Month: July 2014

Tour of VMware’s vCenter Operations Manager

btrainor vCenter Operations Manager, VMware , ,

As a former network operations guy, I came to depend on the ability to monitor systems, view capacity and performance metrics and have all relevant information at my fingertips when troubleshooting. As a VMware administrator, it was ideal to have all this information in one place. That’s why I came to love VMware vCenter Operations Manager (vCOps) – the one monitoring solution built by the engineers who built the cornerstone virtualization platform in most enterprise environments today.

Sure there are other monitoring solutions out there for vSphere – some much simpler than vCOps – but the depth of visibility, gathered metrics, capacity planning and reporting gained by vCOps make it a hard-to-beat solution. Of course with the exhaustive array of graphs, tables and dashboards, it can be a bit intimidating and might even send some folks off to those simpler solutions. For this reason, I decided to provide an online tour of the features and capabilities of VMware’s robust solution and show how to maximize its usage. This will be a series of posts published over the next few weeks, the first of which will be a quick start guide to installing vCOps and getting it up and running. Before I publish that post, however, here is an extensive list of official VMware resources as well as some other fantastic resources provided by folks in the community to get anyone started. Hope you find this useful.

Downloads

Product and Support

VMware Training

Third-Party Resources

 

Lessons Learned from the Halls of VMworld

btrainor VMworld

Last week, Session Builder for VMworld 2014 went live. This is always an exciting time of year and seems to mark the beginning of the highly anticipated ramp-up to the conference. This is when I start to ponder what each day will look like, what I’ll be focusing and how I’ll utilize my time. There is so much crammed into this conference: general sessions, breakout sessions, hands-on-labs, Solutions Exchange, Hang Space, Tech Talks, media events, conference events, customer appreciation events… the list goes on. Many attendees will run non-stop from early morning to… early morning. This will be my fifth VMworld this year (wow – five years!) and I must admit, I’m still trying to figure out how to squeeze everything I want to accomplish into five very fast days. But I have learned a few things that I can share to get the most out of this event.

Put off today what you can do tomorrow

This is the biggest lesson I’ve learned.  And no, I’m not promoting procrastination. What I am promoting is prioritizing one’s time based on what is available after the show and what is not. The breakout sessions and hands-on-labs make up the biggest draw for conference attendees and obviously create the central focus of training at the event. But the recordings of most of the sessions and even the labs will be available online after the event. We’ll have the opportunity to take them at our leisure at any time. These are absolutely incredible training resources, but if we’re spending all of our time focusing on them during the show, we’re missing out on other activities that will not be available once the show is over, such as all the incredible networking opportunities (see below).

Just an added personal note – I’ve spent year after year trying to figure out my breakout session schedule, and it never fails that I end up switching around my sessions at the last second. I often end up in one session and then I spend part of that session second guessing my choice for the next session and thus missing out on some of the content in the session I’m currently in. This year, I plan to minimize that.  I will still make it to a select number of these sessions, but it will primarily be to hear a particular speaker or pick up information on a critical topic. Otherwise, I will be spending more time in the Hang Space or on the Solutions Exchange floor meeting up with other folks and chatting with product experts. I’ve discovered that some of the best education takes place one-on-one. And those opportunities cannot be put off until tomorrow.

Speak up

As I said, some of the best ideas will come from our conversations with our peers and experts in the industry.  Advice to anyone: Spend time in the Hang Space, talk to your neighbor while dining or in the breakout sessions, attend the customer appreciation events… It really pays to strike up the conversation. It’s so much more enjoyable when we connect with others and there is so much to learn from our peers’ experience in the trenches. But we need to open our mouths. For introverts like me, this can be uncomfortable, but there are so many attending that would welcome a conversation and would love to share what they’re doing in the data center. Feel free to approach a speaker after a session. They love to share what they’re doing and what has worked for them. And take full advantage of the industry experts in the Solutions Exchange. That’s why they’re there!

Tweet up

I joined Twitter prior to VMworld several years ago and quickly discovered the real value of this social media outlet.  I realized that so many announcements and insights come across the Twitter feeds. It’s also a great way to connect with other folks at the event. So many folks have conversed on Twitter and then come to meet each other in real life at the conference. “Tweetups” for example, are informal gatherings where those active on Twitter meet up and enjoy the real face to face interaction. You can find a list of folks here who will be tweeting from the event. Or you can simply follow hash tags such as #VMworld or the hash tag for a particular session. These hash tags are usually listed with the description of the session in the Content Catalog. There is so much to be discovered by simply following the constant feed during the show.

Get comfy

Wear comfortable shoes. I hear this over and over again, but it’s solid advice. You’ll be on the move for 16-18+ hours each day. Wear what’s most comfortable while still being professional.

Travel lightly

This goes with dressing comfortably.  Leave the bulky laptop in the hotel.  I know we’re IT pros and need to stay connected.  There are no user workstations these days at the conference so if we want to get online to solve a problem back at the office, we need our laptop to connect.  I get it and I’ve been there.  However, if you have a light-weight laptop like a MacBook Air, make that your companion or even a simple tablet.  There’s nothing like lugging the extra weight of a huge laptop when you’re on the go from 7AM-7PM.  And there’s not as much room for all the trinkets.  Of course, if your hotel room is a block away, that helps if you need to run back and hop online.

Keep home base close by

This has been another huge lesson for me. This will be the third year I’ll be staying at the Mosser Hotel, just a block from Moscone West. I love the convenience of the super short walking distance from my hotel to the event. I will warn anyone though, the rooms are tiny and if you go with the economy class, you will be sharing a bathroom with your hall mates. But if you need to drop off an overloaded bag of swag or retrieve something during the day, it pays to have your room just two minutes away.

By the way, I find it interesting that this hotel is never on the list of recommended hotels with the reduced conference rate. However, here’s a secret tip: Year after year, I’ve been able to get a cheaper rate at the Mosser than the conference rates for the other nearby hotels. Granted there are a couple more convenient options like the Mariott right across the street, but the cost is at least 2-3x the nightly rate. The lower rate at the Mosser helps me get the budget approval for this trip each year. Another trick I use is booking my room early in the year (Jan-Feb) before the rates start going up. I know that if I end up not going, I can always cancel with no penalty. I just wish I could do that with airfare too!

Party on

There is something going on every night of the conference (besides Thursday) – the official list of community gatherings and events can be found here. Take part and register for these events early as some of the more popular events will get sold out (like the hugely popular VMunderground event, traditionally held on Sunday night before the conference gets under full swing). These are additional great networking events and of course allow us to unwind after a day of hard training and “drinking from the fire hose”. A couple big notes of caution: be professional and exercise moderation. Believe me, you will need the physical and mental stamina the following day.

Roam around

Finally, making the most out of this trip means getting out on the town.  I always try to venture out to explore after the show is over.  What a great way to wind down.  San Francisco is a neat city.  It’s a little shabby in spots but so rich in character and history. The Wharf, Alcatraz, Embarcadero, Coit Tower, Golden Gate Bridge, trolley rides… there are so many sites to see and things to do.  It’s not a complete trip to San Fran without hitting some of these spots.  And for the family, Crystal Lowe has organized Spousetivities each year — exciting activities around town for spouses, family and friends of conference attendees.  This has been a tremendous success each year and has really gained quite the following.

So there it is.  Just a few lessons I’ve learned over the years to get the most out of every minute at VMworld. Although, in the end, you really can’t go wrong with whatever you do. There is so much to take in and there’s no way to leave at the end of the week without a gathering a massive amount of knowledge to take back to your team at the office. It’s just an awesome event and it keeps getting bigger and better each year.  Can’t wait!

Quick change of course – OK to quit?

btrainor Uncategorized

In listening to the latest VUPaas podcast, “GS is Quitting”, I had an epiphany.  GS Khalsa was sharing his decision to drop his pursuit of VCDX to focus on other priorities in his career.  He and Chris Wahl discussed the rationale and benefit of pulling back on goals when they no longer make sense at a particular time.  This discussion was well timed for me as I’ve been putting heavy pressure on myself to knock out certain goals that are not necessarily the wildly important goals for me right now.  I actually felt like someone was giving me permission to set aside these goals to focus on the bigger picture and certainly some more pressing targets.  This was my epiphany – that it’s OK to put a looming goal on hold for awhile if it doesn’t make sense to pursue it at the moment.  So, I’m about to make a quick course change to adapt to my current situation.

In my last post I shared my goal of completing my CCNA R&S in the next few weeks and then preparing my pursuit of the CCNA Data Center track.  I’ve been talking up this year as “The Year of the Network”.  I had in mind some lofty certification goals for this year that included the CCNA certs, along with others such as my NCDA and VCAP-DCD.  The only way to stay on track with these goals was to keep knocking them out in quick succession.  The CCNA certs were especially important with my increased exposure and focus on data center networking.  However, at this point I’m going to put all of that on hold for just a little while.  I realize I have other priorities to focus on that are primarily centered on the fact that VMworld 2014 is just around the corner.  Let me explain.

VMworld is all about virtualization and the VMware ecosystem.  Sure, software defined networking and NSX were all the buzz last year and looks to be this year as well, so my bolstered  network stance will be a huge help.  But in a desire to keep up with the quickly changing landscape of virtualization and VMware’s product line, I feel the need to focus on several other specific areas over the next couple months:

  • VMware’s new products – Did you hear the latest vSphere Beta is available to the general public?  I have not had the luxury of test driving the beta of previous versions so this will be exciting.  I’m hoping to dig into it and share my own thoughts about it once VMware makes public announcements of it (maybe at VMworld?).  I also would like to make sure I’m well versed in the fundamentals of some of their other products like VSAN, vCAC and NSX to get the most out of information presented around these products.
  • VMware ecosystem – I’ve been spending a lot of time lately speaking with VMware Technology Partners.  Working for a consulting organization and VMware partner, we are always looking for ways to provide more value to our customers.  There are some excellent tools and products offered by third party companies that are truly impressive and assist in the performance and management of the virtual infrastructure.  The more I’m exposed to these offerings, the more I can bring these to the table for our customers.  This will also be a huge help as I will meet most of these companies again on the Solutions Exchange floor at VMworld.  As a partner, I am mindful that my purpose for being at VMworld is gathering information that can be translated into solutions for our customers.  The more in tune I am with the players and products in the ecosystem, the better the conversations and thus, the better information gathered.
  • vBrownbag Techtalks – I’m super excited about this.  I submitted a session topic for the vBrownbag TechTalks and hope to be selected this year.  I know competition is probably fierce since mass numbers of folks had their VMworld session submissions denied and they are likely looking at other outlets to share.  I am a quiet voice in the community so I might not make the cut amidst these much more well known names, but I at least am going to be ready to go.  I have what I believe is a neat topic integrating vCOps with vCO.  I love these products and I want to make sure I have a strong presentation ready to go if selected.

These goals along with some other bigger picture priorities around family and health have helped me reconsider and refocus my energies.  In life, we often need to make these directional changes based on our priorities and current circumstances, whether they be life events, workload, changing environment, feedback from our current direction, or simply new information.  Life moves too quickly so the faster we can make these course alterations and adapt to new circumstances, the better we can keep up and still enjoy a more balanced life.

The Year of the Network

btrainor Uncategorized

I’ve shared a couple times in previous weeks how much I’m impressed with the Cisco Learning Network.  It was just recently that I started my own journey to beef up my networking skill set and also validate what I already knew.  I’ve been working in data center environments for over fifteen years but I’ve been primarily a “systems guy”.  Networking was in a separate silo and thus handled by network engineers.  I’ve long had two of the three classic pillars of IT infrastructure covered: compute and storage.  I just needed to complete the foundation by tackling the third pillar, the network.  So, earlier this year, I decided to dub this year, “The Year of the Network” and thus, I set out to work on my Cisco certifications.  I thought it especially important since I work for an IT consulting organization and just about every customer engagement I’ve been on has required a strong understanding of networking.  And with my company being a strong Cisco partner, it made no sense to not have the foundational skills or certifications in place.

I believe my situation is fairly similar to many others in the industry.  Even with virtualization helping to break down many of the silos in our data centers, we still find that the silos still persist and are ever prevalent.  It seems that many VMware admins know networking as far as the Standard and Distributed vSwitch in vSphere.  Sure, we’ve had to learn about VLANs and load distribution across physical NICs, but what goes on internally on the physical switch and/or router has remained behind the curtain.  We might know the OSI layers and basic TCP/IP addressing; heck we had to know that to get Microsoft certified.  But how does one configure a VLAN, troubleshoot Spanning Tree Protocol, or even provision an EtherChannel?  It seems that this understanding might be lacking, but is ever so important for today’s virtual data center engineer to grasp.  That might explain why we see industry experts helping to fill that gap.  Take for example the recent book by Chris Wahl and Steven Pantol, “Networking for VMware Administrators” or the vBrownBag crew running through the Cisco certification track on their weekly podcast.  There is a reason these resources have been popping up and have been so popular.

So, I personally have been pursing the CCNA Routing and Switching certification.  I’m just a few weeks from achieving that milestone (yes, this late in my career), at which point I’ll set a schedule to pursue the CCNA Data Center track.  I’ve actually been more involved in UCS and Nexus engagements, but I wanted to make sure I had the routing and switching fundamentals down cold before trekking down the data center path.  I’ve been primarily studying Todd Lammle’s book, “CCNA Routing and Switching Study Guide“, supplemented with the great networking courses from Pluralsight.com.  However, I also just recently came across the Cisco Learning Network and am blown away by the sheer volume of content on this site as well as access to a huge community of folks on the same path.  What an amazing site for anyone pursuing a Cisco certification or even just looking to learn some new concepts.  I’ll be doing a separate post on this, but I just wanted to give a quick shout out to these folks.  Well done!

I’ll continue to share my thoughts as I work down this path.