VMware – vLenzker – a comdivision partner

#VMware Explore – Content Catalog and my top 5 picks

25. September 202425. September 2024lenzker

Whoop Whoop! The VMware Explore 2024 Content Catalog is now live! You can explore a wide range of sessions, workshops, and expert-led discussions tailored to all things VMware and beyond. Start building your agenda today and find my top picks for this year :)

Mastering Infrastructure As Code With VMware VSphere And Terraform [VCFB1813BCN]

Join us for an in-depth, in-person seminar to learn the essential skills to build and manage your virtual infrastructure using VMware vSphere and Terraform. This hands-on moment is designed for IT professionals and developers who want to better understand infrastructure as code (IaC) and how to leverage these powerful tools to streamline and automate their virtual environments.

Why Do I want to join the session? Infrastructure as a code is such a great concept used quite often in modern clouds. vSphere is still lacking this nowadays in my customer base :) Its time for a change

Supercharge Your Workloads On VCF: Unleashing The Power Of DPUs [VCFB1208BCN]

Offloading central processing unit (CPU) tasks to a network interface card has been around for years, but data processing unit (DPU) cards take this to a completely new level. They free up CPU resources and reduce the number of hosts needed in your data center. DPUs are pivotal in accelerating and offloading computational workloads, but their potential to enhance security, particularly in intrusion prevention and detection, remains unexplored. How can we leverage these cutting-edge advancements to ensure the utmost protection for sensitive data and critical systems? We explore how DPUs strengthen security for VMware VCF Workloads and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) platforms, e.g., firewalling and testing real-world performance-simulating attacks. Gain valuable insights into best practices for configuring DPUs in your VMware Cloud Foundation environment.

Why Do I want to join the session? CPU Core Count is key due to the new licesining model, all features that increase performance and decrease CPU requirements must be Analyzed and understood as an architect :) Besides that Philipp and Marvin are great guys I want to work more with in the future :)

Unlocking Your Data With VMware And NVIDIA—RAG Deep Dive [VCFB1881BCN]

Organizations today have acquired massive data sets, but getting the right information at the right moment can be a challenge. Enter retrieval augmented generation (RAG), an approach that combines the intelligence of a large language model with current, relevant and accurate data from trusted sources. Join us for a 300-level look into a RAG pipeline-architected using Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA. We review the end-to-end workflow and how it maps to virtual infrastructure. Then we dive deeper into the components, including the LLM, NVIDIA Inference Microservices and Vector DB. We also review best practices—including sizing considerations and when to leverage fractional, full, or multiple graphics processing units (GPUs).

Why Do I want to join the session? Adjusting LLM to organisational needs is something many mid- to large size organisations ask for nowadays. Getting a better understanding how that can be achieved in a private infrastructure is something I want to understand by heart.

VMware Cloud Foundation Networking Performance—Deep Dive [VCFB1646BCN]

What performance should I expect from VMware Cloud Foundation networking stack? What is enhanced data path? How does a data processing unit help? How can I tune to maximize throughput? Is it possible to lower the latency? If these are some of the questions you would like answers to, join this session. We take a close look at application traffic profiles, real-life performance expectations, tuning, design considerations, hardware choice and more, to achieve optimal performance when leveraging VMware NSX.

Why Do I want to join the session? DPU Network performance real-life data :)

Breaking Chains: Transforming Attack Chain Analysis Into Defender Strategy [ESGB1142BCN]

In this session, we delve into the anatomy of recent cyber attacks to uncover the strategic lessons they offer. By analyzing various attack chains, we have identified key tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) attackers use. We translate these insights into practical defensive strategies, equipping cybersecurity professionals with the knowledge to bolster their defenses. Leave with actionable tips and a deeper understanding of how to protect your organization from attacks based on lessons from real-world data.

Why Do I want to join the session? Security is everywhere nowadays and everyone needs to get a better understanding of attack vectors, tactics, techniques, etc. I am really looking forward to it.

If you haven’t registiered yet -> Do it here :) If you want to join our secret public friends & family dinner in Barcelona on Monday… Drop me a note and I can give you guidance how you might join the proper club :)

#VMware Explore 2024: Join Us in Barcelona to get even more confident in the new #Broadcom Chapter

13. September 2024lenzker

Due to some personal health incidents I was not able to join VMware Explore in Las Vegas -> But guess WHOOOO’s backkkk….

VMware Explore is back this year in Barcelona November 4th-7yh. This event marks the first European VMware Explore in the new VMware Broadcom era following the Broadcom acquisition. Attendees will gain insights into the evolving dynamics of VMware under Broadcom’s ownership, with a focus on VMware Cloud Foundation 9 and leveraging VMware for AI workloads.

For sure we all know William Lam’s playlist to bingewatch the session that have been presented at the US conference (https://github.com/lamw/vmware-explore-2024-session-urls/), but still there are several good reasons to attend Barcelona in Person.

Why Attend VMware Explore? Here Are 10 Compelling Reasons:

Connect and Network: Forge meaningful connections with fellow data center enthusiasts. Whether you’re meeting new faces, sharing a meal, or engaging in business discussions, VMware Explore offers the perfect platform to build lasting relationships. Contribute to the community through blogs, tweets, or vBeers, and you’ll find that giving often leads to receiving valuable insights and support.
Explore the Solutions Exchange: Dive into the core of the software-defined data center and multi-cloud ecosystem. The Solutions Exchange provides a unique opportunity to explore the latest innovations. Engage in in-depth discussions with booth representatives, and if needed, schedule one-on-one meetings to address your specific needs and ideas.
Attend High-Quality Breakout Sessions: Choose from a wide range of breakout sessions designed to enhance your knowledge and skills. Your VMware Explore ticket grants access to all sessions, even post-event. Be sure to check out William Lam’s comprehensive collection of direct links to previous sessions for a preview of the valuable content you can expect.
Engage with the Community at VMTN: Visit the VMTN booth and join discussions at the blogger table. Share your expertise or learn from others in a welcoming, community-focused environment. Submit your own session proposal or simply absorb the wealth of knowledge available. Unfortunately, vBrownbag will not be attending this year, but don’t miss out on joining the VMware #code program at the community booth.
Meet the Experts: VMware Explore gathers a high concentration of industry experts. Arrange meetings to discuss specific challenges, design questions, or product insights. This is a unique opportunity to gain direct input from some of the best in the field.
Pre-Event Networking: Connect with attendees beforehand on social media platforms like Twitter/X, TikTok, LinkedIn, and more. Discover what’s happening in Las Vegas, join or organize public meetings, and keep up with vendor and community-sponsored evening activities. Register early for various late-night events to secure your spot.
Participate in the Hackathon: Join the hackathon for a collaborative and intellectually stimulating experience. Work with brilliant minds to tackle specific challenges. Even with limited time and resources, the hackathon is a fantastic way to engage with peers and enjoy a creative challenge.
Meet the Community and Social Media Team: A highlight each year is the community booth, where you can interact with bloggers and active community members. Engage with VMware’s social media team, including Eric Nielsen and Corey Romero, who help make this community vibrant and welcoming.
Return to Work with New Ideas: Gain fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to apply in your daily job. Engaging with thousands of smart, forward-thinking individuals will inspire new approaches to technologies, methodologies, and problem-solving.
Discover Business and Job Opportunities: While this might not be the primary argument for your boss, VMware Explore offers the potential to uncover new business and job opportunities in the SDDC and cloud sectors. Understanding the market and environment at VMware Explore will help you identify and capitalize on these opportunities.

Ready to Transform Your Career?

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to enhance your skills, network with industry leaders, and explore the latest in VMware technology. Convince your boss and register for VMware Explore 2024.

And if you are still reading this and meet me in person; let’s catch up… I will be at one of the pre-conference event starting on Sunday [and I hope to not end up in a club at the beach this year :)]

#VMware Explore 2023 – 10 reasons why you should go

4. July 202323. May 2024lenzker

VMworld is dead – long live VMware Explore. We are back and it is getting physical again. Barcelona & San Francisco welcomes us back to celebrate VMware’s yearly conference.

Why you should go to VMware Explore? Let me give you 10 reasons:

Meeting/Connecting/Drinking/Eating or in business-talk: Connecting with people who love the datacenter field is such a great selling point of yourself. If you are passionate about something and you give something to others (blogs, tweets, vBeers or a simple thank you) there will come the day that you will get something back from them. Use VMware Explore to find new friends.
The Solutions Exchange is a great chance to get in-touch with the overall ecosystem in our software-defined datacenter & multi-cloud world. Seek for a discussion with the people at the booth. I know, sometimes they cannot give you the level of information you want to have, therefore try to figure out which product might interest you and schedule an appointment with a specific person to discuss your needs and ideas.
Many of the breakout-sessions are really really good. Remember: many Gin Tonic’s are good as well, but if you get too many …. you might know what I mean. Select your breakout session wisely. Remember that with a VMware Explore ticket you can access all breakout sessions later on (even though most of the session will get public-accessible after a longer-term). Check out William Lam’s fantastic collection of all direct-links to last years VMworld sessions. But hey: don’t think now you have everything you need. I am pretty sure there is a lot of great/new stuff is coming this year.
Check the VMTN booth, vBrownbag & blogger table. Many of the people in our field would love to share their knowledge during this conference.. Unfortunately their session is not getting accepted for political, technical or whatever reasons :) -> Apply for a vBrownbag session & check the VMTN booth at the community space to listen and learn from other experts in the field . Send in your own proposal or just learn from the others in small community-agnostic way.
Meet the experts: VMware Explore will have a very high density of Experts. Try to make appointments to talk about certain problems, wishes, design/product-questions you have.
Connect with people in advance. Go on twitter, figure out what’s going on in San Francisco. Organize or join those public meetings & events. Figure out what the vendors/community-members are sponsoring in the evening. The VMware Explore party is NOT the only event in the evening. Make sure that you register early for those late-night events. Do not miss the chance to talk to the presenter after the session or try to use twitter to figure out where us geeks meet after-hours.
If you feel lonely…. join the Hackathon [I am sure there will be one :)]. I have joined the hackathon a few years agon in Las Vegas and we had a great time. You get together with very very smart people and try to solve specific problems. Even though small the amount of time (and minor technical challenges) are not allowing to create a new hypervisor, people loved this event.
Meet the community and VMware’s social media persons behind the scene. My favorite place every year is community booth with the tables where all the blogger and community active persons are. Take your time to talk with me/us. Take your time to talk to the persons who manage the social media branch within VMware. Big thanks to everyone involved: Corey Romero, Tom Berry, Tej Cheema, Jenni Gonzales, Julia Klaus, Eric Nielsen and all the others that are part of this fantastic team.
Come back in your daily job with new ideas. I discovered that multiple times. Many of us know a lot of things, but over the years or during specific problem-solving tasks you end up in a very specific situation based on initial assumptions. Assumptions that might have been changed by newer technologies, methodologies, smart peoples words, etc. Getting together with thousands of other smart people will definitely give you a better chance to open the box of your mind.
Find business and job opportunities: Not a solid argument to convince your boss, but the opportunities within the SDDC and cloud era are big. New opportunities will come up outside and inside your company. To be able to recognize the opportunities you need to have a feeling for the market and environment. I realized during last VMworlds that this is the perfect location to develop such a feeling.

What’s next? Convinvce your boss & Register here.

#VMware‘s Center of Advanced Learning (#VMwareCAL): What is it good for …. and my personal expectations

14. October 201914. October 2019lenzker

A dream comes true. Since I started specializing on VMware products I always wanted to visit its Headquarters in Palo Alto. I have driven through Palo Alto multiple times during personal trips over the last year. Silicon Valley, Stanford, so much great myths surround my head when I think about this place.

And here I am: I am currently traveling to Palo Alto to visit the VMware campus for two weeks. Being part of comdivision, a German VMware Partner holding all 5 master services competencies, Yves Sandfort, Jens Henning and myself were given the chance to attend a special training at The VMware headquarter.

Center of Advanced Learning

Lenzker’s Why VMworld 2019 ? 10 Reasons Why You Should Go

27. May 201927. May 2019lenzker

It’s this time of the year again where a lot of us need to decide. Shall I go to this year’s VMworld? From time to time discussions come up with statements like:

“(#VMworld) is not the same any more…..When I was young, real knowledge and content was presented… . I was at #VMworld in the old days before it was cool….Virtualization is legacy, Azure and AWS is the only thing that counts”

Who am I to contradict those statements (even though they are wrong :P). I will try to give you my opinion why #VMworld is still the tech-conference highlight of the year.

If it’s your first time visiting VMware’s event I am going to create a second article called ‘let’s visit #VMworld’ about some personal tips and tricks how to get the maximum out of this years #VMworld

Lenzker’s Why #VMworld ? 10 Reasons Why You Should Go

10. June 201827. May 2019lenzker

It’s this time of the year again where a lot of us need to decide. Shall I go to this year’s VMworld? From time to time discussions come up with statements like:

“(#VMworld) is not the same any more…..When I was young, real knowledge and content was presented… . I was at #VMworld in the old days before it was cool….Virtualization is legacy, Azure and AWS is the only thing that counts”

Who am I to contradict those statements (even though the are wrong :P). I will try to give you my opinion why #VMworld is still the tech-conference highlight of the year.

If it’s your first time visiting VMware’s US event I am going to create a second article called ‘let’s visit #VMworld’ about some personal tips and tricks how to get the maximum out of this years #VMworld

Welcome to vLenzker – Welcome to #VMworld Barcelona 2015

5. October 20156. October 2015lenzker

Hello World

This is the first article on my new VMware and virtualization related blog vLenzker. In the last years I blogged exclusively with Mathias Ewald on vxpertise.net. After many hacks on our blog (and the loss of multiple articles) I decided to start again from scratch and use my traditional nickname as the name for my blog.

The topics and content will remain pretty much the same. I will try to explain problems, facts, solutions I observe during my daily doings as an independent VMware consultant and instructor. Anyway my first blog post will be a non-technical related one. VMworld Barcelona is just around the corner and I want to give some advice for those of you who might visit this brilliant city and event for the first time.