Archive for the ‘Cloud’ Category

Today I want to start a campaign within the VMware Community…

I would like to see VMware re-instate the “VMTN Subscription”. You might ask, what the hell is that? That would be fair enough because it was withdrawn many years ago, and never re-instated by VMware.

The VMTN Subscription (I found this link on Google which is still active posted in 2005) was similar to Microsoft MSDN or TechNet – where for relatively small yearly fee you could download the core enterprise software and run it for 1year. Right now there is whole legion of home-labbers out there that have to make do and mend with evaluations that expire after 60-days. Sadly, the VMTN Subscription program was cancelled in 2007 and never re-instated.

Now as former VMware Certified Instructor and vExpert – if I wanted NFR style licenses I can get to them. Although I would have to say throughout all my time working with VMware its been also been a struggle gaining access to software and licenses – as independent guy not affiliated to partner…. That’s mainly because an evaluation download doesn’t always give me access to ALL the software I need to do my kind of work. It’s often been a frustration, and I’ve often need to call upon my personal network to get hold of bits that seemed impossible to get through legitimate means. My concern is not so much for myself as I’m generally a well-connected dude – but for the many thousands of loyal VMware supports in their homelabs. VMware has one of the best user communities on the planet. I personally believe that without the “bottom up” support of thousands of enthusiasts who teach themselves VMware in their home labs, who then go on to recommend software to the customers, clients and businesses – VMware wouldn’t be as half as successful as it is without this legion of unpaid evangelist for their cause.

So, VMware. Bring back the VMTN Subscription or make it part of the VMUG Advantage package.

If you want to register your thoughts/views/opinions for this idea – add your +1 to this forum post here.

I’m sorry, I just had to rip off the same title of an article I wrote for TechTarget recently. Like my pun? I was inspired by twitter storm as folks tried to think of film titles where they could work in some aspect of cloud or virtualization. My topic is about how the various OEMs are aligning themselves to sell you the entire hardware stack – servers, storage, switches – it’s like all the OEMs suddenly want to be like IBM. Whether or not this approach will take hold or a more flexible pick-and-mix of vendors based on an agreed reference architecture will win out, or the “one-throat-to-choke” argument will win out is anyone’s guess. Perhaps the best measure of which stack beat another is how long it takes from start to finish to get a VM created on fully-feature vSphere deployment would be the best measure…

Read on…

When I was at the recent Pittsburgh VMUG I saw a lot of hands go up when folks were asked if they had a “cloud”. No disrespect to the attendees there but I detected a certain amount of peer-groups pressure involved in those questions. “Hey, everyone else is putting their hands up – perhaps I should too?” After all no-one wants to feel left out do they, that left me wondering about how many folks really do have a “cloud”. Of course, much depends on how you define such an amorphous concept…

Read on…

Tomorrow will see some big announcements from VMware. This the one we have all been waiting for months…

David Davis of www.vmwarevideos.com has released his video of the “Ask The Experts Panel” on the topic of cloud.

On the panel were myself and

• Scott Lowe, VCDX (@Scott_Lowe) of blog.ScottLowe.org
• Jason Nash, VCDX (@nash_j) of  jasonnash.wordpress.com
• Mike DiPetrillo, VCDX (@mikedipetrillo) of www.mikedipetrillo.com
• Moderator: Rich Brambley, vPower (@rbrambley) of www.VMetc.com

Anyway, you can see the video over on David’s Site – click on the big graphic below!

Please join VMware executives Paul Maritz, CEO and Steve Herrod, CTO for the unveiling of the next major step forward in Cloud infrastructure.  Paul & Steve’s 45 minute live webcast will be followed by additional online sessions where you can learn more about the industry’s most trusted virtualization and cloud infrastructure products and services. Join us and experience how the virtualization journey is helping transform IT and ushering in the era of Cloud Computing.

click here

Erm. What can I say without being cuffed and taken down to share a police cell with a large man called “Bubba”? Not much – but you will want to tune in…

I’ve been thinking about the cloud a lot in the last year – and speaking to both the sellers of cloudy software, as well as customers thinking of going down the cloud route. For sometime I’ve though the cloud might be more attractive to SMB customers – not so much the private cloud obviously, but the public cloud. After all if I’m small business or start-up why would want all the grief and hassle of managing my own physical or virtual infrastructure when I can have VMs outsourced to a third party. Well, any more of this theme on over on TechTarget’s site where I’ve written an article about this subject..

Read on McDuff…

Over on TechTarget I’ve written an article (in two parts) about VMware and the Cloud. It’s a kind of nod to the fact for years folks used to have “Virtualization is a journey not a destination”, which I’ve noticed many folks now have “Cloud is journey not a destination”. I start of with an overview of how VMware began that journey, and an assessment on well placed they are to arrive at the destination.

From VMware Virtualization to the VMware Cloud (Part 1)

VMware Management software for the Cloud: A Square Peg in a Round Hole (Part 2)

I’ve written a two-part article on how to get VMware’s vCloud Director up and running in your “man cave”. For those who uninitiated that is not a medical term – but a phrase we use here in the UK to describe the man’s small office or hide away filled with bits and bobs, batteries, half-mended computers. In modern terms the “man cave” has replace the garden shed – as place for a gentleman of leisure to retire to from the hurley-burley of “her indoors” and kids killing each other on who has the next turn on the Wii.

Anyway, inside many a IT mans “cave” is his vSphere home lab. So in this series I show you how to setup vCloud Director using free bits of software that doesn’t expire after 60 days. Sadly, with the untimely demise of the “VMTM Subscription” the only software that does expire is VMware’s own vCD. But heck, that’s what mailinator email accounts were created for!!!

Special thanks to Duncan Eppying – who’s article on Yellow-Bricks got me over the “hump” which was Oracle Express!

Part One and Part Two are already available which cover getting Oracle Express Linux up and running, and the configuration of the Orcale XD database. Part 3 will be all about the vCD install itself including handling those pesky self-generated certificates!

Update: Here’s the 4th and final part of my series on how to get up and running with vCloud Director