VMWare vSphere 5 training Day 0

Hello all,

As many of you know, in order to keep up with technology, training is often required.  Let me emphasize OFTEN!  It seems like only a 5-6 years ago we were installing VMWare ESX 2 and now we are on ESXi 5.  That is because we were!  It seems that with technology, it is one of the areas in life that not only do new things come along and change fast, but technology becomes obsolete literally in a few years. 

This morning I left my home at 3:45 am and began my annual pilgrimage to training.  Typically I follow the 3 year cycle for Cisco, Microsoft, and Novell/Linux.  This year is a bit different. 

We have a fairly substantial VMWare infrastructure.  It is nice and works great.  With the help of my friends and my past experiences I was able to build a nice infrastructure.  Things are about to get crazy.

About a week ago we began a server room upgrade project.  We are building a brand new MDF and need to migrate all of it to this new room.  One would assume that moving from one room to the next would simply mean picking up what we have and putting it in another room.  Simple unplug and plug it back in.  That would be true if we were building the EXACT same server room.  Because of some of the new and more complex configurations, there are some additional skills that are required.  Think of it like this.  Let's say your knee is worn out.  You goto the doctor and he says that either you can get some surgery to fix your knee or you can get a knee replacement.  Both fix the issue in their own way, but both require two sets of skills to accomplish.  I believe I could do this all without additional training, but what if I get half way into this migration and say, "Ooops!  Now what?"  This vSphere 5.0 training and certification should help answer many of those advanced questions.

So, I got on the plane.  Very long story but US Airways is now my least favorite airline.  I have a broke CPAP machine that was a checked carry-on luggage piece that they somehow managed to crack.  Grrrr.

I booked my shuttle from the airport to the hotel about a week ago.  I confirmed it for a round trip of $55.  When I arrived at the airport I got in the shuttle verified with the non-English speaking driver that it was $55 for a round trip.  The "shuttle" was more like a family van.  The entire dash didn't work so he relied on the GPS for speed information.  He has the GPS set to Kmh!!!  So, we were going 55 km per hour down the highway.  Again....GRRRRRR!  When I arrived at the hotel and got out, I said $55 round trip, he said no; $50 one way.  I showed him the printed out the confirmation to which he replied "prices have changed".  NICE!

I arrived at the hotel; Hyatt; nicer than most hotels at which I stay.  I got some lunch and food for weekday meals.

Unlike most of my trainings, this training does not allow time to take the test during the class.  I am scheduled to take the VCP test on Monday, March 5th back in Wisconsin.  Class ends Saturday, March 3rd.  So, I have an extra day to study.  And since this is day 0, it doesn't count. Anything I do today gets me further ahead for the rest of the week.  I figure I have to go through about 100 study questions per day.  I can get through between 10 and 15 questions per hour.   12 hrs of school per day, 6 -10 hrs of studying.  That is right 2 to 6 hrs of sleep per night after tonight.  Ugh.  These training sessions are brutal.  Fortunately this is only a  5 day class.  Cisco CCNP is usually a 17 day class.

Well, this was a fun break sharing with you all what is happening.  Back to studying.

Tom