSA, Linux+

Virtualization technology is constantly improving and changing the way we think and do business. Consolidating servers with VMware ESX Server will not only save your company money and time, but virtualizing your servers can actually be more secure, more convenient, and easier to maintain in real time than using many physical servers. With VMware ESX, customers will be able to create dynamic and automated enterprise data centers with highest levels of performance, scalability and reliability.

VMware professionals are in great demand! No course can claim to be the "official" exam prep for VMware except VMware themselves. However, this course has helped hundreds of students worldwide become proficient in VMware ESX for the real world and in turn, pass the VCP certification exam!

Professional Training

Over 17 Hours (17 Hours, 15 Minutes, 17 Seconds) of VMware ESX Server Training Videos Jam Packed on 3 DVDs!
Multiple File Formats Make it convenient for you to learn anywhere you go! iPod Video, Mp3 Audio, .WMV & high quality .AVI video
PDF of Instructor Notes allow you to follow along with the videos and take more organized notes
Instant Access Online to the entire training course

Course Outline

VMware ESX Server Training - Course Outline

Lesson 1 - Introduction to Our VMware ESX 3.5 Video Training Course

In this kick-off video, I introduce myself and share my expertise. It is a brief overview of what you will learn and what to expect from this comprehensive course. I provide an introduction to the VMware Certified Professional (VCP) certification and explain why what the VMware ESX Server is an exciting technology that you MUST master.

Lesson 2 - What’s New in VMware ESX/ESXi 3.5 and vCenter 2.5 with Upgrade 4?

I start off this series with the latest and greatest VMware ESX Editions - ESX 3.5 and ESXi 3.5.You will find out what is new and what is so great about the most recent versions of ESX Server. I explain what is new in VMware Virtual Center & VI Suite and why you should care about ESXi Server. I end the video with a demonstration of ESX Server 3.5, ESXi 3.5 and VirtualCenter so you can see these new versions IN ACTION!

Lesson 3 - Introduction to Virtualization

Here, you learn the Virtualization Essentials including how the different types of virtualization could be compared. I’ll talk about OS licensing, the future of virtualization, and how to test virtualization in your own office or home.

What is Virtualization?
Virtualization Statistics
Uses for Server Virtualization
What is the VMKernel?
Virtualization Products Available
VMware ESX Server vs. VMware Server
VMware ESXi vs. VMware ESX
VMware ESXi Server vs. Windows 2007 Server Hyper-V
What is the Future of Virtualization?
Windows OS Licensing and Virtualization
VMware ESX Virtual Machine Specifications
What is the VMTN?
Other Virtualization Resources
How Can I Test and Demo ESX at Work or Home?
How is VMware ESX Server Supported and Licensed?

Lesson 4 - Virtualization Products Compared

Lesson 5 - Planning and Designing Your VMware Infrastructure

Watch the step-by-step installation process for VMware ESX Server, as well as how to plan and license ESX Server.

Steps to select the right hardware for virtualization
ESX Server Installation Requirements, Recommendations, and Maximums
What should or shouldn’t be virtualized?
How do I consolidate servers? And, importance of SAN storage
Licensing options for ESX Server - host based vs server based
Partitioning options for ESX Server
How to install VMware ESX Server

Lesson 6 - Installing VMware ESX Server 3.5

See how to Install the latest edition of VMware ESX - version 3.5, step-by-step!

Installation Requirements of VMware ESX Server 3.5
Installing VMware ESX Server 3.5

Lesson 7 - Installing VMware ESXi Server

ESXi is the new thin version of ESX - find out what you need to know to install it, great console config tricks, and watch get walked through the install process!

ESXi Installation Requirements & Installation Notes
ESXi Console Tips and Tricks
ESXi Installation - Step by Step

Lesson 8 - Running VMware ESXi 3.5 in Workstation with Nested Guests

Lesson 9 - Navigating and Configuring VMware ESX Server

Find out how to configure and manage VMware Server using VMware Management Interface and VMware Server Console.

VMware ESX Management options
Service Console - SSH & telnet
Web - HTTP & HTTPS
VI Client
Installing the Virtual Infrastructure (VI) Client
Using the VI Client
Navigation
Remote Control of Virtual Servers
Hot Keys

Lesson 10 - Installing & Using VMware Virtual Center

Learn what VMware Virtual Center centralized management can do for you, how to install it, and how to navigate it, step by step.

Once installed, what does VC look like?
Introduction to VMware Virtual Center
Product Description
Use Cases
Features
Architecture
VC Minimums / Requirements
VC Maximums
Installing Virtual Center
Navigating VC

Lesson 11 - Creating & Modifying Virtual Guest Machines

VMware Tools are necessary for proper management of guest machines - find out how to load them and how they work. Learn how to create VMware Guest virtual machines. Install, configure, import and export, and downloading virtual machines from the Internet.

What does a running Virtual Guest machine look like?
Virtual Guest - Machine Specifications
Changing BIOS settings
How to create ISO Images of CD & DVD Installation media
How to create a new virtual machine & install a guest OS
Adding or removing virtual hardware
What is an "appliance"?
Downloading Virtual Machines from the VMTN Virtual Appliance Marketplace
What and where are VMX configuration files?
Importing VMs to ESX and Exporting VMs

Lesson 12 - Installing and Configuring VMware Tools

About VMware Tools
Why you should use VMware Tools
Installing & Configuring VMware Tools in Linux
Installing & Configuring VMware Tools in Windows
Configuring VMware Tools

Lesson 13 - VMware ESX Disk Storage

VMware storage management can be complex - learn all the terminology you need to know in our virtualization storage video. Learn about SAN, NAS, Fibre Channel, and iSCSI. Plus, understand what Virtual Machine Snapshots are and how to use them.

Storage Terminology
How does a Datastore help you?
VMware ESX Storage Options
What is a VMFS Virtual Disk?
Advantages of Virtual Disks
Understanding local disk storage
Understanding Fibre Channel (FC) SAN Storage
Understanding iSCSI SAN Storage
Understanding NAS NFS Storage
Local vs. iSCSI vs. FC compared
Guest OS disk adapter types
What are Snapshots and how do you use them?
VMware virtual disk types & access modes
Pre-allocated/fixed vs. dynamic
Independent, persistent, & Nonpersistent mode
Using VMware’s Virtual disk manager utility - vmkfstools
Aligning your VMware ESX partitions
Expanding your Guest OS Virtual Disk
Configuring your ESX Server Clock, Timezone, and NTP Time Synchronization

Lesson 14 - Administering VMware ESX Server Security

Concepts of ESX Security Design
Best Practices of ESX Security
How does security work with ESX Server?
Adding, Modifying, and removing ESX users and groups
Defining and applying roles & permissions
Default ESX Security Management Roles
Ports used by VMware ESX & Virtual Center
Enabling SSH CLI Access to ESX
Securing the command line interface
Securing Guest Virtual machines

Lesson 15 - VMware ESX - Tasks, Events, Alarms, and Maps

Learn how to use Tasks, Events, Alarms, and Maps in VMware ESX Server.

Configure SNMP and SMTP Email for your Virtual Center Server
Understanding Tasks & Events in Virtual Center & ESX
Configuring Alarms for Virtual DataCenters and Virtual Guests
Exploring Maps of your Virtual Infrastructure

Lesson 16 - VMware ESX Server Virtual Networking

Virtual Networking Overview
Virtual Networking Terms - vmnic, vswitch, vswif, & port group
Virtual Network Diagrams Explained
Virtual Networking Must Knows
Virtual Networking Configuration Scenarios
Private/Host-only
Single NIC - most common
Redundant & Load Balanced
DMZ with router / firewall
Using VLANs with ESX
Configuring Virtual Switches
Adapter teaming, fault tolerance, and load balancing
Service Console Command line Networking Tools

Lesson 17 - Using Templates, Cloning, and Migrating with VMware

Learn how to clone and migrate virtual machines: V2V and P2V.

What are templates and how do you use them?
What is VM cloning? Why would you clone a VM?
Migrating a VM from one ESX server to another
Migrating from one Virtualization platform to another (V2V)
Migrating from a physical machine to a virtual machine (P2V)
VMware Converter

Lesson 18 - Troubleshooting and Patching VMware ESX Server

Common VMware ESX Issues & their resolutions
Things to check when troubleshooting ESX
Resources for ESX Troubleshooting assistance
VMware Support script
Updating & Patching VMware ESX Server

Lesson 19 - VMware Update Manager

New in ESX/VI 3.5 - Update Manager can update ESX hosts and Windows/Linux Guest machines - learn how it used!

What is Update Manager?
How Can Update Manager Help You?
What Can Update Manager Update for You?
How Does Update Manager Work?
How to Install VMware Update Manager
Components of VMware Update Manager
Verifying Install of the Update Manager Service
Installing the Update Manager Plug-In
Configuring and Using Update Manager

Lesson 20 - Upgrading VMware ESX & Virtual Center

Upgrading VMware ESX from Version 3.0.x to 3.5
Upgrading Virtual Center from Version 1.x to 2.5
Upgrading VMware VI Client from 1.x to 2.5

Lesson 21 - Performance Virtualization with ESX Server

Select The Right Hardware
Performance Optimization Recommendations
Optimizing Memory
Optimizing the CPU
How VMware ESX Server Hosts Reclaim Memory
Review of VMware ESX Performance Monitoring Tools
VMotion Overview
ESX Resource Pools
ESX Clusters Overview

Lesson 22 - Configuring VMotion, Resource Pools, DRS, & VMHA with VMware ESX

Learn to use vMotion to migrate servers with zero downtime! Plus, discover how to create virtual machines, virtual appliances, resource pools, clusters, and much more.

Configuring VMotion
Configuring Resource Pools
Configuring Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) Clusters
Configuring VMware High Availability (HA) Clusters

Lesson 23 - Storage VMotion

One of the most exciting features of VMware ESX 3.5 is Storage VMotion. This allows you to move virtual disks while the server is up and running!

What is Storage VMotion (SVMotion)?
Storage VMotion - How It Works?
How Can Storage VMotion (SVMotion) Help You?
What is Required to Use Storage VMotion?
How to Use SVMotion at the Command Line Using RCLI?
Installing the SVMotion Plug-In
Demo: Moving Live VM Storage Using SVMotion

Lesson 24 - Backing Up Virtual Machines / VMware Consolidated Backup

Learn the different types of backups available for VMware, as well as third party companies.

Backup & Disaster Recovery for Virtual Machines
Backing up the VM within the Guest OS (file level)
Backing up the VM within the Host OS (image level)
VMware Consolidated Backup
What is VCB?
How does VCB work?
VCB Requirements
What is the process of using VCB?
Installing VCB
Using VCB CLI Commands
Scenario: Creating VCB Backup Scripts

Lesson 25 - Introduction & Installation of VMware Remote CLI (RCLI)

Lesson 26 - Introduction & Installation of VMware Infrastructure Management Assistant (VIMA)

Lesson 27 - Using VMware’s VIMA & RCLI to Administer VMware ESX & ESXi via CLI

Lesson 28 - Installing and Using the VMware VI-Perl Toolkit

Certified Instruction

David Davis (VCP4, VCAP-DCA, vExpert, CCIE #9369)

David has been in the IT industry for over 18+ years. He has served as a server/network admin, IT manager, and independent contractor. Today, David is a full-time instructor for TrainSignal.com where he has created over 10 different IT training courses.

Additionally, he has written hundreds of IT articles on the Internet, written for Virtualization Review magazine, served as a judge at VMware product competitions, and spoke on virtualization at conferences in the USA, Canada, and Europe. David's "real-world" experience combined with his diversity of skills (Virtualization, Windows Server, & Cisco Networking) gives you a powerful learning resource that can't be matched.

Courses Instructed by David Davis

FAQ

VMware ESX Server Training - FAQ

Am I Qualified To Take This VMware ESX Server Course?: YES! If you are a middle to upper level enterprise network administrator, an IT pro or system admin with a strong desire to learn VMware ESX Server & VMware Infrastructure for use at a professional level organization.
YES! If you have basic knowledge of server/network operating system like Windows Server or Linux, or have basic networking skills it would be beneficial, but is not required.

Order VMware ESX Server Training Now!

$397

"Loved your ESX Server training videos!": Thanks to you, I secured a position with a huge insurance firm looking after their VI of 60+ hosts and 100s of guests.
Michael Reilly United Kingdom
"I was a new to virtualization when I bought your video... After watching this video I was able to setup a VMware ESX server...": I purchased the VMware ESX Server course to improve hands on skills for a current job.

I was a new to virtualization when I bought your video. The intro to Virtualization was great.

Planning & Installing helped me learn how to select the right hardware. ESX Server Security is excellent on teaching the concepts of ESX Virtualization Security and the Virtual Networking Lab was outstanding on teaching me about Single-NIC, redundant & load balancing, and DMZ with router\firewall.
Richard Rosenzweig
"After watching the video, I can configure and install without any documentation...": I have been tasked with taking care of all our IDC servers consolidation with VMware. I received training from VMware, but only with ESX 2.5.

Because I was familiar with TrainSignal Training Videos, I had to get my hands on the video. I upgraded my servers from 2.5 to 3.0x and the architect was different, so therefore I ran into a lot of issues.

I needed the training to enhance my skills with ESX installation and configuration, and the video interaction is very good.

After watching this video I was able to setup a VMware ESX server.

The training has helped me become more confident in configuring the server because the hands-on training is such a great tool. I don’t have to memorize or read alot of documents in order to do this. It is so easy with the help of watching someone configure and go through the process.

After watching the video, I can configure and install without any documentation and I’m aware of all the "gotchas".

Thank you,
Tai Nguyen
"The Executives were looking for someone to fill that position and their first choice was my name. I truly owe your training for my fast growth in the company...": I took this course for improving my hands on skills for the current job. I like to improve them with initiation on my own rather than wait on company sponsored trainings.

I know this will help me in getting better jobs in the future. Education never goes to waste in my opinion and any money spent on education should be treated as an investment and not an expense.

It sure did help me as I implemented a few things I learnt through your course in my company. It got instant recognition in my company and I got more challenging work. In a short time it so happened that the manager moved on to a different job and left that post vacant.

The Executives were looking for someone to fill that position and their first choice was my name. I truly owe your training for my fast growth in the company.

I am not sure who all bought this software among my friends, but I have already recommended this software to many of my friends. Not just the software but also your site; I asked them to check out other stuff available too.
Viswanadh Tatavarthy
"I am very pleased with the content and the instructor.": I bought the Vmware ESX training CD and I am very pleased with the content and the instructor. I will definitely consider TrainSignal next time I need a training CD.
Brian Boyter
"David is by far the best instructor I’ve ever had.": I am taking your VMware vSphere video training course, and David is by far the best instructor I’ve ever had.

His no nonsense, straight to the point lecturing is an absolute breath of fresh air.

His clear and concise explanations show that he knows exactly what he’s talking about.

This course makes me want to use his training courses only...just wow!
Amnon Feiner Network Admin, Ladco Leasing, California
"The new feature set in ESX was explained very thoroughly with very few questions left unanswered...": I purchased this course because I am looking to get certified on the VMware ESX server and to also give me more hands on skills. I have used your courses in the past and they seem to be very well put together.

The course for VMware ESX has put me closer to my goal. Has given me some very good experience on the look and feel before I did the implementation.

The new feature set in ESX was explained very thoroughly with very few questions left unanswered.

The instruction was put together very well and show a few tricks that you might not of known about otherwise.
Ron G Knox Senior Systems Engineer, MCP,MCSA,MCSE, Ice-O-Matic, www.iceomatic.com
"We recently setup a 2nd server and needed a refresh on the partitioning and install procedure – the training course helped us review this by walking through the process...": I purchased this to refresh skills taken from a hands on course and to see if there were other things I could learn about the product. I did not purchase the product to complete a certification. I purchased it to offer a visual review of items we at times need to refresh on.

We recently setup a 2nd server and needed a refresh on the partitioning and install procedure – the training course helped us review this by walking through the process.

We have used it several times for this need and it has been of value and helped with what we expected it to.

The course has helped me with exactly what I had hoped, I have been able to review items that needed review and refresh my skills. I need to take more time and complete the entire course to compare the hands on course to the CD based course.

Thanks,
Quinn Fowers Manager, Information Technologies, FMC Technologies
"The course helped us better understand the hardware requirements for VMWare ESX server and how to better configure our virtual machines to improve performance...": I purchased this course to mprove skills for the current job. Currently using VMWare ESX server, but not as proficient with it as we’d like to be.

The course helped us better understand the hardware requirements for VMWare ESX server and how to better configure our virtual machines to improve performance.

I rate the course four (4) our of five (5) stars. The TrainSignal ESX server course helped in the following ways:

1.) Helped us better evaluate hardware needs for virtual servers and virtual machines

2.) Helped us better configure virtual servers and machines to improve performance

3.) Enabled us to be more effective in planning our ESX environment

4.) Enabled us to be more effective in building and managing virtual machines.
Joshua Putnam Peskay Director of Information Technology, FUND FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK, 121 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10013, www.fcny.org
"Because time was a factor I needed to learn the material in a short period and TrainSignal was able to do that...": AMHC is looking at consolidating and configuring our environment utilizing a virtualization approach. TrainSignal is an excellent resource to learn the material the fastest.

Because time was a factor I needed to learn the material in a short period and TrainSignal was able to do that. The material is organized in a way that is easy to learn.

I also like the fact that the instructor provides you with additional websites to obtain information about the product. Having the notes is also helpful because I am able to print each chapter and document the important areas that the instructor highlights.

The instructor is right to the point and I like how the examples are real-world scenarios. Other trainings will elaborate on discussions and will sometimes include material that is not related to the training.
Jason Cyr
"I knew I could rely on TrainSignal to provide usable information as I’ve used your other CBT’s to assist with Windows server projects such as File Server and Active Directory...": I purchased the VMware ESX server course to improve hands on skills in installing the system. After doing demo work with the ESX system I was left with questions and wanted to see how your TrainSignal instructors set it up and what tips I could gather through your videos.

I knew I could rely on TrainSignal to provide usable information as I’ve used your other CBT’s to assist with Windows server projects such as File Server and Active Directory.

I wanted information on 3 areas; ESX installation; Virtual Center; and Consolidated Backup. I studied primarily the Consolidated Backup module, I learned that it is not a GUI program as I had envisioned but rather an agent.

With your CBT I am learning to understand the concept of the agent and how to install it properly. I have been able to work on my servers and watch your video simultaneously to step thru the installation process.

I love having the ability to go back to the videos and find the chapter I’m looking for and review the procedures. Your CBT’s are replacing my reference manuals!
Michael Virnig IS Director, Mille Lacs County
"I took both your Microsoft and VMWare server classes which were very helpful in understanding virtualization and its capabilities...": I purchased this course to have a quick, to the point course to give me hands on capabilities and clear up the obscurities.

I took both your Microsoft and VMWare server classes which were very helpful in understanding virtualization and its capabilities.

I took the ESX class to understand the scope and limitations of the ESX product and how to size server systems and applications. ESX is an expensive product and if I want to sell the price tag to the bean counters, I have to show how it will save money, time and still enhance productivity and security.

I would give this course 5 out of 5 stars. It took me to where I wanted to go technically.
Ken Grossman
"I would definitely recommend it to people who are trying to learn about ESX (and I have recommended it)...": I bought the ESX CD’s because my company is using the product and there is not much out there in the book stores or online yet regarding ESX.

I also took the accelerated ESX training course through my company and I do intend to pursue certification but I have not done so yet.

I think the CD’s were well done although there a few differences between the CD content and the VMware courseware. I cannot give specific details but I remember thinking about it when I ran across them on the CD. So I would say that the course has helped me meet my goals for what I really got them for which was a general overview of ESX and its capabilities.

I would definitely recommend it to people who are trying to learn about ESX (and I have recommended it)

And as I mentioned, I thought the content was well presented and well done. To be honest, and it really doesn’t make much difference, I would have liked to see the product installed on a real server instead of on a virtual machine inside another vmware product.

There was not much wasted time at all on the video’s which were broken up well. All in all, I have been happy with the TrainSignal video’s I have bought. I think I purchased a DNS overview in the past and I might purchase some Cisco courseware in the near future.
William Cronin
"The course has allowed me to implement, manage, and support the product quickly with more with confidence...": I purchased the course to get familiar with ESX due to implementing at work.

The course provided a quick way for me to get acclimated to ESX server. It allowed me to learn at my own pace while giving me the ability to review the material additional times when necessary, unlike a class.

I personally find the video format an effective addition to documentation and the lectures, examples, and scenarios assist in the understanding of the material. This course, like several other TrainSignal courses, has help me gain a solid and practical understanding of ESX server.

The course has allowed me to implement, manage, and support the product quickly with more with confidence.
David Reichenecker

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