vmworld_2016
VMworld 2016 is just around the corner (10 days and counting) and the theme this year is be_Tomorrow …which looks to build on the Ready for Any and Brave IT messages from the last couple of VMworld events. It’s a continuation of VMware’s call to arms to get themselves and their partners and customers prepared for the shift in the IT of tomorrow. This will be my fourth VMworld and I am looking forward to spending time networking with industry peers, walking around the Solutions Exchange on the look out out for the next Rubrik or Platform9 and attending Technical Sessions.

http://www.vmworld.com/uscatalog.jspa

The Content Catalog went live a few weeks ago and the Session Builder has also been live allowing attendees to lock in sessions. There are a total of 817 sessions this year, up from the 752 sessions last year. I’ve listed the main tracks with the numbers fairly similar to last year.

Cloud Native Applications (17)
End-User Computing (97)
Hybrid Cloud (63)
Partner Exchange @ VMworld (74)
Software-Defined Data Center (504)
Technology Deep Dives & Futures (22)

VMware’s core technology focus around VSAN and NSX again has the lions share of sessions this time year, with EUC still a very popular subject. It’s pleasing to see a lot of vCloud Air Network related sessions in the list (for a detailed look at the vCAN Sessions read my previous post) and there is a solid amount of Cloud Native Application content. Below are my top picks for this year:

  • Virtual SAN – Day 2 Operations [STO7534]
  • Advanced Network Services with NSX [NET7907]
  • A Day in the Life of a VSAN I/O [STO7875]
  • vSphere 6.x Host Resource Deep Dive [INF8430]
  • The Architectural Future of Network Virtualization [NET8193R]
  • Conducting a Successful Virtual SAN 6.2 Proof of Concept [STO7535]
  • How to design and implement VMware’s vCloud in production [SDDC9612-SPO]
  • PowerNSX and PyNSXv: Using PowerShell and Python for Automation and Management of VMware NSX for vSphere [NET7514]
  • Evolving the vSphere API for the Modern Era [INF8255]
  • Multisite Networking and Security with Cross-vCenter NSX: Part 2 [NET7861R]

My focus seems to have shifted back towards more vCloud Director and Network/Hybrid Cloud automation of late and it’s reflected in the choices above. Along side that I am also very interested to see how VMware position vCloud Air after the shambles of the past 12 months and I always I look forward to hearing from respected industry technical leads Frank Denneman, Chris Wahl and Duncan Epping as they give their perspective on storage and software defined datacenters and automation. This year I’m also looking at what the SABU Tech Marketing Team are up to around VSAN and VSAN futures.

As has also become tradition, there are a bunch of bloggers who put out their Top picks for VMworld…check out the links below for more insight into what’s going to be hot in Las Vegas this VMworld. Hope to catch up with as many community folk as possible while over so if you are interested in a chat, hit me up!

My top 15 VMworld sessions for 2016

http://blogs.vmware.com/management/2016/08/top-5-log-insight-vmworld-sessions.html

https://blogs.vmware.com/virtualblocks/2016/08/16/be_tomorrow-vmworld-2016-key-storage-availability-activities/

 

My Top Session picks for VMworld 2016

http://www.mindthevirt.com/top-vmworld-sessions-category-1247