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.

Finally, I would like to thank VMware—not only does this company provide me employment, but without VMware this book and more importantly this industry, would not be what it is today.

—Nick Marshall

There are some things that get easier after you've done them multiple times. Acknowledging all the people whose support makes writing a book possible isn't one of those things.

I'll start by thanking Nick Marshall, my partner in crime for this book and the bearer of the torch for future revisions of Mastering VMware vSphere. I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with you, and I'm equally thrilled to know that this book series is as much a labor of love for you as it has been for me. I look forward to seeing future editions.

I'd also like to thank the contributing authors (in no particular order): Forbes Guthrie, Matt Liebowitz, and Josh Atwell. Thank you all for your hard work and your contributions.

As with any technical book, technical accuracy is critical. My thanks go to Jason Boche, who served as the technical editor for this edition. Jason, your oversight helped make sure that we all got the details correct. Thanks for your feedback, corrections, and constructive criticism.

Next, my thanks go to the entire Sybex team: Mariann Barsolo, the acquisitions editor; Stephanie Barton, the developmental editor; Dassi Zeidel, the production editor; Judy Flynn, the copyeditor; Rebecca Rider, the proofreader; Pete Gaughan, the editorial manager; and Neil Edde for his support. I don't know how the book publishing process works with other publishers, but I can say that you guys have made the process as painless as something like this can be. Thanks for everything.

Finally, thanks to my family for all their support. Crystal, I can't express how much your support has meant to me since I started down the book writing path in 2009. Someday I'll figure out how to repay you. Thanks also to my kids, Sean and Cameron, for putting up with deadlines and late nights spent writing at the computer. I really appreciate your support.

—Scott Lowe