If you are one of the people chomping at the bit to get your hands on the latest released version of VMware ESX Server 3.0, you aren't alone. But I ask you, are you prepared for what comes next? I mean, once you get your hands on the media, have you properly planned for your upgrade?

If you haven't really thought about it, you might want to check out the latest guide from Mike Laverick over at RTFM Education. If you've been involved in the server virtualization community for any period of time, you've probably already picked up one or two of his guides along the way. Each one is filled with valuable information, and he does a great job of educating each of us.

His latest guide is self-described as an "upgrade" guide to ESX 3.x and VirtualCenter 2.x. The guide is designed for people who are already very familiar with VMware ESX Server 2.x and VMware VirtualCenter 1.x. And it is based on the "delta" two-day training that can be optionally attended for those people with prior experience.

Mike clearly outlines that this guide is by no means a definitive statement on upgrading. For that, he recommends you read the VMware documentation. It's also not a comprehensive guide but rather a guide that covers most of the primary differences.

You will find information such as the following:

• Upgrading Virtual Infrastructure
• In Place Upgrade of VirtualCenter
• In Place Upgrade of ESX Server
• Upgrading Virtual Machines
• Networking
• Storage (VMFS, SANs, NFS, iSCSI)
• Deployment and Migration
• Resource Management
• Backup and High Availability

You can download Mike's guide, here. And you can read the latest discussion on the guide, here.

Posted by David Marshall on June 22, 2006 08:26 PM