Sunday 29 October 2017

Free eBook from VMware - Digital Workspace Basics

VMware have very kindly made available the following ebook:

Digital Workspace Basics, written by Kevin Strohmeyer

The introduction is as follows:

"The digital workspace fundamentally transforms the way IT delivers end-user services to employees and contingent workers. A digital workspace provides the necessary infrastructure for your employees to securely access the applications and data they need on any device used for work."

This is a small book, only 6 pages, but still worth a look at.




Saturday 28 October 2017

VMware vExpert Cloud Announcement

VMware have released their list of VMware vExpert 2017 Cloud recipients, and I'm glad to announce I made the list along with many other talented VMware experts.

Congratulations to all on the list.

https://blogs.vmware.com/vmtn/2017/10/vexpert-cloud-2017-award-announcement.html



Sunday 22 October 2017

VMUG Webcast - Advantages of Blast Extreme on Thin and Zero Client Endpoints

Have you got a spare hour on the 26th October 2017, then why not register for the.

VMUG Webcast

Advantages of Blast Extreme on Thin and Zero Client Endpoints

Topic: Since the announcement of the Blast Extreme protocol with VMware Horizon 7 just one year ago, Blast Extreme has quickly become the talk of the town. VMware have continued to make further improvements with each release, including most recently BEAT (Blast Extreme Adaptive Transport). BEAT offers vast improvements out of box with Horizon 7.1 or later, offering 50% improved bandwidth and 6X speed. This offers an improved user experience to both local and remote users. Organizations that are still using other VDI protocols may be wondering when it’s time to jump on the Blast Bandwagon and what advantages they may see as a result.

This webcast will educate viewers on the benefits and efficiencies of deploying Blast Extreme on 10ZiG Thin and Zero Client endpoints, and will include a live demo of the 10ZiG Manager – a fully FREE Thin and Zero Client Management Software solution, with no user limit or confusing support agreements.

Speaker: Kevin Greenway, Chief Technology Officer, 10ZiG Technology

Thursday, October 26 12-1 PM (CST)

If you're not already a member of VMUG, sign up at the VMUG website

Then register for the above webcast

While you're there, have a look at the other events hosted by the VMware User Group.

Saturday 21 October 2017

Automating NSX® for vSphere with PowerNSX - VMware Press Book

One of the things that's an expectation of my job is that, I'm going to have to do a lot of reading.

Also that I'm going to stand in front of people and talk a lot.

The vast majority of the VMware courses I now deliver involve talking about VMware NSX, and why not? It's a good product.

Thanks to those lovely people at VMware Press for making the following book available for download.


Automating NSX® for vSphere with PowerNSX - VMware Press Book, written by Anthony Burke

The book covers the following over 176 pages

Introduction from the book itself.

"This book has been written to cater to administrators and architects of an VMware NSX for vSphere environment. This book should serve as a primer for users with skillsets ranging from beginner to advanced. Some prior knowledge around the following topics will help readers. These topics include:

  • Microsoft PowerShell:  pipelines, variables,loops, scripting.
  • VMware vSphere PowerCLI™:  basic vSphere administration.
  • VMware NSX for vSphere: concepts and configuration specifics.

It is assumed that the reader will be familiar with NSX for vSphere constructs and terminology."

Friday 20 October 2017

Operationalizing VMware NSX - VMware Press Book

One of the things that's an expectation of my job is that, I'm going to have to do a lot of reading.

Also that I'm going to stand in front of people and talk a lot.

The vast majority of the VMware courses I now deliver involve talking about VMware NSX, and why not? It's a good product.

Thanks to those lovely people at VMware Press for making the following book available for download.


Operationalizing VMware NSX - VMware Press Book, written by Kevin Lees

The book covers the following over 94 pages.

Introduction from the book itself.

"Operationalizing VMware NSX® offers guidance to management-level decision makers and influencers concerned with the impact of VMware NSX on their organization, staff, and operational processes. It also speaks to engineers and technical decision makers responsible for optimizing operational tooling in a VMware NSX environment.
Operationalizing VMware NSX provides the information needed to optimize the on-going operations of a VMware NSX environment. 
Specific areas examined include the critical aspects of team structure, culture, roles, responsibilities, and skillsets. 
Additional guidance is provided for operational processes, monitoring, and troubleshooting in a VMware NSX environment."

Thursday 19 October 2017

Free eBook - Enterprise Cloud Strategy - Microsoft Press

Over the last two days, I've been presenting a Microsoft Azure Fundamentals course. This course covers the fundamentals and reasoning of the journey to, or utilisation of Microsoft Azure public cloud.

With the above in mind, the following ebook is a nice bit of additional reading.

Enterprise Cloud Strategy - Microsoft Press, written by Barry Briggs and Eduardo Kassner







Learn about the basics of adopting a cloud computing strategy for your enterprise. The second edition of the cloud computing e-book, Enterprise Cloud Strategy, covers essential information for planning and executing your enterprise cloud migration. In this executive summary of the 140-page e-book, you’ll get introduced to the strategic importance of the cloud for your business, as well as:


  • Find key takeaways from the book, including resources to support your migration.
  • Get familiar with cloud computing terminology, concepts, and options.
  • Learn about building a roadmap for your journey to the cloud.



Wednesday 18 October 2017

VMware NSX® Micro-segmentation Day 2 - VMware Press Book

One of the things that's an expectation of my job is that, I'm going to have to do a lot of reading.

Also that I'm going to stand in front of people and talk a lot.

The vast majority of the VMware courses I now deliver involve talking about VMware NSX, and why not? It's a good product.

Thanks to those lovely people at VMware Press for making the following book available for download.


VMware NSX® Micro-segmentation Day 2 - VMware Press, written by Geoff Wilmington, VCIX6-NV.

The book covers the following over 200 pages.

Introduction from the book itself.

VMware NSX Micro-segmentation – Day 2 is a guide designed to help organizations understand how to operationalise micro-segmentation in their environments.
VMware NSX Micro-segmentation – Day 2 provides a primer on leveraging tools – VMware vRealize® Log Insight™, Application Rule Manager, and VMware vRealize® Network Insight™ – to build rulesets necessary to facilitate micro-segmentation.

Tuesday 17 October 2017

VMware NSX® Micro-segmentation Day 1 - VMware Press Book

One of the things that's an expectation of my job is that, I'm going to have to do a lot of reading.

Also that I'm going to stand in front of people and talk a lot.

The vast majority of the VMware courses I now deliver involve talking about VMware NSX, and why not? It's a good product.

Thanks to those lovely people at VMware Press for making the following book available for download.



VMware NSX Micro-segmentation Day 1 - VMware Press, written by Wade Holmes, VCDX#15, CISSP, CCSK

The book covers the following over 118 pages.

Introduction from the book itself.

"NSX is a networking and security platform able to deliver micro-segmentation across all the evolving components comprising the modern data center.
NSX-based micro-segmentation increases the agility and efficiency of a datacentre while maintaining an acceptable security posture.
VMware NSX Micro-segmentation – Day 1 details the security requirements needed to provide effective security controls and risk management within the modern data center, clearly showing how to go beyond the automation of legacy security paradigms by operationalising agile security through NSX micro-segmentation."


Monday 16 October 2017

Architecting Microsoft SQL Server on VMware vSphere - Best Practice Guide

This week I'm delivering a Microsoft course which covers SQL as the database back-end, the delegates this week all use SQL, but they have virtualised by using VMware vSphere.

With the above in mind I have included a link to the:

Architecting Microsoft SQL Server on VMware vSphere - Best Practice Guide

The guide covers all of the relevant information required to best utilise Microsoft SQL Server on the VMware vSphere server, and covers CPU, memory, and networking best practices over 53 pages.

Hope it is of some use.

Free eBook from VMware - Hyper‐Converged Infrastructure For Dummies

VMware have very kindly made available another free eBook, it's title is:

Hyper‐Converged Infrastructure For Dummies, written by Michael Haag and is 77 pages long.


The book is a VMware and Intel special edition and covers the following:

  • What HCI is all about?
  • Why it’s such a hot topic?
  • How you can get started?
  • Where you’ll get the biggest bang for your HCI buck?
To download your copy visit the link

Enjoy. 



Sunday 15 October 2017

VMware Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure—Now Available

I have long been a user of VMware Horizon in one form or another, I've always liked the centralised features of a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

With the announcement that VMware Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure moving to GA, Customers can now connect their own instance of Microsoft Azure to our incredibly intuitive Horizon Cloud control plane, to create a secure, comprehensive, cloud-hosted solution for delivering virtualised Windows applications and session desktops.

Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure includes a robust feature set and delivers a number of key benefits:

  • Multi-Cloud Deployments: Gain the flexibility to choose between cloud capacity managed by VMware or bring-your-own infrastructure with Microsoft Azure.
  • Low-Cost, Hourly Billing for Microsoft Azure Capacity: You have the ability to pair consumption-based pricing on public Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) with your Horizon Cloud service subscription.
  • Global Footprint: From a single instance, manage deployments across Microsoft’s 40+ global data center regions.
  • Easy Deployment: Automate deployment of Horizon Cloud service components. Integration with Microsoft Azure Marketplace allows you to import a Windows Server image on which the necessary agents get automatically applied.
  • Simplified Management: Always maintain the latest version of Horizon Cloud. Self-schedule upgrades, under five minutes, for components on Microsoft Azure via Blue-Green upgrades.
  • Superior Architecture: Get a multi-tenant architecture built for the cloud, a cloud control plane separate from the data path—avoiding unnecessary latency and maintaining business continuity—and Unified Access Gateway—deployed automatically in Microsoft Azure.
  • Simple Offer: Included in one, simple offer are remote published desktops and applications, VMware Unified Access Gateway and VMware User Environment Manager.

For more information visit the VMware Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure product page.

Saturday 14 October 2017

VMware Cloud on AWS --- A Technical Deep Dive

Bring the VMware Software-Defined Data Center to Amazon Web Services with VMware Cloud. 

In this webinar we will dive into the compute, network and storage architecture of the VMware Cloud on AWS solution. 

We will look at real-world, live applications running in VMware Cloud on AWS which integrate with native AWS services such as S3 and Amazon Relational Database Service. 

We’ll discuss common deployment scenarios including Hybrid Cloud Architectures and Disaster Recovery and explore how the TCO of these implementations differ in VMware Cloud as compared to on-premises implementations.

The above is straight out of the invitation that is extended on the VMware Cloud on AWS --- A Technical Deep Dive

So, if you're free 19th October 2017 at 2PM GMT, why not sign up and have a look.

Enjoy.

Friday 13 October 2017

Virtualising Exchange Server 2016 on VMware vSphere 6.x

This week I have been delivering a Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 Administration course, to be precise the M20345-1 : Administering Microsoft Exchange Server 2016.

Exchange Server 2016 is the first version in which all the components and roles are officially supported for virtualisation.

The course covers virtualising Exchange Server 2016 on Hyper-V, but as you can imagine, not VMware.

With this in mind I decided to provide a link to the Microsoft Exchange Server on VMware vSphere Best Practices Guide.

The guide has 58 pages and comes in PDF format.

This guide provides best practice guidelines for deploying Exchange Server 2016 on vSphere. The recommendations in this guide are not specific to any particular hardware nor to the size and scope of any particular Exchange implementation. The examples and considerations in this document provide guidance but do not represent strict design requirements, because the flexibility of Exchange Server 2016 on vSphere allows for a wide variety of valid configurations.

The guide covers, configuring not only the VM that will run Microsoft Exchange Server, but also Networking, and storage best practices

Definitely worth a read.

Thursday 12 October 2017

New Release: PowerCLI 6.5.3

In my role as a VCI, as you can imagine, I run a lot of VMware courses.

At my company, we have an excellent course support team, this team ensures that on a Monday morning, I'm ready to go. They build the labs for me to utilse throughout the week.

In order to automate the process we use PowerCLI.

So, getting to the point, VMware have now released PowerCLI v6.5.3

PowerCLI 6.5.3 comes packed with the following:
  • New module for NSX-T functionality
  • Addition of a ‘Create’ method for use with the ‘Get-*Service’ cmdlets
  • Several issues have been resolved
For more information visit the following link PowerCLI Reference Site

Wednesday 11 October 2017

Free Training - VMware Network Virtualization Fundamentals 2017

One of the most talked about areas for me during my VMware courses is VMware NSX.

From a Software Defined Datacentre point of view, VMware NSX allows for the connection/networking component.

Also if we talk about VMware Cloud Foundation, or VMC on AWS, then an understanding of NSX is useful.

With all of this in mind. VMware have released a free VMware Network Virtualization Fundamentals 2017 course, click the link for more information.

The course covers the following

The VMware Network Virtualisation Fundamentals 2017 course introduces the concept of Software Defined Data Centre (SDDC).  The course is designed to introduce basic and fundamental concepts associated with SDDC, Network Virtualisation, Security, and the types of business challenges the solution solves by illustrating several use cases.


  • Describe VMware’s SDDC architecture.
  • Explain the benefits of VMware NSX network virtualisation.
  • Describe the main components, features, and services of VMware NSX.
  • Understand VMware NSX use cases (network security, IT automation, and application continuity).
Enjoy

Tuesday 10 October 2017

VMware vForum Online Fall 2017

Do you have some free time on 18th October 2017?

If the answer is yes and you are a VMware customer, or even if you're not, why not register for the VMware vForum Online Fall 2017


VMware vForum Online is a MUST-ATTEND event for IT professionals who want to learn how to lead their digital transformation by:

  • Modernizing data centers
  • Empowering digital workspaces
  • Transforming security


Why Should You Attend?

  • VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger, will share his perspective on Digital Transformation.
  • Choose from 17 technical breakouts covering today’s IT initiatives and priorities, along with customer success stories.
  • Get your IT questions answered LIVE via video with 10 Chat with Experts sessions.
  • Test drive the latest VMware solutions in 10 instructor-led Hands-on Labs.
  • Win awesome prizes including an Oculus Rift VR Goggle, an Amazon Echo, and more!
Unfortunately that day I won't be able to attend, as I'm teaching a Microsoft Azure course, if you do attend, I hope you enjoy the forum.

I've also included the link for the agenda of the forum 18th October 2017

Monday 9 October 2017

Troubleshooting vSphere 6.5 webcast from VMware

As a VCI, one of the courses that I teach is the vSphere troubleshooting course.

In this course we cover the following.

  • Use vSphere Web Client, the command-line interface, and logs to diagnose and resolve problems in the vSphere environment.
  • Introduce troubleshooting principles and procedures.
  • Troubleshoot networking problems and recover from these problems.
  • Analyze storage failure scenarios and resolve the problems.
  • Troubleshoot vSphere cluster failure scenarios and analyze possible causes.
  • Diagnose common VMware vSphere® High Availability problems and provide solutions.
  • Troubleshoot problems related to virtual machine migration (VMware vSphere vMotion) and improve resource use (VMware vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler).
  • Troubleshoot VMware vCenter Server® problems.
  • Identify VMware ESXi™ host problems, analyze failure scenarios, and correct them.
  • Troubleshoot faulty virtual machines, including installation problems, snapshot problems, connection problems, and more.
I registered for the:

Webcast:VMware vSphere 6.5 Top Issues & Troubleshooting with Feidhlim O'Leary

Also useful, produced by VMware Education Services is a list of the Questions and Answers from the webcast.

Rather a useful session.

Sunday 8 October 2017

VMUG - Webcast: How to Embrace ESX with AWS

Are you a member of the VMware Users Group (VMUG), if not, you should join.

"The VMware User Group (VMUG) is an independent, global, customer-led organization, created to maximize members' use of VMware and partner solutions through knowledge sharing, training, collaboration and events.
Join today to connect with the community and take advantage of all of the benefits of a free VMUG membership."

To join is straight forward, just go to the VMUG website

Once you've joined, then register for the Webcast: How to Embrace ESX with AWS.

The webcast takes place on 18th October. To register visit the VMUG calendar

Here's the flyer that explains what will be covered.


Saturday 7 October 2017

VMworld 2017 - VIRT1374BE - Virtualise Active Directory, the Right Way!

Not only am I a VMware Certified Instructor (VCI), I am also a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT).

From the Microsoft side of things, I specialise in Server, Exchange Server, System Center Configuration Manager and Hyper-V, including System Center Virtual Machine Manager.

From a Microsoft point of view Active Directory (AD) is quite important, and I get regular questions relating to AD virtualisation.

With that in mind I attended the:

VMworld 2017 - VIRT1374BE - Virtualise Active Directory, the Right Way!

The session is presented by Deji Akomolafe and Matt Liebowitz

Definitely worth a watch.

Friday 6 October 2017

How to build a hybrid cloud based on VMware Cloud Foundation and vRealize Suite.

As an instructor of many of the cloud technoligies, I firmly believe that most companies will not move fully to the cloud, but will instead move to a Hybrid Cloud model.

I was lucky enough to visit VMware VMworld 2017 and watch and participate in talks on hybrid cloud.

For a nice introduction to building your Hybrid Cloud, I think the following light board is worth a look:

How to build a hybrid cloud based on VMware Cloud Foundation and vRealize Suite.

Enjoy.


Thursday 5 October 2017

VMware Workstation 14 and VMware Fusion 10 now available

I use VMware workstation on a regular basis, I use it to develop VMs for production, but also use it as an education aid, I create VMs for courses I run, but also to learn new products.

Yes, I also have a fairly hefty VMware vSphere setup, but I can't really carry that on my laptop.

I've used Fusion before in the past at companies that use Microsoft Windows, but wanted a nice shiny Apple MAC sitting on the front desks.

The new versions of VMware's Client hypervisor are as follows.

VMware Workstation 14 Pro

  • Run multiple operating systems simultaneously on the same PC
  • Choose from hundreds of support Guest and Host OS's
  • Ready for the latest releases of Windows 10
  • Create restricted and expiring VMs
  • Run VMware Workstation Pro as a server to share virtual machines with others
  • Support for virtual tablet sensors including accelerometer, gyroscope and compass
  • Move and access your virtual machines easily across VMware infrastructure
VMware Fusion 10 Pro

  • Designed for MAC OS High Sierra and ready for the latest releases of Windows 10
  • Run nearly any operating system on the Mac without rebooting
  • Create linked clones to save time and disk space
  • Create custom virtual networking configurations to simulate complex web or cloud environments
  • Connect to vSphere to run, download or upload virtual machines
  • Create restricted virtual machines that can expire
For more information visit the VMware product page at the VMware Product Store

Wednesday 4 October 2017

VMworld 2017 - LHC3159SU - Accelerate the Hybrid Cloud with VMware Cloud on AWS

What we're seeing an increase of is delegates asking about Hybrid cloud, people want the security of on-premises with the flexibility of Public cloud, mash them together, we get Hybrid Cloud.

With VMware on AWS the journey to Hybrid Cloud has become an easier journey.

With the above in mind, one of the VMworld sessions that I was interested in was the:

LHC3159SU - Accelerate the Hybrid Cloud with VMware Cloud on AWS

In this session Narayan Bharadwaj and Sia Goplan discuss the hybrid could solution.

The session covers in just under 50 minutes the following topics


  • Strategy and Vision
  • Use cases
  • Solution Overview
  • Demo
  • Initial Availability
  • Consumption and Pricing
  • Questions and Answers
Enjoy

Tuesday 3 October 2017

VMware Cloud on AWS: Live End to End Demo

I've been looking at VMware Cloud on AWS since I first saw it at VMworld.

A lot of the delegates on my courses use on-premises VMware and are looking at a Hybrid Cloud Solution.

Ryan Kelly of VMware has produced a demo video of creating a VMC on AWS demo.

VMware Cloud on AWS: Live End to End Demo

He makes it look easy. Enjoy



VMware vSphere What's new 6.5 HOL

If you haven't looked at vSphere 6.5 or, if you're preparing to sit you VCP6.5-DCV exam, or if you're contemplating moving to VMC on AWS.

I'd recommend looking at the new VMware Hands on Lab for What's New in 6.5

The advantage of the Hands on Labs are, you get to play with the product from the comfort of you own home.

To sign up for the lab follow the link

Monday 2 October 2017

Moving to the Public Cloud with VMware - eBooks and papers

A lot of companies have invested in either an on-premises or private cloud, a lot of these companies wish to embrace the hybrid cloud.

However, they do not want to eliminate the investment they have already made, with this in mind it makes sense to take what they have, to take what they know and transition some of their services, with minimal fuss, and minimal learning curve.

I have used VMware product now for many years, I find them robust and easy to use.

Therefore, I like VMware's push for hybrid cloud and collaboration with the four big cloud providers.

Take a look at the following link and download the various papers and eBooks. 

  • Ready Your Environment for Public Cloud.
  • Modernize Infrastructure: Support Digital Evolution in the Multi-Cloud Era.
  • Prepare for the Public Cloud by Modernizing Your Infrastructure 
Enjoy

Sunday 1 October 2017

Introducing VMware NSX Cloud

I've been looking at VMC on AWS and as such, I can see this product being useful in order to build the Hybrid cloud, I have the flexibility of running my VMware workloads either, in my Private Cloud, or in the Public Cloud.

As networking is essential in order to access all cloud services, the following blog from VMware may be of some interest.

The Blog is entitled Introducing VMware NSX Cloud. Written by Mark Schweighardt

There's a lot more content to read and also links to the NSX Cloud product page