Download Docs and Book

[FCJoe]

Hello,

I've decided to start learning VMware and am having some problems getting started.  First let me start by saying I have never used VMware products before.  I have experience with Microsoft VPC and Hyper-V but not VMware.

I've downloaded the binaries for VMware vSphere Hypervisor (it's nice to have a free version to learn on) but I'm having a hard time getting the documents.  I keep getting redirected to download vSphere Evaluation Guide.  Is the only difference between vSphere Hypervisor & vSphere is that one is free and the other you have to pay for?  Can someone send me a link to other documents if they exist?

I'm also trying to find a good book to read.  The current version is 5 but all the books I found online reference v4.  Was v5 recently released which is why there are no books out yet?  Would reading a book that covers v4 be useful?

If you have any other suggestions for learning I would appreciate it.

Thanks,

Joe

[weinstein5]

Welcome to the Community - You zre correct only difference between vSphere Hypervisor and vSphere is that one the license is free and the other you have to pay for the license - the software you install is exactly the same.. Here is a link to the documentation - http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-pubs.html which includes a getting started guide.

Since vSphere 5 is relatively new you will start seeing vSphere 5 books coming out soon but you would still gain benefit from reading some of the existing vSphere 4 books - even though there have been changes the undelying technology is the same -

I would also recommend attending VMware training - not only will it give you a solid foundation but if you decide to go for certification you will be prepared since training is a required component to get your VCP -

[msatya]

hi please use video and audio from youtube and  itune where you can learn quickly

-------------------------
please award points if you see fit.Thanks

[Duncan Epping]

Let me recommend my own book, it is a Clustering Deepdive... so it is no "lite reading"  :-)

http://www.yellow-bricks.com/books/

And yes it is on 5.0 and available as an e-book for just a couple of bucks.