Announcing Mastering VMware vSphere 5.5
Published on 26 Aug 2013 · Filed in News · 599 words (estimated 3 minutes to read)Well, the title kind of says it all—yes, there will be an update to the popular Mastering VMware vSphere 5 book, with new content for the vSphere 5.5 release announced today at VMworld. Availability of the new title is expected in late October or early November, but I believe it’s already available for pre-order on Amazon.
However, this book represents more than just another title in the Mastering VMware vSphere series. It represents a “changing of the guard,” so to speak. In order to understand why, allow me to share with you the story of how my very first book, Mastering VMware vSphere 4, came to be. This is a story that very few people know.
I suppose the story starts in 2008. As a blogger, I’d gained some visibility as a result of my liveblogging at VMworld 2007, and in 2008 I met Chad Sakac. Chad is now a hugely popular figure within the VMware community, but at the time he was “just” the leader of a little-known group within EMC. (This is the group that would later become known as the vSpecialists.) Chad and I chatted, geeked out on some VMware stuff, and became buddies. I didn’t really think too much about the connection; we were just a couple of virtualization geeks making a connection.
Then came early 2009. Chad contacted me, and said he’d been approached about writing a book. Unfortunately, he was unable to write the book; would I be interested in writing it, he asked. Heck yeah! Writing a book had been an item on my bucket list for a really long time. So Chad made the connections to Wiley/Sybex, contracts were signed, and at VMworld 2009 Mastering VMware vSphere 4 was released, quickly becoming a massive hit. I joined Chad’s vSpecialist team in 2010, and remained there for 3 years before transitioning to VMware earlier this year to focus on network virtualization.
Looking back on this series of events, it’s easy to see that this was a huge opportunity I’d received. So, when it came time to discuss writing the book that would become Mastering VMware vSphere 5.5, I asked myself: “I was just given this opportunity. Can I do the same for someone else? Can I pay this forward?” It was at that point I decided that I would not be the lead author for the next revision; instead, I would pass the torch on to someone else—someeone else who had “Write a book” on their bucket list. I wanted to give someone else the same opportunity I’d been given.
This is why Mastering VMware vSphere 5.5 represents a changing of the guard. This book embodies my decision to pay it forward, to give another worthy individual—in this case, Nick Marshall—the opportunity to do something he really wanted to do. Many of you know Nick; he’s been involved in the VMware community in a number of ways, through support of the vBrownbag Podcast as well as through his work with Alastair Cooke on AutoLab. In addition to that, he’s just a really nice guy, and that counts for something, too. I’m really thrilled that Nick has taken the lead with this book, and I’m really looking forward to seeing where he takes the Mastering VMware vSphere series.
So, if you’re looking for an authoritative reference to the vSphere 5.5 release, I would encourage you to pick up Mastering VMware vSphere 5.5. Nick and I, along with our co-conspirators Forbes Guthrie, Josh Atwell, and Matt Liebowitz, have done our best to produce something that is useful and informative. I hope that you agree.
