Review of Train Signal’s VMWare Virtual Server & Workstation Video Training
This is a review of the VMWare Virtual Server & Workstation Training videos from Train Signal, Inc. I was very interested to review these videos because I am both a home and work user of VMWare products, and I have been nothing but impressed with the previous training materials released by Train Signal. Once again, I was not disappointed with what I saw.
The Technology
VMWare, Inc. produces a very popular line of server and desktop virtualization products available for both Microsoft Windows and Linux. VMWare Player and Server are both free products that are feature-limited releases of VMWare Workstation and ESX Server.
VMWare is currently considered the market leader in virtualization technology and competes with similar products from other organizations, such as XenSource, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM. (For more information, see the Wikipedia article, “Comparison of virtual machines.”)
The Reviewer
My experience with VMWare is primarily that of a software engineer who uses VMWare products for testing Windows software that I have written. I have prior experience with both VMWare Workstation and Server and running both Windows and Linux as guest and host OSes. Although I have previously acquired a lot of hands-on knowledge from using VMWare products, I am always eager to learn more, especially from more knowledgeable people.
The Videos
The Train Signal VMWare training videos are a two-CD set containing 13 hours of instructor-led video. There is no installation program and nothing is stored on your computer. Just insert a disc into your CD/DVD drive and a Flash-based menu appears (you don’t need Flash installed on your Windows computer either). The menu program is designed to run on Windows 95 and later.
The menu’s selections start the videos in your default Web browser. The video menu topics are organized for the best progression through the topics for learning VMWare. However, you can also skip around to the topics that interest you the most. Here is a listing of the selectable topics:
Disc 1:
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Disc 2:
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All of the videos in this package are Windows Media Video WMP v9 files encoded with the WMV3 codec. They will play in Windows Media Player 7.1 and later and all other video players that support the WMV3 codec. Media Player should automatically download and install the proper codec if you don’t already have it on your computer.
Where’s that Codec?
I initially had an interesting problem with playing the videos. When clicked on the Flash menu, my default Web browser was started and the selected video began playing, but the video’s colors were very distorted and solarized. I was using a fresh installation of Windows XP for testing, and WMP 9 should have been installed by default. I installed the Microsoft WM9 Codec pack for Windows XP, but this didn’t fix the problem. I closed the browser and started Windows Media Player. I discovered that I had never started WMP in this new installation of Windows XP, so I ran through the setup wizard, after which the videos played correctly in both WMP and my browser. Updating to WMP 10 or 11 would have fixed this problem as well.
Another problem I encounters is that the menu program runs on Windows, but not on Linux. The videos played just fine on my Ubuntu Linux laptop using MPlayer, but only after I installed the GStreamer ffmpeg video plugin and GStreamer extra plugins. However, I was not able to get the audio to play, despite having installed the MPlayer Win32 codecs. I made a post on the Train Signal support forums about this problem. I received a prompt reply pointing me to the Xine video player as a solution, which plays the videos and audio just fine. I would very much like to see Train Signal add a Linux-compatible Flash menu and videos to this product.
If you have any technical questions about Train Signal products, the answer is probably already available at Train Signal’s online technical support forums or support FAQ.
The Presentation
The presenter of the VMWare videos is David Davis, a VMWare Certified Professional (VCP) with 15 years of IT experience as a Windows system and network administrator and data center manager. His other certifications include MCSE, CISSP, and CCIE (#9369). He is also the creator and presenter of several other Train Signal video series and owner of the Web site HappyRouter.com.
Although Mr. Davis is not a professional speaker, his presentation is thorough and knowledgeable, and his credibility with the topics he presents is clearly evident. Rather than feeling as though I am being talked down to by a learned authority, or trapped in a vendor presentation, Mr. Davis comes across as the friendly and knowledgeable computer nerd who works in a cubical next to mine.
The video presentations are slides and live demos of VMWare Server and Workstation presented using Camtasia Studio 4. If you have used other professional computer-based video training products this format will be familiar to you. All of the slides presented in the videos are also available in PDF format selectable from the training menu.
And because the videos are WMV files played in the media player of your own choice, you can use the seek bar to easily skip around, or backup and review, any part of the videos. I have used other, more sophisticated CBT technology that didn’t allow this simple feature, and it was quite frustrating to use. There is so much information in these videos that you will need to occasionally backup and re-review that material to make sure that you caught everything.
The Training
The actual training presented is a good balance of VMWare product use and the application of VMWare products in solving problems. There is no deep theoretical discussion on how virtualization works, as you can already find that information on the Internet. Instead, you are given a practical understanding of what you can do with VMWare products and how you will use them from a system administrator’s point of view.
These videos are not simply a live description of information you can already find in VMWare’s documentation. The level of detail in the video instruction is much greater than in the VMWare manuals. The use of real software and equipment in the demonstrations allows you to see how VMWare products are used and not just read about it.
I was impressed by the frequent advise and tips offered by the presenter, many of which I did not already know. It seems as if the information in the presentation was partly taken from real-world problems posted and solved on online technical support forums. You know, the kind of information that can save you hours of frustration and keep you from working over the weekend.
One thing I was interested in knowing was how many hours of video would I need to review before I had enough knowledge to start using VMWare Server. It only took me less than three hours to review the information necessary to install and configure VMWare Server and create a new virtual machine. Although I had been through this process many times before, I did learn quite a lot about installation and configuration options that I had never used.
I highly encourage you to work along with the videos on your own computer to get some hands-on training. I used a Windows XP workstation with two monitors–one displaying the training videos and the other VMWare Server. I also had an old Pentium III laptop running Ubuntu Linux and VMWare Server to work along with the Linux-specific instructions. I think this is the optimal setup for getting the most out of these videos.
Why You Need These Training Videos
In giving my opinion of why you need these training videos, I’m not going to lecture on the amazing possibilities of virtualization technology, or the market leadership of VMWare. You can find articles filled with that information in many IT industry journals published over the past two years. Instead, consider using these videos if:
- You need to use VMWare products at your work, on your home network, or just to get some practical, hands-on experience with virtualization technology.
- You already use VMWare products and want to learn how to do more with them.
- You have employees that need to use VMWare products, but the budget for formal training is not available.
- You are compiling a collection of VMWare-related books and information for future reference.
- You need to instruct a class or a workshop on the use of VMWare products. These training videos are a ready-made syllabus and source of workshop lessons and class material.
- You need a practical understanding of how virtualization technology can allow you to run more efficiently with fewer physical computers.
- You need to realize how virtualization technology can be used by system and network administrators, software developers, and quality assurance personnel.
- You wish to prepare for attending formal training in VMWare products, including the classroom training required to become a VMWare Certified Professional (VCP). Although this video series in not specifically designed as formal preparation for the VCP exam, it does present the basic foundation needed by all VCP candidates.
Train Signal has an excellent reputation for high-quality training material, and the VMWare Virtual Server & Workstation Training is no exception. As a VMWare user myself, I will be referencing these videos quite frequently for some time to come.
