This book is intended for virtualization professionals who are experienced with the setup and configuration of VMware vSphere, but didn't get the opportunity to learn how to secure the environment properly.
What you will learn
Harden your ESXi host and guest virtual machines to reduce the vulnerabilities in your system
Configure vCenter networks and storage security to establish secure virtual networks between environments
Install and configure vShield Manager and Data Security to manage antimalware and anitvirus policies for your virtual environments
Set up vShield App and Edge, including firewall and VPN configurations to help secure your networks in your environment
Use Sophos Antivirus to establish a vShield Endpoint to secure your environment
This book will let you walk through most of the basic vSphere security guidelines without going insane. Everything is explained very thoroughly both on how and why you set all the settings, along with explanation links to the interested parties(VMware, NIST, etc.). VMware knowledge is required but the book is written without throwing you code or dropping you into a problem and just providing the answer. The book is based on 5.5 so you need to have a relatively recent compute farm(which you should do anyway if you plan on being secure) to execute on the books suggestions as most of the steps are explained with the new vSphere Web Client(most of it can be done with vSphere client on older versions but the steps may be different).
Amazon Verified review
L R EMar 21, 2015
5
This book is comprehensive and in-depth and really helped me to better understand cyber threats and how vSphere has capabilities in place that allow it to be more secure and less prone to attack. I particularly liked the vShield installation and configuration instructions. The book was well written and easy to comprehend, the author is cognizant of the intended audience and provides enough explanation that aided in readability by providing clear and concise instructions with screenshots and practical considerations for implementation. This book didn't just cover securing ESXi hosts, but also delved into securing virtual machine, storage and network resources. This book would be an excellent book for people who are interested in properly securing their ESXi environment.
Amazon Verified review
Michael J. McshaneMar 12, 2015
5
This is a well written guide on administration and security for vSphere. The book starts with an overview of threats and vulnerabilities. The book then gets right into Hardening security for esx hosts and vSphere clients. The book is geared to "virtualization professionals who are experienced with VMware vSphere setup and configuration” but I found the chapters to be packed with plenty of screenshots and code samples. I particularly got a lot out of the chapters on configuring vSphere certificates.All and all the book is a solid guide and well worth the read and adding to your admin library.
Amazon Verified review
Paul MooreMar 12, 2015
5
Unlike many other Technical Manuals, this book does not make the assumption that the reader is a VMware veteran, nor does it treat the reader like they have never seen a computer. The information provided in the book is more that adequate for someone starting out, and still provides the details and explanations required by a more experienced reader. I do not fully agree with other reviewers that have stated that the book was written for Beginners to Intermediates. While this book is not written for VMware VCPs with years of Security experience, I do think that this book would be a great resource and reference point for anyone, at any level. Even experts need to be reminded of some of the more standard security practices!
Amazon Verified review
Fouad KazmaMar 13, 2015
5
This book is an excellent resource for securing VMware hosts and guests.It is very concise and I learned quite a bid from it. What I liked particularly is the vShield chapters since I recently started to work with it. Overall it is a great reference book.
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