Since November 2006, my co-author, Robert Larson, and I have been writing the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 Resource Kit book for Microsoft Press in cooperation with the Microsoft Virtual Server Product Group. This is a project that we originally proposed approximately 2 years ago and that finally came to fruition late last summer.

Robert and I have been very lucky to have many people within Microsoft work as content reviewers to ensure high-quality and inclusive coverage. Content reviewers include members of the Virtual Server Product Group, Microsoft Consulting Services, Microsoft Customer Support Services, and Microsoft Technology Specialists. Our technical editor is an independent consultant and Microsoft MVP, and he is definitely making sure that we cover topics adequately and without using too much Microsoft jargon.

In about a month, we will have completed the drafts of the final chapters. Then, we will concentrate on completing the final review of all content before the book goes into the final production loop.

The current projection is that the book will release around August 29, 2007, given that we meet all of our deadlines which is something we are trying very hard to do.

For more details from Microsoft Press, read the  announcement. You can also the book on Amazon! By the way, all of the blog posts are adapted from the book content and we have three or four chapters identified to post to the web prior to book availability.

I've learned plenty about the technical book writing business in these last few months and given up quite a big chunk of sleep! But overall it has been a very cool experience, one made so much easier by the great editors at Microsoft Press.

The only real drawback is that I have not been able to build up the blog and VS community site as I originally intended. However, I do need a few hours of sleep at night to write coherently, so some things were placed on the back burner! Anyway, right after completion of the book, I'm will implement all the content plans that I've had to put on hold. My goal is to make this the prime community site for Virtual Server 2005 and the upcoming Windows Server Virtualization.

In the meantime, you can email questions to me regarding the book at jsc-vsrk@hotmail.com. I'd love to start hearing from you. And let me know if you pre-order...that will really give Robert and I the final motivational piece to complete the book. I would also love to know what you think would make this community useful, what content you would like to see, the training you perceive that you need, and any other constructive feedback to build out this Virtual Server community site so that it is useful to you on a day-to-day basis.

For some background on my co-author and I, here are our bios:

Robert Larson is a subject matter expert on virtualization for Microsoft and a regular speaker on virtualization topics at TechEd and ITForum. Robert is currently an Architect in Microsoft Consulting Services where he assists customer and partners to plan and design data center and server consolidation projects. He has authored articles for Windows ITPro and Microsoft whitepapers including building clusters using Virtual Server 2005, delivered multiple TechNet Virtual Server 2005 webcasts on topics like clustering and COM API, and has developed hands-on labs for Virtual Server 2005.

Robert holds a M.S. in Computer Science, B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering, and MCSE certification.

Janique Carbone has been working in IT for over 14 years on projects ranging from development to enterprise infrastructure design.  In 1999, she joined Microsoft Consulting Services to specialize in the architecture and deployment of Active Directory for large enterprises.  During this period, she also authored whitepapers for the Microsoft Windows Storage team as well as developed and delivered customer and partner-focused Windows training.  In 2002, she moved to Microsoft Premier Support to focus on operational management for medium size enterprises.  In this role, she assisted customers in maintaining and optimizing business critical Windows Server infrastructures, including Virtual Server deployments.  She has developed Virtual PC and Virtual Server training for customer events like TechEd.  Janique left Microsoft in April 2006 to pursue her interests in virtualization technology.  In May 2006, she founded the Infrastructor Group, whose charter is to deliver in-depth training, consulting, and community management encompassing the entire virtualization project lifecycle. 

Prior to Microsoft, Janique was an Aerospace Engineer that held positions at various NASA Johnson Space Center contractors (Rockwell, McDonnell Douglas, Boeing).  In the span of about 11 years, she migrated from doing Thermal Radiation Analysis of the International Space Station to IT management of NASA JSC engineering computing resources, including a stint developing a software application for use by the astronauts that reside aboard the International Space Station (a project called OOCI).

Janique holds a M.S. in Computer Science, B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, and MCSE certification.

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