VMworld 2020 Recap: VMware vSphere 7.0U1 advancements: SmartNICs (aka DPUs) are going to be big!

TLDR version - VMware vSphere with Tanzu allows vSphere Enterprise Plus customers to support Kubertnetes workloads without requiring the full VMware Cloud Foundation stack. Customers won't have to deploy NSX and vSAN to get Kubernetes workloads, and deployment time should be around an hour. Note…

Oct 1 2020

VMworld 2018 US Recap and VMware vSphere 6.7 Update 1 Highlights

My VMworld experience I had a wonderful week, and I managed to squeeze in the time to record 9 vendor visit videos too! They're mostly focused on what pertains to the home lab enthusiast of course, and the growing IoT/Edge Computing trend is likely to benefit all of us, both at work, and at home.…

Sep 3 2018

VMworld 2018 US Solutions Exchange - vendor visit videos

Laptop editing and hotel WiFi weren't exactly great for 4K video production and uploading, but I hope you find that the hardware close-ups were worth the wait! VMworld attendee Dennis Lewis from Vox Mobile earns some smiles, thanks to his mad handstand skills. Video Index Click or Tap the company…

Aug 28 2018

TinkerTry Demo at VMworld 2018 US! "See VMware vSphere 6.7 fly on Intel Xeon D with NVMe SSDs [VMTN12504U]" Wed Aug 29 1pm-5pm VMTN Blogger Table at VMvillage

Back in June, I excitedly announced I'm going to VMworld 2018 US, my 7th time attending, and I get to present! My presentation as a VMware employee had been accepted, but my proposal to present at the #vBrownBag was pending, and I didn't really know for sure if an invite from Community Leaders…

Aug 23 2018

I'm going to VMworld 2018 US, my 7th time attending, and I get to present!

Just want to jump down below to my VMworld 2018 US session list? Click here. I just got approval and booked my trip to VMworld yesterday, awesome! Like last year's retrospective, here's a summary look back at the variety of roles and activities I've done at VMworld over the years, ending with my…

Jun 13 2018

My VMworld 2017 US Experience

If you're at all curious about how my VMworld 2017 US experience went, it just so happens I captured many of the highlights with pictures on Twitter. I made the most of every minute, my first time going as a VMware Employee. I went to as many customer events as I could, prioritizing those events…

Sep 24 2017

VMworld 2017 US VMTN Community Blogger - VMware vSphere 6.5U1 home datacenter demo

I realize a vast majority of my readers can't make it to VMworld: Meet me at the VMworld 2017 US PEX and HCI Zone booths, or at the TinkerTry Virtualization Hardware Discussion Zone in the VMTN Community Blogger area Tue. Aug. 29 11am-2pm Aug 17 2017 This video helps you feel a little like you…

Sep 2 2017

VMworld 2017 US Solutions Exchange - vendor visit videos

Video Index Click or Tap the company name to jump down to the video. AIC - NVMe and wide-gumstick NGSFF HPE - Synergy Composable Infrastructure Platform HyTrust - KeyControl requests Intel - NVMe SSDs including M.2, U.2, Ruler, and Optane NAKIVO - Backup & Replication v7.2 & integration…

Aug 29 2017

Meet me at the VMworld 2017 US PEX and HCI Zone booths, or at the TinkerTry Virtualization Hardware Discussion Zone in the VMTN Community Blogger area Tue. Aug. 29 11am-2pm

I'm super happy to have just been approved to have an informal TinkerTry meetup of sorts, over in the new VMTN Community area of VMvillage, as part of VMworld 2017 Las Vegas being held at Mandalay Bay again this year. One of my favorite things about meeting hardware enthusiasts is hearing more…

Aug 17 2017

I'm going to VMworld 2017 US, my 6th time attending!

I just got approval and booked my trip to VMworld, awesome! Last night, I was on the phone with some folks from Intel Storage, and when I mentioned that I just learned I'm going, one of my contacts there said he could hear me smile. He wasn't wrong! VMworld 2007 / 2008 / 2012 VMware's software…

Jul 25 2017

Check out vBrownBag's many "Focus on the expert – VMworld US 2016" video interviews, featuring Xeon D cluster demonstration

I'm honored to know Ariel Sanchez (@arielsanchezmor) for some years now, and even captured a bit of his signature happiness on camera at last year's VMworld here. Well this year, with the help of friend Jonathan Frappier (@jfrappier) and new friend Matt Crape (@MattThatITGuy), Ariel made this…

Sep 10 2016

So glad VMware is doing this, all VMworld 2016 sessions now available to the general public!

It was great running into Eric Siebert at the vExpert event last week at VMworld 2016 US. He's really been on a roll with his VMworld 2016 coverage, and this particular article seems to be of most interest to folks who visit my site, but couldn't make it to VMworld. Yes, that's most people! Let's…

Sep 7 2016

Dell-EMC merger completed today forming Dell Technologies, hear what VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger told vExperts at VMworld 2016 US

VMworld 2016 US held a nice event again this year for vExperts like myself, who have spent a lot of their personal time sharing their VMware-related knowledge and experience with others through user groups, presentations, training videos, and blogs. The perk was an evening at the The Mob Museum in…

Sep 7 2016

VMworld 2016 - The video interviews - Infinio, Micron, Supermicro, TinkerTry, and Veeam

Again this year, I had a lot of fun roaming around VMworld 2016 US with my iRig Mic, which does a solid job at keeping out the ambient noise that is typical at such conferences. iRig Mic on Amazon. You'll see me visit unprepared folks, who I asked for permission to record moments before the camera…

Sep 2 2016

My experience at VMworld 2016 US

You will find this article updated, please come back and refresh! Community. That's why I'm here. I've spent a lot of time this past year refining the process of installing and running tiny clusters of Xeon D, and I'm pleased that I finished preparing my Supermicro & Intel NUC demonstration on…

Aug 30 2016

TinkerTry's Xeon D All Flash vSAN mini-cluster featuring Supermicro and Intel NUC - Live VMworld US demo Wed. Aug. 31 8am-1pm at VMvillage, thanks @vCommunityGuy!

SYS-E300-8D and SYS-5018D-FN4T networking compared. ESXi 6.0U2, fully loaded! I used to do high jump and 400 meter hurtles back in high school. This Olympic month, it feels a little like that again. Numerous obstacles tripped me up on my way to the finish line. First, an NVMe storage vendor that…

Aug 16 2016

TinkerTry's Xeon D cluster for VMworld 2016, man with a vSAN demo plan!

Fun new time-lapse video now available, in the updates section below the original article. The idea here is not what you should do in a home lab, it's really just determining what's become possible. Let's hold-off on concluding much of anything until I get this All-Flash vSAN rig fully…

Aug 2 2016

Supermicro SuperServer SYS-5028D-TN4T mini-tower available in 1U version featured in 3 node PernixData $10K give-away

This past December, you may recall Veeam's $10K give-away story: Register by Dec 22 to win Veeam's year-end $10K home lab global giveaway, your chance to get a free Supermicro SuperServer Bundle? that featured a chance to win the same Supermicro SuperServer SYS-5028D-TN4T mini-tower that many…

Feb 14 2016

VMworld 2015 - The video interviews

Click to shop for iRig Mic at Amazon. I had a lot of fun roaming around VMworld 2015 with my iRig Mic, with a strategically placed logo sticker. It did a great job at keeping out the ambient noise that is typical at such conferences, with the biggest benefits seen at the various VMworld 2015…

Sep 9 2015

VMworld 2015 - Video of my visit with Veeam's Rick Vanover to talk about Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE

I had a really nice opportunity to discuss the latest update to Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE, as it relates to: the recent release of Microsoft Windows 10 concerns some folks have over the use Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Express LocalDB (Rick mentions that it's lightweight, and not responsible for…

Sep 3 2015

VMworld 2015 - videos of my visits to QNAP and Synology

It was good to have a fairly comprehensive look at both QNAP and Synology at VMworld 2015. Hopefully you'll find these informal product overview tours helpful, with some information included that pertains to the home lab enthusiast. See also at TinkerTry Synology at CES 2012: VMware…

Sep 2 2015

VMworld 2015 - My experience

This post will be filled in over the next few days, highlighting my personal experiences at VMworld 2015. A lot happening here, especially given I'm here as both a blogger and a presenter. Also a lot of fun, seeing so many familiar faces from the northeast like Matt Brender and Mark Gabryjelski,…

Sep 1 2015

Blogging and presenting at VMworld 2015 San Francisco, many chances to meet you!

If you are attending VMworld 2015 San Francisco, I sure hope you can stop by and introduce yourself to me, with numerous opportunities to do so. Even if you can't attend, I'll be trying to capture a taste of what it's like at VMworld through stories right here at TinkerTry. This is my first VMworld…

Aug 26 2015

VMworld 2015, hands-off labs? All hands-on labs completely full in under 23 hours.

! For those of you attending VMworld 2015 San Francisco, as of July 21st, you can now pre-register for the sessions you plan to attend. Well, some of the talks and presentations, but not the hands-on labs. Yeah, I guess those coveted spots are evaporating rather quickly, see also the conversation…

Jul 21 2015