MarkGabbs – Page 19 – Gabbs' Random Thoughts

Virtual Update 2019-04-29

VMware EMPOWER review
This was a great event.
Meeting my peers from around the world.
Validating that the company I work for, WEI, is focusing on the right things for our customers from the VMware point of view, as well as what my peers are doing.
The NDA insights received on many things, products and vision….
Working with the leadership at VMware during the event.
Working with the VMware Education team at the event.
I really wish that all customers could see what the partners do during this VMware EMPOWER event, and how much effort goes into it.
Yes, it is a “Partner-Only” version of VMworld, but what the partners get from this event benefits our customers so much. Our recommendations to our customers, our designs, implementations, and other choices we offer to customers is heavily influenced from these types of events.
Other than the networking with peers, the best benefit of this event for us partners, is that the REAL experts are right there for us to engage with.
I wish this was an event all partners could attend every 3 months……

Conferences Coming Up
This week is DellEMC World.
Next week is both Nutanix Next & RedHat Summit
Should be quite a bit of news from those events in the next two weeks….

Virtual Update 2019-04-15

VMware EMPOWER is coming
Well, VMware Empower in Atlanta is this week.
I’m sure I’ll get a peek into some NDA futures, as well as information that I can share when I update this in two weeks…..

VMware software updates!
vCenter gets to 6.7 U2
ESXi gets to 6.7 u2
vROPs gets to 7.5
vRLI gets to 4.8
vRA gets to 7.6
vRO gets to 7.6
vRB gets to 7.6
vRLCM gets to 2.1
Updates to the vSphere ROBO edition
Details below

VMware VCP-NV 2019 (Network Virtualization)
The new cert is out, and for those of you who hold an existing VCP-NV, most of you will be able to update your cert to the current rev by attending an on-demand training videos (or you can take the test).
Follow the link, and check your upgrade path.

New Intel Chips / DIMMs / 100-GbE NICs
I don’t focus on hardware much, but I saw this and it sparked some interest.
This article caught my eye.
New Intel CPUs with 56 cores each (112 if you count HT).
Optane Persistent DIMMs up to 512-GB each.
…and a 100-GbE NIC….with a heatsink? (not seen that on a NIC before).

Virtual Update 2019-04-01

VMware EMPOWER is coming
There are 3 events (listed at the bottom of this post) scheduled for this year.
I am lucky enough to have been named a VMware EMPOWER Ambassador.
There will only be 10 x Ambassadors for each EMPOWER event.
What does this meant???
Anyone (who is a partner) can reach out to me, and chat about this event.
Unsure of whether or not to attend? Not sure if there is value? What would be the best use of my time?
Reach out to me on Twitter @MarkGabbs and we can chat.
Plus, Ambassadors can help you get $100 off registration!

PuTTY has been updated to 0.71
This tool by Simon Tatham has been a standard for many IT pros.
Lots of bug fixes are wrapped up into this release.
I also noted that there is now a PuTTY for Windows on ARM available.
A link to the download page.

VMworld – Dates for Registration, Content Catalog, and more
Any seasoned VMworld Alumni will tell you how important it is to plan your trip to VMworld, and get on the Schedule Builder as soon as possible to lock in the sessions you want to attend.
Came across a post for all the dates related to VMworld.
Early Bird Registration – May 7
Content Catalog – June 8
US Session Builder – July 16
EU Session Builder – September 25
Since this was not a VMware official site, I’d take it with a grain of salt, but the dates look good when compared to previous years timelines.

Virtual Update 2019-03-18

vExpert 2019
vExpert 2019 was announced just recently.
I have been a vExpert for five years.
What is vExpert? It doesn’t require a blog, but it is about someone willing to contribute the community, and share their experience with others.
Take a look at the vExpert page, see what the program is about, search the directory, or find a great catalog of bloggers

RVTool 3.11.6 released
The latest update has been posted.
Remember to Donate.
Rob de Veij spends quite a bit of time on this, and I’m sure more than once, any vSphere Admin / Architect has found this tool useful.

Virtual Update 2019-03-04

VMware PowerCLI update
PowerCLI has been updated to 11.2.0
Blog post highlighting some features are her
Release Notes are here
…just run Update-Module VMware.PowerCLI

Virtual Update 2019-02-18

VMware repeals 2 year recertification requirement
Finally….something I have fought VMware Education against since I heard they were going to implement this.
In short, you take an exam and get certified.
You MUST take another exam within 2 years, or you lose your certification.
Regardless of why they thought this was required, it is now no longer true.
Now, you certs are valid without requiring retesting after the 2 year mark.
Granted, if you are certified as a VCP5, when VCP7 is available, VCP5 doesn’t really hold much value
Read the announcement here.

VMware vSphere 6.0 – End of General Support
It is coming…March 12, 2000.
Feels like we JUST got folks off of 5.5 (which is good, because they are mostly 6.5 or greater now).
If you think that’s OK, End of General Support for:
vSphere 6.5 – November 15, 2021.
vSphere 6.7 – November 15, 2021. (yes, same as vSphere 6.5)
Two-and-one-half years goes by quick…..so don’t blink!
VMware KB 66977.

VMware Workspace ONE – from some of the best
If you are in the EUC (End User Computing) space, you must have heard the names of Johan van Amersfoot & Brian Madden at some point.
This is a great video that covers what the Workspace ONE solution does, and how it enables the EUC vision from VMware.
This is 1-hour 10-minutes. watch all of it…..
Absolutely worth watching if you are VDI or EUC, EMM, MDM, or have a security focus.

Virtual Update 2019-02-04

VMware VCP 2019 Exams Are Released
Karl Childs, our favorite Senior Manager in VMware Education , has release this note last week regarding the availability of the new VCP-2019 exams.
Short post, but it links to each of the VCP 2019 certs available, and their details.

VMware CEIP (Customer Experience Improvement Program)
This was mentioned a few months ago, and it deserves a rehash.
In the past, WEI had kept a neutral stance on this setting (enabled or disabled).
Now, WEI has a recommended stance on enabling this settings.
Why?
They way VMware Support uses CEIP.
How to change the setting via PoweCLI? of course William Lam has the answer in a recent post.

VMware Dynamic Health Check (vSphere 6.7+)
This week’s aggregation seems to have too many links to William Lam’s VirtuallyGhetto, but he is a great source of information….
Select your vCenter object on the left pane, go to Monitor, Health.
That’s it. Read about it here.
You must have CEIP enabled (see above) for this to work.