My Top 10 Sessions @ VMworld 2021

This years VMworld is again a fully virtual event like it was last year. The online event will take place from 5th to 7th October depending on your timezone and region. You can register for free for the “General Pass”, the “Tech+ Pass” is $299. See the passes, benefits and features here. I have decided to mainly focus on DevOps and Kubernetes Sessions among some others. Perhaps you find some inspiration in my session selection or just browse the Content Catalog and find your own personal sessions.

Get Started with vSphere with Tanzu [MCL1648]

Session description:

This session will introduce VMware vSphere admins to vSphere with VMware Tanzu. We will go over the requirements and set up a basic configuration so admins can deploy a VMware Tanzu Kubernetes cluster and application. This session will also cover the latest and greatest changes in vSphere with Tanzu configuration and management. If you’re a vSphere admin who is just getting started with Kubernetes, this is a great session to take.

Michael Foley, Staff Technical Marketing Architect, VMware

The Fast Path to Kubernetes with VMware Tanzu [APP1630]

Session description:

VMware has thousands of customers embracing the power of Kubernetes through its powerful integrations with VMware vSphere. VMware Tanzu Basic is the foundational building block for having a production-ready Kubernetes infrastructure using products such as vSphere with Tanzu, VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid, Harbor, and VMware NSX Advanced Load Balancer. VMware Tanzu Standard builds on this with more key technologies to enable fleet-wide management. This session will explore the VMware Tanzu portfolio and go over the process of starting from scratch to having your first application running on a VMware Tanzu Kubernetes cluster. You will leave with an understanding of the core concepts and technology used to enable VI admins and developers to use Kubernetes on vSphere.

Kendrick Coleman, Sr. Technical Marketing Manager, VMware

Deep Dive on vSphere with Tanzu Updates [APP2063]

Session description:

vSphere with Tanzu has made it easy for vSphere administrators to modernize their apps. In this session, we would review the components involved in the update process such as Supervisor Cluster, namespaces and Tanzu Kubernetes Clusters. We would also discuss how the update workflow varies depending on the type of deployment that you have in your setup. The session also covers some common tools and includes best practices to simplify the overall update process.

Karthik Balachandran, Staff Technical Support Engineer, VMware

The Future of VM Provisioning – Enabling VM Lifecycle Through Kubernetes [APP1564]

Session description:

In this session, you will learn where we are today with VM provisioning and where we are going. You will learn about the new VM service built into VMware vSphere with VMware Tanzu and how it can enable you to include VM-based workloads in your modern applications while still using Kubernetes APIs to deploy, configure and manage them. Additionally, you will learn how to get involved in the project and influence the roadmap as we talk about the open source initiative behind it and community-first development.

Myles Gray, Staff Technical Marketing Architect, VMware
Nikitha Suryadevara, Product Line Manager, VMware

App Modernization Deep Dive with VMware Cloud on AWS and VMware Tanzu [MCL2290]

Session description:

Application modernization is top of mind for all enterprises that want to deliver value to their customers quickly. However, many organizations struggle to begin their application modernization journey due to a variety of reasons including legacy systems, lack of knowledge of the application, and application dependencies. In this session we will show how organizations can leverage VMware Tanzu and VMware Cloud on AWS to discover, analyze, and map dependencies, convert to containers and ultimately deploy a modernized application on an API driven infrastructure, while still realizing the TCO benefits that come with VMware Cloud on AWS.

William Lam, Senior Staff Solution Architect, VMware

VMware vSAN – Dynamic Volumes for Traditional and Modern Applications [MCL1084]

Session description:

In this session, Duncan and Cormac will explore the possibilities of using VMware vSAN for traditional virtual machine applications as well as new modern/containerized applications. They will look at how vSAN continues to evolve and at some of the more recent features. In particular, they will discuss vSAN File Service, which can now be used to deliver both NFS and SMB file shares, while continuing to offer block storage at the same time. They will also demonstrate how vSAN File Service integrates with the VMware vSphere container storage interface (CSI) in Kubernetes to dynamically provision read-write-many volumes for Pods that need shared storage. The session will incorporate some common how-tos, best practices, and gotchas to avoid to enable you with the smoothest experience possible with vSAN File Service.

Duncan Epping, Chief Technologist, VMware
Cormac Hogan, Chief Technologist, VMware

Automate and Improve Day 2 Operations with vSphere Lifecycle Manager [MCL1274]

Session description:

VMware vSphere Lifecycle Manager enhances the way administrators plan and execute VMware ESXi lifecycle operations. Reducing the amount of time required to update and upgrade your systems is imperative as the number of systems and environments grow. This talk details the features and capabilities of vSphere Lifecycle Manager, including newly added support for VMware NSX-T and VMware Tanzu. If you are looking to further automate vSphere Lifecycle Manager with VMware PowerCLI, we will provide the information and examples needed to get started. vSphere lifecycle management has never been easier.

Niels Hagoort, Staff Technical Marketing Architect, VMware
Jatin Purohit, Sr. Technical Marketing Manager, VMware

Live Coding: Terraforming Your vSphere Environment [CODE2755]

Session description:

Infrastructure as code is the process of managing infrastructure in a file or a set of files rather than manually configuring resources in a user interface. This session is going to take a live look at how to make the process of getting starting with infrastructure as code in a VMware vSphere environment as easy as possible using HashiCorp Terraform, the de facto standard for infrastructure as code.

Kyle Ruddy, Sr Technical Marketing Manager, HashiCorp

Manage Kubernetes Across Multiple Clouds [APP1187]

Session description:

As your organization adopts containers and Kubernetes, the number of teams, clusters and environments can easily accelerate beyond your control. You will need a way to better meet your development team’s needs while maintaining control of security, compliance and cost. Join this session to learn about VMware Tanzu Mission Control, a centralized Kubernetes management platform for operating and better securing your Kubernetes clusters across teams and clouds. We will show you how to centrally operate and manage Kubernetes clusters across multiple clouds with Tanzu Mission Control, and also discuss key capabilities, such as policy management, data protection, security and configuration inspections.

Keith Lee, Staff Technical Marketing Architect, VMware
Eryn Muetzel, Senior Director, Product Management, VMware

Unleashing the Power of Event-Driven Automation [VI2622]

Session description:

When the VMware Event Broker Appliance was released at VMworld three years ago, the growth and interest from the community was beyond our wildest imagination. This session kicks off by reflecting on the key milestones achieved by our great community over the past years. The VMware Event Broker Appliance would not exist without you. We will explore real-world use cases and share how users have leveraged the VMware Event Broker Appliance, from automating simple day-to-day tasks to running complex event-driven workflows. We will also share the progress that has been made to easily embrace event-driven automation in your VMware infrastructure along with some of the learnings and feedback from the community that have directly influenced VMware’s product engineering. Come join us and be part of the event-driven revolution.

William Lam, Senior Staff Solution Architect, VMware
Michael Gasch, Staff Engineer, VMware