Be on the lookout for Part 3 of my Morpheus series. It’s in the works!
I will be giving my Single-Touch, Production-Ready ESXi Rollouts in Minutes with Ansible [HCP1705] talk at VMworld as an on-demand session. Here’s a rare selfie on set just before filming:
The 50-minute session had to be done as a single take, so there’s no “let’s do that again . . . this time with feeling!”.
I meticulously rehearsed everything except where I put my water bottle (spoiler alert, I drop it . . . . twice). So, it will give you some “easter eggs” to look for in the session.
What I am Attending (Virtually)
Here’s what I am looking to attend, in no particular order:
- vROPS Cloud? Why not?
- vSphere 7 What’s New? Of course! Let’s study our craft.
- Anything related to ESXi because I am an ESXi Nerd? I will take me some of that, too. Any other ESXi nerds out there? . . . . . Nobody? . . . . OK then . . . .
- Anything Multi-Cloud or Hybrid Cloud adjacent? You betcha.
- VCF? Bring it on.
But the one I am really looking forward to, is Birds of a Feather Roundtable: Skills Modernization for the VI Admin-Take the First Step using the VMware Event Broker Appliance [ETPD2705]. I saw William Lam’s talk on the VMware Event Broker Appliance (VEBA) last year and I am glad this is still a thing. It’s a Fling, but I am hoping it will be released as a supported offering by VMware.
To me, VEBA is one of the most exciting things VMware has going. Event-driven automation based on defined actions in vCenter? Yes, please.
That Roundtable is Premiere Pass only . . . which I have because I am like, somewhat cool . . . and stuff. . . . Sort of.
Saving Kubernetes for Last Because . . . RANT
So, let’s see here . . . what else do I want to attend this year . . . . hmmmm . . . . oh yeah! . . . . EHRMERGERD KURBERNERTES! I will take some of that too . . . but . . .
Earlier this year, I had some criticism tongue-in-cheek remarks about VMware and its marketing of K8s, mainly that they are over-hyping their solution as “revolutionary”, and it seems like VMware thinks its implementation of Kubernetes will freaking cure cancer.
I stand by those remarks. But, for the record I hope I am wrong.
I mean, I get it, some of that hype is for non-technical suits who gobble that stuff up. But in technical sessions where VMware talks about its approach being “revolutionary,” as an experienced VI Admin I don’t like being treated like I am a nub-cake Admin who doesn’t know anything about Kubernetes.
It’s condescending.
Or, at the very least, VMware representatives come across as naive about it, like they just found out about Kubernetes last week.
I will admit wholeheartedly that I am not what would be considered an “experienced” Kubernetes admin, but Kubernetes is not freaking rocket science. It’s is a cool technology, don’t get me wrong, but sober minds treat it with a healthy dose of furrowed-brow skepticism and treat it like another tool in the toolbox.
VMware, I love you, which is exactly why I am giving you some constructive criticism. I am going to give you the same advice I give every vendor when they pitch me something:
Don’t try to sell me the stuff I can read about in your product description. I do my homework. I read all product descriptions from you and your competitors. If you have features that are shared with your competitors, those things aren’t revolutionary.
Show me both the thing nobody else does and the thing I don’t know I need yet and I am sold. What are you offering with Kubernetes that blows everyone else out of the water? So far, everything I have seen I can get elsewhere, so what have you got?
Maybe the one thing you may be able to tout is vSphere Pods (a.k.a. “Native” Pods), but I am not sure that’s compelling outside of VMware-land.
I hope I am wrong about this. If you have something compelling with K8s that no one else can do, I will blog about it and eat my crow. I promise.
I will “see” you at VMworld!
Hit me up on twitter @RussianLitGuy or email me at bryansullins@thinkingoutcloud.org. I would love to hear from you.
Thinking Out Cloud 