Scott Lowe - Mastering VMware vSphere 5.5

Acquisitions Editor: Mariann Barsolo

Development Editor: Stephanie Barton

Technical Editor: Jason Boche

Production Editor: Dassi Zeidel

Copy Editor: Judy Flynn

Editorial Manager: Pete Gaughan

Production Manager: Tim Tate

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley

Associate Publisher: Chris Webb

Book Designers: Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama; Judy Fung

Proofreader: Rebecca Rider

Indexer: Ted Laux

Project Coordinator, Cover: Katherine Crocker

Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed

Cover Image: Getty Images, Inc./ ColorBlind Images

Copyright 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-66114-7

ISBN: 978-1-118-75023-0 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-1-1188-2503-7 (ebk)

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (877) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com . For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com .

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013948020

TRADEMARKS: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and the Sybex logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. VMware vSphere is a registered trademark of VMware, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for choosing Mastering VMware vSphere 5.5. This book is part of a family of premium-quality Sybex books, all of which are written by outstanding authors who combine practical experience with a gift for teaching.

Sybex was founded in 1976. More than 30 years later, we're still committed to producing consistently exceptional books. With each of our titles, we're working hard to set a new standard for the industry. From the paper we print on, to the authors we work with, our goal is to bring you the best books available.

I hope you see all that reflected in these pages. I'd be very interested to hear your comments and get your feedback on how we're doing. Feel free to let me know what you think about this or any other Sybex book by sending me an email at . Customer feedback is critical to our efforts at Sybex.

I dedicate this book to my wife, Natalie. Your support and encouragement is unwavering. I couldn't have completed such a task without you. I also dedicate this book to my mother. Mum, you were taken too soon but you still influence me every day.

Nick Marshall

This book is dedicated to my Heavenly Father, who gives me lots of good and perfect gifts (James 1:17 NIV). The opportunity to write another book is one of those gifts, but more precious than that is the gift of family: my wife and my truest friend, Crystal; my kids (Summer, Johnny, Mike, Liz, Rhys, Sean, and Cameron); and those who have been brought into my family (Matt, Christopher, and Tim).

Scott Lowe

Acknowledgments

When Scott Lowe expressed his interest to collaborate on a writing project, I would never have believed the journey that was to follow. It's been a rollercoaster, but one I have thoroughly enjoyed. While writing a book has been a huge learning curve for me, one thing is certainly clear: You can't underestimate how important those around you really are.

First of all I want to say thank you to Scott. Handing me such a great responsibility is an honor I will never forget. Your generosity is continuously evident to this day, and your reputation in the industry is second to none. Your work in Chapters 1 and 5 are top notch (as usual), and I hope we can work together again in the future.

Second, I want to say thank you to my contributing authors, Forbes, Matt, and Josh. Your ability to hit the ground running and produce quality work was a real blessing for me as I found my feet. Forbes, your advice and efficiency writing Chapter 4 was much appreciated. Matt, your commitment to Chapter 9 while running many other projects is an inspiration. Josh, thank you for stepping up and sharing your skills in Chapter 14; I couldn't have done it without you.

I'd also like to thank my technical editor, Jason Boche. Jason, thank you not just for finding my mistakes, but also for giving me a more detailed understanding on certain things. This book is better thanks to your attention to detail.

The team at Wiley/Sybex has been so supportive throughout this process, and I'm very grateful of their leadership. Mariann Barsolo, thank you for putting up with my never-ending questions; Stephanie Barton and Dassi Zeidel and the rest of the editing team, thank you for all that you did to ensure the quality of this work and also for understanding all my strange Australian spellings.

There have also been a number of people who helped ensure that the project was a success. Duncan Epping, thank you for your words of wisdom when I was starting out. Grant Orchard, thank you for reading my first drafts. Trevor Roberts Jr., thank you for getting me out of a bind when I needed it most. Fausto Ibarra, thank you for reaching out and getting me in touch with the right people. I'd also like to thank the VMware community as a whole. To all the bloggers, speakers, tweeters, and podcasters: Without you all I would never have started down this road.