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Yesterday it was announced that VMware and Amazon Web Services are partnering to provide vSphere’s hypervisor and toolsets on the AWS platform. Since this time there have been plenty of articles written questioning the motives of both parties involved and whether or not one of these two companies is going to regret this partnership. I invite you to read other perspectives on this and a few of them are listed here: Cloud Opinion, Enrico Signoretti, Frank Denemman (VMware), Jeff Barr (AWS) and there will be more. ...

The Chicago chapter of VMware Users Group had it’s annual conference at the Rosemont Convention Center on Thursday of last week and it was again a success thanks in no small part to the VMUG corporate team. Over six hundred people walked through the doors to experience sponsored sessions, community sessions, keynotes from Kit Colbert and Phoummala Schmidt, as well as plenty of other fun things. This was the fourth official Chicago VMUG Conference that I’ve attended as a member of the leadership team. This was also my final event as a leader. Typically I use this blog as a place to post technical information but in this case I felt that it is important to reflect on the importance of what this group meant to me. ...

Today Rubrik announced the release of their latest version of the Rubrik Cloud Data Management (RCDM) operating system and this one has some really neat enhancements. If you’re not familiar with Rubrik, and hate managing backups, then you really should take a closer look at them. Their Cloud Data Management Platform makes managing backups a very simple task. Think Apple’s Time Machine, only for your data center. The latest version of their operating system is named “Firefly”, instead of having a boring old number distinction like 2.0. I’m told that future versions will also be named in a similar fashion around a bio-luminescence naming scheme. So if you’re not into fireflies, just hang tight for the Angler fish version which I’m speculating will be next. ...

It’s about time to head to the US VMworld conference again and this year its in Las Vegas Nevada. VMworld is always a time that is full of excitement for virtualization junkies. Will there be new product announcements that will disrupt the established virtual design principles? Will a new product vendor make a big splash at the event? Can I learn brand new ways to enable my company? All of these questions spread the anticipation for the event. ...

Following the posts in order, this guide should help you to understand and get familiar with Microsoft Azure. This is a guide to getting started with Azure that you can build upon to deploy your own public cloud environment. Azure Accounts and Subscriptions Azure Active Directory Integration Azure Resource Groups Setup Azure Networks Azure Network Security Groups Create Azure VPN Connection Azure Storage Accounts Setup Azure PowerShell Azure Virtual Machine Deployment Azure Network Interfaces Azure Cloud Services Azure Scale Sets Understanding the Multiple Azure Portals Using Azure Automation Microsoft Azure Official Links Azure Resource Manager Portal - https://portal.azure.com Azure Classic Portal - http://manage.windowsazure.com Microsoft Azure Documentation and Resources - https://azure.microsoft.com ...

Its a hot buzzword these days and probably on a lot of people’s Linkedin Profile as well. The idea that you are an engineer that knows many things about many different silos of technology. You’re the guy that can break down those walls between storage, networking, servers, cloud and all these specific disciplines. Companies are finding lots of value in these type of engineers who can see the big picture, but just remember there are a few caveats that come with this job function. ...

As some of you may know, I recently obtained the VMware Certified Design Expert - Cloud Management and Automation (VCDX-CMA) certification. This was the second VCDX that I’ve earned, the first of which being in Data Center Virtualization (DCV). This is a pretty difficult process and less than 250 people globally have the distinction of VCDX at this time. There are 4 unique tracks that a VCDX can be earned in, seen below and abbreviated as DCV, EUC, NV, CMA. ...

Today Rubrik announced not only their new 2.2 code base, but also a brand new appliance that is heavily focused towards environments requiring higher levels of security. r528 Hybrid Cloud Appliance Today Rubrik has announced their new r528 Hybrid Cloud appliance that has a serious focus on ensuring that data breaches don’t come from your backup solution. How does it help prevent breaches you might ask? Encrypt everything. First the r528 “brik”, as they call their appliances, encrypts the backups in flight between your vCenter server and the Rubrik appliance. Once the data gets to the appliance, it is placed onto its FIPS 140-2 Level 2 Self Encrypting Drives (SEDs). Its important to note that since Rubrik chose not to do encryption through their Operating System, but rather at the hardware level, there is virtually no performance hit for encryption. ...

Jenkins is a Continuous Integration / Continuous Development (CI/CD) tool that can be used to deploy code and test it based on a schedule, triggered by a commit in GIT or after other jobs have been completed. Jobs can all be kicked off manually. The pages below might help you to get familiar with Jenkins and how it could be leveraged in an organization. Jenkins Installation Create Jenkins Project Add Jenkins Nodes Test PowerCLI Code Commit Code to GIT to Trigger Job Use vRealize Automation with Jenkins Integrate Jenkins with vRealize Code Stream

I had some extra materials left over from a home improvement project I had been working on and decided to put them to use on a custom made rack for my lab. My requirements for the rack design were pretty simple. Hold my equipment Make it somewhat portable Needed to be able to work on the equipment from both the front and the back side Able to discretely hide cabling Here is what I came up with. It’s a set of three shelves attached to four posts. The posts in the back are longer because I thought I might add some additional patch paneling in the back. The rack is built on top of casters so I can roll the lab to a different area of my basement if I need to move it’s location for some reason. ...