Acknowledgments

It’s been a wild ride these past couple of years trying to keep up with the fast pace at which virtualization has been moving. The blogging community has really exploded in the past year with many new bloggers coming on the scene sharing their knowledge and experience. Social networking websites like Twitter have brought a lot of us together in ways that were previously not possible. As a result, I have made many new friends in virtualization and look forward to making many more.

First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge some of my closest friends in the virtualization community. This includes Ken Cline, a technical reviewer on this book whose vast knowledge and experience continually make me feel like a newbie. Also, some other members of the vBrat Pack, including Edward Haletky, Steve Beaver, Jason Boche, Jase McCarty, and last but definitely not least, John Troyer, who is VMware’s head blogger and virtualization evangelist. Special thanks to Vaughn Stewart from NetApp and Greg Schulz from storageioblog.com for reviewing my storage chapter, and to George Vish, who was also a technical reviewer on this book.

I’d also like to acknowledge a few fellow bloggers from the thriving VMware user community who inspire me on a daily basis to help others and be the best that I can be, including Eric Sloof from ntpro.nl, Scott Lowe from blog.scottlowe.org, Duncan Epping from yellowbricks.com, Rich Brambley from vmetc.com, and my fellow bloggers at Tech Target. There are many other bloggers and members of the VMTN community who I haven’t mentioned, but you know who you are and you are all an inspiration to me also. I’d also like to thank the guys and gals that I work with from Tech Target, where I got started with writing, including Hannah Drake, Colin Steele, Heather Darcy, Jo Maitland, and Rich Castagna.

Special thanks to Simon Seagrave, who signed on to contribute to this book. Simon is a joy to work with and his knowledge and skills are top-notch. I’d also like to thank my editor at Pearson, Trina McDonald, who stuck with me again on this second book. Trina is a wonderful person to work with and I enjoyed having her guide me through writing this book.

Finally, I’d like to thank my family: my mother and father, Yolanda and Edward; my siblings, Jason, Elizabeth, and Jennifer; my wife, Kimberly; my boys, Logan and Zecheriah; and my precious daughter, Sophia.

—Eric Siebert

I’m very grateful to Eric for the opportunity to contribute to this book. After reading and enjoying his VMware^® VI3 Implementation and Administration, it is fantastic to be able to be part of the book you now hold in your hands. To work with someone of Eric’s technical caliber and who shares the same passion toward virtualization has been a real privilege. Thank you very much to the VMware VI3 and vSphere Performance Guru, Scott Drummond (vpivot.com), and to VMware aficionados Ken Cline and Eric Sloof (ntpro.nl), for their time and excellent feedback. It was much appreciated.

I’d like to give a big shout-out to all my fellow virtualization, server, and storage bloggers who tirelessly keep producing brilliant content, many of whom I have had the privilege of meeting or corresponding with over the past couple of years. I would try mentioning names, but the list is far too long, though you know who you are. Keep blogging! Thanks to John Troyer for keeping the vExpert and VMware virtualization community running as well as it does. A sincere thank you to my valued TechHead (techhead.co.uk) readers who spur me on to keep writing content. I really appreciate your comments, emails, and feedback—keep it coming.

Special thanks to my other half, Sarah, whose patience and understanding know no bounds in putting up with all my IT equipment around our home and the significant amount of time I dedicate to attending IT events, working in my virtualization lab, and blogging. I am one lucky guy!

Lastly, I couldn’t have my name in a book and not say... Thanks Mum!

—Simon Seagrave