My boss has told me that we are getting a Cisco UCS multi-server system. It looks like I will be going to a UCS class to learn the hardware. He is trying to get approval for a VMware class. I have a few questions that I hope some of you can help with answers for -
1) Is it possible to get VMware certified without going to class ?
2) What are the best books on VMware ESXi 5 ?
3) In the past in other certification pursuits, I have put together a home lab so I can try to make most of my mistakes in a non-production environment. Given that I am doing this out of my own funds, what are some of the suggestions for a server that can put in at home and run a couple of hosts on ? In the past, I would build my own server but with the availibility of used server hardware like Dell Poweredge T110 (about $800 from www.stikc.com) or something similar. I know is a compatibility chart but I wanted to see what was in use for home labs
4) Is there a specific version/sku of ESXi (or something similar) that I can use for studying/learning that will be fairly close to what I will see when running ESXi on real hardware I will be using ?
5) Any suggestions for a particular training company to use ? I may end up havng to pay for this myself if the funding doesnt get approved and want to learn the most I can and get certified while I am going through this process.
Thanks,
Ron