A few weeks back, Global Knowledge announced a new service called VMware Xtra. VMware Xtra is the brainchild of awarding winning Instructor Scott Vessey. Having already met Scott and regularly chatting with him I had a feeling that this will be good.

VMware Xtra is a selection of online resources to help you get the most from your VMware training courses. The online repository allows users access to support tools such as technical papers, industry experts and video tutorials.

Sound good hey? It's been a while since I have been on a course, the last time being the VMware 3.5 FastTrack course.  Once the course had finished I was left with two large VMware course material books and a fuzzy head full of information trying to escape. Fortunately I had access to an ESX environment where I could practice everything we have learnt on the course and made that information stick. I had I not had this I really think I would have struggled with the VCP exam. This is where VMware Xtra will become critical for many students who don't have a VMware Cluster to pull apart and reconfigure.

Global Knowledge have given me a login to the VMware Xtra Portal so I can have a look at what's available.

Once logged in I am presented with a basic summary of the course that I would be attending, In my case: vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage There is a link to a video hosted by Scott Vessey which gives an in-depth Instructors View of the course. This is great if you've been booked onto the course, but aren't really sure what to expect from it.

Elsewhere on the course portal page you will fine two sections, Pre-Course Content and Post-Course Content. The Pre-Course section has a little more about the course, information on the instructors and any external links related to the course. The Post-Course Section is where the "Goodness" can be found!

There are currently 3 parts to the Post-Course Content, Xtra Videos, Xtra Demonstrations and Exam Questions.

• Xtra Video's are a full in-depth explanation of specific vSphere functions. e.g. DRS Automation, VM Snapshots
• Xtra Demonstration's are hands-on demonstrations of specific vSphere functions performed by the presenter. I think this is great for people who don't have access to a vSphere environment to play with. I find it soo much easier if I can visualise the process and this will help with.
• Exam Questions, a great set of exam questions to test how much you really know.

I'm sure will agree, these are some big steps into making student learning just that bit more supported pre and post course. Scott has said, this is just the start. Global Knowledge will constantly be adding new content to their VMware Xtra service and there is also talk of providing online learning material for other venders courses. So watch this space.