If you haven’t read the first edition of this great book, and you are in the continental United States, I would suggest entering this contest. If you do not win, then buy the book!

vSphere Design, Second Edition

Written by two virtualization experts and packed with real-world strategies and examples, VMware vSphere Design, Second Edition will help you design smart design decisions.

• Shows IT administrators how plan, deploy, maintain, and optimize vSphere virtualization solutions
• Explains the design decisions typically encountered at every step in the process and how to make the right choices
• Covers server hardware selection, network topology, security, storage, virtual machine design, and more
• Topics include ESXi hypervisors deployment, vSwitches versus dvSwitches, and FC, FCoE, iSCSI, or NFS storage

When I prepare for an exam, though these are not specific to any one exam, I read these books to stay on top of my game.

So onto the contest… here are the details.

Starting today (no, this isn’t an April Fool’s joke) and running through April 15, you can enter to win a signed print copy of VMware vSphere Design, 2nd Edition! I’m giving away a free, signed copy of the book to five lucky individuals who enter and win in this book giveaway contest.

Here’s how to enter to win one of the 5 free, signed copies of the book: simply post a comment on this site telling me why you would find this book useful. Yes, that’s it!

It’s that easy. Good Luck!

The VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX) on VMware Infrastructure 3 is an advanced certification developed for design architects of VMware enterprise deployments. There are four core validation components to achieve VCDX.

1.) Must be certified as a VMware Certified Professional (VCP) on VMware Infrastructure 3.

2.) Pass the Enterprise-Level Systems Administration Exam. Includes live labs and tests a higher level of skill set than the exam for VCP on VMware Infrastructure 3.

3.) Pass the VMware Design Exam. This exam focuses on actual design scenarios and contains simulations and situational questions.

4.) Submit, present and defend a successful VMware Infrastructure design and implementation plan.

To read more go here.