VMware Cookbook, Chapter 1

Format: Book chapter, written in DocBook XML (PDF output + XML source) · Publisher: O’Reilly · Year: 2012

The opening of Chapter 1 of VMware Cookbook, Second Edition, which I wrote with Ryan Troy for O’Reilly. It shows long-form technical writing that explains a concept before reaching for commands, and it shows a source format now rarely used: we wrote the book directly in DocBook XML rather than in a word processor. Below is the rendered prose, followed by the same passage in its XML source. For the book itself, see my Books page.

View the original (PDF) · view the DocBook XML source

Excerpt:

Virtualization provides a way for multiple operating systems to be installed on the same physical hardware. By using virtual technology, we can consolidate hardware and instantly build quality assurance and test environments. This is a tremendous breakthrough, as it allows underutilized equipment to do more than sit around idle, as well as allowing developers and administrators to test and use multiple software configurations and packages that require different operating systems on the same piece of equipment, without having to purchase, set up, and maintain multiple computers.

A typical IT scenario goes something like this: you have lots of servers in your rack or collection of racks. Most of them only run at about 10–15% of their capacity the majority of the time, but you let that happen because you want to keep their various functions and operating systems isolated from one another. This provides some security, both because if one server is compromised it does not necessarily mean that access has been granted to others, and because a problem with one piece of software will not cause other parts of your IT infrastructure to go down as you deal with it.

Virtualization helps you make better use of those physical resources, without compromising the original intent of keeping services isolated.

The same passage in its DocBook XML source:

<chapter id="vmware_infrastructure_installation">
  <title>VMware Infrastructure Installation</title>

  <para><emphasis>Virtualization</emphasis> provides a way for multiple
  operating systems to be installed on the same physical hardware. By using
  virtual technology, we can consolidate hardware and instantly build
  production, quality assurance and test environments. This is a tremendous
  breakthrough, as it allows underutilized equipment to do more than sit
  around idle ...</para>
</chapter>

Excerpt from VMware Cookbook, Second Edition (O’Reilly). Back to all writing samples.