Unexplored Territory

I recently recorded a podcast episode with Johan and Jeffrey for their podcast, When Shit Hits The Fan. It was a fantastic conversation, which I wanted to share with all of you. As such I asked Johan if I could crosspost it. Make sure to subscribe to the WSHTF podcast channel (Apple, Spotify) , as it has some fantastic stories from various fantastic guests!Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom, VMware by Broadcom, or SAP.

⁠For this episode I decided to invite Johan van Amersfoort to discuss with us his experiences at NVIDIA GTC, Kubecon London, and of course the Dutch VMUG. Or should we say, the start of event season? Johan shared countless of updates and videos on LinkedIn, make sure to check those out while you are at it!Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom, VMware by Broadcom, or SAP.

Recently Broadcom announced that vSAN ESA support for SAP HANA was introduced. Erik Rieger is Broadcom's Principal SAP Global Technical Alliance Manager and Architect, and as such I invited him on the show to go over what this actually means, and why this is important for customers!For more details make sure to check:SAP note 3406060 – SAP HANA on VMware vSphere 8 and vSAN 8 for details.SAP HANA and VMware support pagesSAP HANA on HCI powered by vSANvSphere and SAP HANA best practicesDisclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom, VMware by Broadcom, or SAP.

Recently a new white paper was released on the topic of latency-sensitive workloads. I invited Mark Achtemichuck (X, LinkedIn) to the show to go over the various recommendations and best practices. Mark highlight many important configuration settings, and also recommends everyone to not only read the white paper, but also the vSphere 8 performance documentation. Also, his VMware Explore session comes highly recommended, make sure to watch it!Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

Recently VMware Data Services Manager 2.2 was released, so I had to invite my good friend Cormac Hogan to discuss all the enhancements we introduced to an already great product. Of course, we also discussed the Tech Preview for the Object Storage Service, which enables you to deploy MinIO at scale! Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In episode 091 of the Unexplored Territory Podcast we have Ravi Soundararajan as a guest to discuss all things performance. There's a reason Ravi's name on X is "vCenterPerfGuy". Ravi has been involved in performance troubleshooting and engineering for the longest time, and shares his insights in some of the most recent findings with regards to vSphere Tagging and the API performance. Ravi also discusses vCenter bandwidth requirements and some of the vCenter task limits there are in place. Make sure to listen to this episode from start to finish!Some papers discussed:https://www.vmware.com/docs/vcenter80u3-tagging-perfhttps://www.vmware.com/docs/robo-vcenter67-perfhttps://www.vmware.com/docs/vc6-perf-bpDisclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

It has been a while since we discussed edge computing, so I figured I would ask one of our local Solution Architects to join me to share his knowledge and experience. Raymond Lucassen is involved in most of VMware's/Broadcom's larger edge projects, and shares some very interesting insights in this, for many, unexplored area of technology.Mentioned documents or links:Raymonds Explore SlidedeckSiemens Edge HostEdge and AI / MLDisclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

Some of you have seen these new certifications popping up, VCP-VVF and VCP-VCF. I asked Bart Peeters, who recently took both the Admin exams, as well as the VCF architect exam, to talk us through his experience and some of his insights. Discussed on the podcast:VMUG Advantage with free exam voucher detailsVCP-VVF Admin experienceVCP-VCF Admin experienceVCP-VCF Architect experienceVCF CourseExam pricing announcement Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

Over the last few years stretched environments have been extremely popular amongst vSAN and VMware Cloud Foundation customers. The storage is the easy part, the network is usually where it gets more complex. To discuss the best practices, requirements, and caveats I invited Paudie O'Riordan to the show to share his knowledge and expertise! Explore session: VMware vSAN Stretched Clusters and VMware Cloud Foundation: What's Changed, What's New vSAN Stretched Cluster Guide vSAN Stretched PoC Guide Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

For episode 087 of the podcast, I invited Deji Akomolafe to the show to discuss Microsoft on VMware VCF and vSphere. Deji shares his experiences virtualizing and running Microsoft apps on top of VCF and vSphere and discusses some of the best practices and constraints. Whitepapers and tools discussed in the episode: Protecting mission critical workloads with Live Site Recovery Microsoft SQL on vSphere best practices Diskspd for bench Explore session - Improving Workload Availability Using vMotion Application Notification Explore session - Architecting Your Microsoft SQL Server Workloads on VMware Cloud Foundation Explore session - Improving Workloads Availability on VCF with vMotion Apps Notification Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In episode 086 of the podcast, we discuss the most recent VCF 9 and vSAN 9 storage and data protection announcements with Pete Koehler. These announcements were made at VMware Explore 2024, and in my opinion, will bring both vSAN and VCF to the next level. During the discussion, we mentioned the following YouTube videos, which demonstrate the capabilities that are planned for vSAN and VCF 9: vSAN Site Take Over and Site Maintenance vSAN to vSAN Native Replication VCF Federated Storage Views And as promised links to Johan's podcast called "When shit hits the fan" or "In de aap gelogeerd", subscribe now to automatically get the upcoming episodes which will be in English! (Spotify, Apple, Website) Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In this episode, Johan shares his exhilarating experience climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, discussing the physical and mental challenges faced during the ascent. Frank then transitions into explaining his new role focusing on Private AI, detailing the importance of providing efficient tools for data scientists. The conversation wraps up with reflections on the podcast journey, including changes in roles and the impact of their discussions.TakeawaysJohan climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with friends and colleagues.The climb involved significant physical and mental preparation.Summit day was the biggest challenge due to altitude and cold.Teamwork was crucial in overcoming challenges during the climb.Frank transitioned to a new role overseeing Private AI development.Private AI aims to unblock data scientists with efficient tools.The podcast has evolved over time with various guests and formats.Editing and preparation were significant challenges in podcasting.Listener engagement has been a rewarding aspect of the podcast.The team is looking forward to future projects and changes.In the upcoming weeks, we will be figuring out how (if) we go forward. We will inform you about this as soon as possible via our social channels. Stay subscribed for now, as we will probably continue to use this channel!Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

Brandon Frost shares his experience with memory tiering and the use of Intel Optane in his large private cloud environment. He explains how memory tiering helped optimize memory usage and reduce costs by offloading cold memory to a non-active tier. He also discusses the challenges of upgrading memory and the benefits of using NVMe-based tiering. Brandon expresses his interest in Project Peaberry, a memory tiering offloading card, and its potential use cases. He highlights the importance of his team in developing capacity data gathering and analytics solutions.Takeaways:Memory tiering helps optimize memory usage and reduce costs by offloading cold memory to a non-active tier.Using NVMe-based tiering provides flexibility and scalability in memory allocation.Project Peaberry, a memory tiering offloading card, offers potential benefits in terms of performance and cost-effectiveness.Effective capacity planning requires robust data gathering and analytics solutions.Brandon Frost emphasizes the importance of his team in developing and implementing memory optimization strategies.Links:VMware Explore session by Brandon and Arvind on memory tieringMemory Tiering blog on vmware.comDisclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

VMware Explore 2024 in Las Vegas is a wrap. The team was present and will give you the opportunity to get an idea what the show was like. You will hear large number of guests covering some of the announcements, some specific aspects of the conference (like the Hands-on Labs), but also some of the vendors on the expo. The episode contains the following topics:The future of VMUG with Brad TompkinsA hands-on labs tour with Brandon Bazan and Joshua SchneeSpring One and Spring AI with DaShaun CarterVCF and AI at VMware Explore with Stephen WagnerEUC and 10zig with Kevin GreenwayGoogle Cloud with Simon LongMicrosoft AVS with Rene van den BedemOVH Cloud with Pascal JailonPure & Stretched vVols with Cody HostermanIf you like to watch one of the sessions mentioned, check out William Lam's Github page:https://github.com/lamw/vmware-explore-2024-session-urls/blob/master/vmware-explore-us.mdDisclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

Arvind Jagannath, a platform product manager at Broadcom, discusses memory tiering and its benefits for customers with Duncan. He explains that enterprise applications are becoming more memory-bound and require better performance. Memory tiering helps address the CPU to memory imbalance that many customers face, allowing for better CPU utilization and reducing costs. Arvind also mentions the challenges of expanding memory and the need for a solution like memory tiering. He introduces Project Capitola, which has evolved into NVMe-based memory tiering, and discusses the benefits and recommendations for using NVMe devices. Arvind also touches on the integration of memory tiering with advanced vSphere features like DRS and HA, and hints at future developments with Project Peaberry and CXL. TakeawaysEnterprise applications are becoming more memory-bound and require better performance.Memory tiering helps address the CPU to memory imbalance and improves CPU utilization.NVMe-based memory tiering provides additional memory capacity and reduces costs.Integration with advanced vSphere features like DRS and HA is being developed.Future developments include Project Peaberry and the use of CXL for intelligent devices.LinksExplore Session - Memory Tiering: Power Your Server Infrastructure With Memory Innovations [VCFB1198LV]Yellow-Bricks.com - Memory Tiering BlogSNIA Recording on Memory Tiering and CXL accelerators Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In this conversation, Katarina Brookfield discusses her career trajectory and her current role at Broadcom. She shares defining moments in her career, including her experience working on the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology project. The conversation then shifts to the newly announced vSphere IaaS control plane and its benefits. Katarina explains that the control plane provides a comprehensive solution for deploying workloads, including additional services like storage provisioning and load balancing. The conversation also covers the self-service nature of the control plane, the different interfaces for consumers and admins, and the integration of HashiCorp Packer for building and customizing VM images. The TKG service, which allows for the deployment of managed Kubernetes clusters, is also discussed, highlighting its ease of use and integration with vSphere. The conversation concludes with a discussion of the new features in the latest version of the TKG service, including cluster auto-scaling and the decoupling of TKG from vCenter.TakeawaysThe vSphere IaaS control plane provides a comprehensive solution for deploying workloads, including additional services like storage provisioning and load balancing.The control plane offers a self-service experience for consumers, allowing them to easily deploy the services they need.Different interfaces, including APIs, CLI, and UI, cater to the preferences of different users, making it accessible to both admins and consumers.The integration of HashiCorp Packer allows for the building and customization of VM images, providing flexibility and automation.The TKG service simplifies the deployment of managed Kubernetes clusters, making it accessible to users with little Kubernetes experience.The latest version of the TKG service decouples it from vCenter, allowing for faster delivery of new Kubernetes versions.New features in the TKG service include cluster auto-scaling and the integration of HashiCorp Packer for building and customizing VM images.Chapters00:00 - Kat's Career Trajectory and the Role of Defining Moments09:20 - The Comprehensive Solution of the vSphere IaaS Control Plane11:02 - Enabling Self-Service and Catering to Different User Preferences18:14 - Flexibility and Automation with HashiCorp Packer Integration22:47 - Simplifying Kubernetes Deployment with the TKG Service29:14 - Decoupling TKG from vCenter for Faster Delivery of Kubernetes Versions38:36 - New Features in the Latest Version of the TKG ServiceDisclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

Summary:Ala Dewberry introduces Project Marigold, a plugin that aims to make GPUs a first-class citizen on vSphere by providing visibility and observability of GPU metrics at the cluster and data center level. The plugin helps infrastructure administrators manage GPUs more strategically and enables data scientists and application developers to have a frictionless experience. Ala also discusses the use cases for private AI and encourages users to give feedback on the plugin.TakeawaysDefining moments in our careers can shape our trajectory and open up new opportunities for growth and learning.Project Marigold aims to make GPUs a first-class citizen on vSphere by providing visibility and observability of GPU metrics at the cluster and data center level.The plugin helps infrastructure administrators manage GPUs more strategically and enables data scientists and application developers to have a frictionless experience.Private AI allows organizations to leverage their data centers for AI workloads that require data privacy, security, and compliance.Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

VMware recently released vSphere and vSAN 8.0 Update 3, and of course, we had to invite Feidhlim, Jason, and Pete back on the show to discuss what's new in these releases. There's awesome new functionality released and some great enhancements, so make sure to listen to the full episode. Key Takeaways:vSphere 8.0 update 3 introduces the vSphere Live Patch Update Path, which allows for patching ESXi hosts without evacuating VMs or entering full maintenance mode.Improvements in GPU functionality include the ability to use two DPUs in an ESXi host for availability, better support for VGPUs with different profiles and memory sizes, and simplified activation of GPU mobility with DRS.The vSphere cluster service (VCLS) has been re-architected to reduce resource consumption and improve rollback mechanisms.The 8.0 update 3 introduces stretched VVols, which customers have been asking for, and support for stretched fault tolerance.There are enhancements in VVols, including unmapped support for NVMe over fabrics.The updates in NVMe over Fabrics provide faster data migration and cloning.NFS enhancements include VMK port binding and support for NFS version 4.1.vSAN 8.0 U3 introduces new features and enhancements in flexible topologies, agile data protection, and enhanced management.The support for stretch cluster arrangement in VCF allows customers to take full advantage of ESA and improve performance, storage efficiency, and resilience.The full support of vSAN Max as principal storage within a workload domain enables customers to maintain a centralized shared storage model while leveraging the capabilities of vSAN.vSAN data protection allows users to create snapshots based on groups of VMs, set snapshotting schedules, and easily recover VMs without them being part of the inventory.Enhancements in alerting capabilities for NVMe storage devices and proactive hardware management provide better visibility and intelligence about the health and wellbeing of storage devices.Follow us on Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://twitter.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button, rate wherever possible, and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

SummaryThe conversation explores the features and benefits of the Tanzu Platform, which accelerates application delivery and simplifies the development process. The platform abstracts the complexities of Kubernetes, allowing developers to focus on writing code and creating business value. It offers four golden commands: build, bind, deploy, and scale, which streamline the development process. The platform also reduces administrative overhead for IT teams, with a developer-to-platform engineer ratio of up to 1,000 to 1. The Tanzu Platform is used in various industries, including automotive, finance, healthcare, and retail, to develop and run mission-critical applications.KeywordsTanzu Platform, application delivery, Kubernetes, developer experience, administrative overhead, use casesTakeawaysThe Tanzu Platform accelerates application delivery and simplifies the development process.It abstracts the complexities of Kubernetes, allowing developers to focus on writing code.The platform reduces administrative overhead for IT teams, with a high developer-to-platform engineer ratio.The Tanzu Platform is used in various industries to develop and run mission-critical applications.Sound Bites"The safest developer experience must also be the easiest.""You can repair very quickly and even in an automated way without any manual intervention or without even downtime.""Imagine doing this without golden paths. It's not practical to try and repave if you have hundreds of different ways of deploying your apps to production."Chapters00:00Introduction and Background07:20Overview of the Tanzu Platform12:21The Develop, Operate, Optimize Philosophy28:00Integration with the VCF Platform37:27Use Cases of the Tanzu Platform50:04Impact on AI Workloads53:25Closing RemarksDisclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In this conversation, Duncan and Cormac Hogan discuss VMware's Data Services Manager (DSM) and its role in offering data services in a full-stack private cloud. They cover topics such as the use cases for DSM, the integration with Kubernetes, the support for different databases, the automation capabilities, and the licensing model. Cormac highlights the features of DSM, including lifecycle management, backups, scaling, monitoring, and advanced settings. He also mentions the upcoming release of new features and additional data services. TakeawaysData Services Manager (DSM) is a VMware product that offers data services in a full-stack private cloud.DSM integrates with Kubernetes and allows VI administrators to maintain control of vSphere resources while offering data services.DSM supports databases such as Postgres and MySQL, with support for other data services like AlloyDB in tech preview.DSM provides features such as lifecycle management, backups, scaling, monitoring, and advanced settings.DSM is included in VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and support can be added through the Private AI Foundation add-on.Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In this conversation, Myles Gray discusses the AI workflow and its personas, the responsibilities of data scientists and developers in deploying AI models, the role of infrastructure administrators, and the challenges of deploying models at the edge. He also explains the concept of quantization and the importance of accuracy in models. Additionally, he talks about the pipeline for deploying models and the difference between unit testing and integration testing. Unit testing is used to test the functionality of a single module or function within an application. Integration testing involves testing the interaction between different components or applications. MLflow and other tools are used to store and manage ML models. Smaller models are emerging as a solution to the resource constraints of large models. Collaboration between different personas is important for ensuring security and governance in AI projects. Data governance policies are crucial for maintaining data quality and consistency.TakeawaysThe AI workflow involves multiple personas, including data scientists, developers, and infrastructure administrators.Data scientists play a crucial role in developing AI models, while developers are responsible for deploying the models into production.Infrastructure administrators need to consider the virtualization layer and ensure efficient and easy consumption of infrastructure components.Deploying AI models at the edge requires quantization to reduce model size and considerations for form factor, scale, and connectivity.The pipeline for deploying models involves steps such as unit testing, scanning for vulnerabilities, building container images, and pushing to a registry.Unit testing focuses on testing individual components, while integration testing ensures the compatibility and functionality of the entire system. Unit testing is used to test the functionality of a single module or function within an application.Integration testing involves testing the interaction between different components or applications.MLflow and other tools are used to store and manage ML models.Smaller models are emerging as a solution to the resource constraints of large models.Collaboration between different personas is important for ensuring security and governance in AI projects.Data governance policies are crucial for maintaining data quality and consistency.Chapters00:00 Understanding the AI Workflow and Personas03:24 The Role of Data Scientists and Developers in Deploying AI Models08:47 The Responsibilities of Infrastructure Administrators15:25 Challenges of Deploying Models at the Edge20:29 The Pipeline for Deploying AI Models24:45 Unit Testing vs. Integration Testing28:22 Managing ML Models with MLflow and Other Tools32:17 The Emergence of Smaller Models39:58 Collaboration for Security and Governance in AI Projects46:32 The Importance of Data GovernanceDisclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

SummaryFor this special edition of the podcast Duncan invited Michael Roy to discuss the latest VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion announcements. VMware Workstation and Fusion are desktop hypervisor products that allow users to run virtual machines on their PC or Mac. Starting today, Workstation and Fusion commercial licenses will only be available through annual subscriptions. The price for both products is now $199 per year. The free versions of Fusion Player and Workstation Player are being discontinued, but the Pro versions will be available for free for personal use. Support for personal use products will be community-based, while commercial users will have support included in their subscription. The focus of future innovation will be on the integration between vSphere and Workstation/Fusion, providing a local virtual sandbox for learning, development, and testing.TakeawaysVMware Workstation and Fusion are desktop hypervisor products for running virtual machines on PC and Mac.Commercial use of Workstation and Fusion is shifting from perpetual licenses to annual subscriptions.The free versions of Fusion Player and Workstation Player are being discontinued, but the Pro versions will be available for free for personal use.Support for personal use products will be community-based, while commercial users will have support included in their subscription.Future innovation will focus on integrating vSphere with Workstation and Fusion to provide a local virtual sandbox for learning, development, and testing.LinksAnnouncement BlogThe Register articleDisclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In this conversation, Johan van Amersfoort interviews William Rizzo about the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and its impact on cloud computing and modern infrastructure. They discuss the role of the CNCF in making cloud native technology ubiquitous and the support it provides to cloud native projects. They also explore the advantages of using CNCF projects for IT admins and platform engineers, including the ability to build platforms with integrated and efficient tools. They touch on the future trends and developments within the CNCF, such as platform engineering and AI/ML workloads, and how IT professionals can prepare for these changes. William also shares his personal project on platform engineering and the importance of calculating the return on investment for platform engineering practices.TakeawaysThe CNCF aims to make cloud native technology ubiquitous by providing support and resources to cloud native projects.Using CNCF projects allows IT admins and platform engineers to build integrated and efficient platforms.Platform engineering and AI/ML workloads are future trends within the CNCF.Calculating the return on investment for platform engineering practices is important.William Rizzo is working on a project to simplify the calculation of return on investment for platform engineering practices.Chapters00:00 - Introduction and William Rizzo's IT Career03:09 - Overview of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation06:39 - Other Core Projects and Technologies Hosted by the CNCF10:17 - Impact of CNCF Projects and Principles on Cloud Computing13:31 - Advantages of Using CNCF Projects for IT Admins and Platform Engineers14:45 - Interoperability and Standardization across Cloud Platforms23:45 - Resources for Learning about Cloud Native Technologies28:17 - Future Trends and Developments within the CNCF38:49 - William Rizzo's Personal Project on Platform Engineering46:04 - Calculating the Return on Investment for Platform Engineering Practices49:28 - Closing RemarksMore about William: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-rizzo/The link to the CNCF website: https://www.cncf.io/Follow us on X for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In episode 073 Duncan and Pete discuss various updates and changes related to vSAN, including ReadyNode configurations, licensing, vSAN Max, capacity reporting, and compression ratios. They highlight the improvements in compression ratios with vSAN ESA, which can result in significant space efficiency gains. They also discuss the use cases for vSAN Max and vSAN HCI, as well as the flexibility in making changes to ReadyNode configurations. Overall, they emphasize the ongoing development and exciting future of vSAN and VMware Cloud Foundation.TakeawaysvSAN ESA offers improved compression ratios, with an average of 1.5x and some customers achieving 1.7x or better.vSAN Max is a centralized shared storage solution for vSphere clusters, providing storage services to multiple vSphere clusters.Customers can choose between vSAN Max and vSAN HCI based on their needs, such as independent scaling of storage and compute, separate lifecycle management, extending the life of existing vSphere clusters, or specific application requirements.Changes in ReadyNode configurations for vSAN Max have reduced the minimum number of hosts required and lowered the hardware requirements, making it more accessible for smaller enterprises.Capacity reporting in vSAN has been improved with the introduction of L0FS overhead, providing more accurate information on capacity usage.vSAN ESA's improved compression ratios, combined with RAID 5 or RAID 6 erasure coding, can result in significant space efficiency gains compared to the original storage architecture.Ongoing development and updates are expected in vSAN and VMware Cloud Foundation, with exciting new capabilities on the horizon.Linkshttps://core.vmware.com/blog/smaller-vsan-esa-readynodes-accommodate-vmware-vsphere-foundations-trial-capacity-capabilityhttps://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/8.0/rn/vsphere-esxi-80u2b-release-notes/index.htmlhttps://core.vmware.com/blog/improved-capacity-reporting-vmware-cloud-foundation-51-and-vsan-8-u2 https://core.vmware.com/blog/greater-flexibility-vsan-max-through-lower-hardware-and-cluster-requirements Follow us on X for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

SummaryChris Gully discusses his current role in the new Broadcom organization and highlights of his career. He emphasizes the importance of staying relevant in the technology industry and the value of working with cool and smart people. The conversation then shifts to the topic of small language models (SLMs) and their role in the landscape of gen AI applications. Gully explains that SLMs offer a more progressive approach to working with large language models (LLMs) and enable more efficient and scalable deployments. The discussion also touches on the components of gen AI applications, the need for right-sizing models, and the challenges of scalability and efficiency. Gully highlights the importance of data and its role in driving business outcomes through AI. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the benefits and limitations of fine-tuning LLMs and the potential future of SLMs. The conversation explores the concept of SLMs (Small Language Models) and their role in AI development. It discusses the advantages of SLMs over LLMs (Large Language Models) regarding efficiency, optimization, and governance. The conversation also touches on the challenges of infrastructure management and resource allocation in AI deployments. It highlights the importance of right-sizing workloads, distributing workloads across data centers, and maximizing resource utilization. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the future trends in machine learning and AI, including advancements in math and the need for accessible and efficient technology.LinksVMware's Approach to Private AIMicrosoft Phi-2 - The surprising power of small language modelsMixtralMixtral on HuggingFaceTakeawaysStaying relevant in the technology industry is crucial for career success.Small language models (SLMs) offer a more efficient and scalable approach to working with large language models (LLMs).Data is the most important and untapped asset for organizations, and leveraging it through AI can drive business outcomes.Scalability and efficiency are key challenges in deploying gen AI applications.Fine-tuning LLMs can enhance their precision and reduce the need for extensive training.The future of SLMs may involve dynamic training and efficient distribution to support evolving business needs. SLMs offer advantages in terms of efficiency, optimization, and governance compared to LLMs.Infrastructure management and resource allocation are crucial in AI deployments.Right-sizing workloads and maximizing resource utilization are key considerations.Future trends in machine learning and AI include advancements in math and the need for accessible and efficient technology.Follow us on X for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In this new episode of the Unexplored Territory Podcast, DaShaun Carter, a Spring Developer Advocate at VMware Tanzu and Broadcom, discusses his career highlights, his home lab setup, and his passion for Spring. He explains the concept of developer experience and how Spring and Tanzu contribute to it. DaShaun also highlights the innovations in Spring, such as AOT processing and native images, and their impact on use cases. He discusses the relationship between the open source aspect of Spring and the closed source solutions in the Tanzu portfolio. Finally, he explores the importance of developer experience in platform engineering. In this conversation, DaShaun and Johan discuss the importance of collaboration between developers and platform engineers, the value of Spring for platform engineers, the role of AI in developer experience and Spring, interesting topics for the VMware Explore conference, and where to learn more about Spring and open source.TakeawaysSpring and Tanzu provide an easy and efficient developer experience, allowing developers to focus on solving problems and delivering software.Innovations in Spring, such as AOT processing and native images, enable the deployment of enterprise-grade workloads on low-cost devices and at scale.The open source aspect of Spring allows flexibility and choice for customers, while the commercial solutions in the Tanzu portfolio provide additional support and 24/7 access to experts.Developer experience plays a crucial role in platform engineering, as it attracts developers to the platform and enables efficient onboarding and deployment processes. Collaboration between developers and platform engineers is crucial for successful software delivery.Platform teams should build relationships with developers and continuously iterate on meeting their needs.Spring provides enterprise-grade, production-ready tools and frameworks that make the life of platform engineers easier.AI is becoming increasingly important in the developer experience, and Spring AI provides an abstraction layer for consuming AI models.Interesting topics for the VMware Explorer conference include overcoming obstacles in software delivery, cost-saving solutions, and success stories.To learn more about Spring and open source, connect with DaShaun on X, YouTube, and LinkedIn, and check out the Spring Office Hours show.Follow us on X for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In episode 070, we spoke with Patryk Wolsza about vSAN performance. Patryk wrote some great whitepapers on the topic of vSAN OSA vs ESA, vSAN on AMD vs vSAN on Intel, and vSAN with RDMA and 100GbE. In this episode, we discuss the benefits of ESA, Intel CPUs, and RDMA/100GbE.Some links to topics discussed:vSAN and RDMA/100GbEHow Server Consolidation with VMware vSAN 8 Boosts Performance by more than 7.4x!VMware vSAN and 4th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors Outpace AMD GenoaBoost Performance and Lower Latency with VMware vSAN 8 and 4th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors — Solution Design BriefSystem Health Inspector ToolFollow us on X for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In episode 69, we spoke with Earl Ruby on running AI and ML workloads on CPUs. Earl is an R&D engineer at VMware by Broadcom focusing on AI/ML accelerators. He provides us with an overview of the do's and don't of successful deployments of AI-enabled applications on CPUs.Some links to topics discussed:earlruby.org/AI without GPUs: Accessing Sapphire Rapids AMX instructions on vSphereEarl Ruby on LinkedinFollow us on X for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In episode 067, we invited Niels Hagoort back to the show to talk about the latest VMC on AWS announcements.Topics we discussed:The new M7i instance, including its use cases and specsThe Cloud Management Add-on for VMC on AWS and how Aria can add valueThe differences between the M7i instance and the other instance types, and the deployment considerations.More about these announcements can be found here:https://vmc.techzone.vmware.com/closer-look-m7i-instance-vmware-cloud-awsFollow us on X for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

In episode 067, we spoke with Jerry Rijnbeek on the topic of Rubrik, and how Rubrik enables customers to secure their data against natural disasters as well as ransomware, but more importantly, also helps customers to develop a data security posture.Follow us on X for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

In episode 66, we spoke with Vaughn Stewart on data platforms for AI and ML workloads. Vaughn is the VP of Systems Engineering at VAST Data. He provides us with an overview of the needs and requirements of a data platform for successful deployments of AI-enabled applications.Some links to topics discussed:VAST Data PlatformVAST Data DASE architecture VAST DatabaseVAST Data Similarity-Based Data ReductionFollow us on X for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

In episode 65 we spoke with Jatin Purohit on the topic of Oracle Cloud VMware Solution. Jatin is the Senior Technical Marketing Architect at VMware by Broadcom for this solution and provides us an overview of what the benefits are of the solution and what was introduced since episode 23 where we discussed OCVS with Richard Garsthagen.Some links to topics discussed:Jatin's Explore session - https://www.vmware.com/explore/video-library/video-landing.html?sessionid=1682515883297001PzAV&videoId=6335501226112Multi-cluster support - https://blogs.oracle.com/cloud-infrastructure/post/multiple-clusters-oracle-cloud-vmware-solutionMixed shape support - https://blogs.oracle.com/cloud-infrastructure/post/mixedshape-clusters-oracle-cloud-vmware-solution OCVI Differentiator - https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7077357098296098816/?originTrackingId=KxcPND5pS4KQLIg8chl2hA%3D%3DFollow us on X for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

In this final episode of the year, Frank and Johan have a conversation with William Lam about home labs and how to run AI workloads on them. We discuss the different hardware options and go through some of the content that William has created. You can find William's blog articles here:Blog about GPUs & TanzuBlog about Private ChatGPTThe NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute online learning platformFollow us on X/Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

VMware EUC continues to innovate, with a lot of announcements being done at VMware Explore in Barcelona. In this episode, Johan had a conversation with Spencer Pitts, Chief Technologist Digital Workspace at VMware, to dive into the major announcements and explain what the new features entail and what the added value is. The following features have been covered:Next-gen macOS managementFreestyle Orchestrator supportUpdates dashboardHub HealthSecurity BaselinesDeclarative ManagementVulnerability management below OSIntel Chip to CloudApp VolumesDEEM IntegrationSupport for Persistent virtual desktopsApps on demand support for AVD RemoteApp streaming and AWS AppStream 2.0 is now GA HorizonActive VDI Agent & Active VDI Client TechnologyAria Operations Experience Telemetry integrationWorkspace ONEZoom API IntegrationApplication license optimizationGenAI ingration for Sensor CreationThe following articles were mentioned as well:Blog from Marshall Ann BusbeeBlog with Anywhere Workspace announcementsFollow us on X/Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

In this episode, Frank has a conversation with Chris Wolf about Private AU and how Private AI Foundation can help accelerate organizations to develop their Gen-AI-enabled application efficiently and securely. We discuss foundation models, infrastructure requirements, and future developments. Chris mentioned the following resources during this episode:VMware Private AI Foundation Reference ArchitectureRetrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) Starter kitCode Assistant Starter KitVMware AI Labs Github RepositoryVMware AI Labs homeFollow us on X/Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

Recently Dell announced they acquired RVTools. RVTools is one of the most used free tools in the VMware community, created and maintained by a single person, Rob de Veij. In this episode, we discuss with Sam Kirchoff what RVTools is, why Dell acquired it, and how it complements Live Optics, and of course the other way around how Live Optics complements RVTools. Follow us on X/Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

In our second episode we had Sazzala on the show to talk about Ransomware Recovery as a Service, and today we invited him back on the show to talk about the Cyber Secure Storage announcement done at VMware Explore. Sazzala explains what Cyber Secure Storage is, discusses the use cases, and goes over some of the implementation details of this new offering which will soon be in private beta. Follow us on X/Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

At VMware Explore in Las Vegas VMware announced a new vSAN offering called VMware vSAN Max. To discuss this announcement we invited Kalyan Krishnaswamy to the show. Kalyan is the product manager for VMware vSAN Max and has been involved with vSAN for many years.Follow us on Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://twitter.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button, rate wherever possible, and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

Recently Pure Storage announced the availability of Cloud Block Store (CBS) for Microsoft Azure VMware Solution (AVS). We invited Cody Hosterman of Pure Storage to talk us through the announcement!Make sure to follow Cody on Twitter: https://twitter.com/codyhosterman. Also, make sure to bookmark his website, https://www.codyhosterman.com/, as he has excellent content on all things vVols, SPBM, CBS, and much more!Follow us on Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://twitter.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button, rate where ever possible, and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

At this year's VMware Explore in Las Vegas, there were tons of announcements in the End-User Computing or Hybrid Workforce track. In this episode, we are joined by Bharath Rangarajan (VP Products for VMware EUC) to talk about the biggest announcements and what they bring to customers. Technologies we have talked about: DEEM, Freestyle Orchestrator, Workspace ONE, Horizon and Horizon Cloud, App Volumes, Apps on-demand, Amazon Workspaces, Appstream, and Project Oakville. Follow us on Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://twitter.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button, rate where ever possible, and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

At VMware Explore there were various announcements around vSphere+. Considering vSphere+ is still a relatively new offering we wanted to make sure that we would not only  cover the basics but also got to hear all of the intricate details from an expert like Dave Morera!Make sure to follow Dave on Twitter (https://twitter.com/GreatWhiteTec) to keep up to date with his adventures, and check out the VMware website for more documents, whitepapers, and announcements around vSphere+ here: https://core.vmware.com/vsphere#vsphereFollow us on Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://twitter.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button, rate where ever possible, and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

Another VMware Explore Conference is in the books. Our hosts were in Las Vegas to present, attend, and enjoy the conference, but also to let you experience a some of the buzz that was going on. In a packed episode, we have 6 different guests to talk about the biggest VMware conference in the world:Doug Rickets (Synology) - A conversation about Synology and how they provide solutions for customers with different use cases.Anthony Spiteri - A conversation about the Boston Dynamics Spot and why Veeam brought it to VMware Explore.Raghu Raghuram - A conversation about the event, the general session, and the partnership with NVIDIAAmanda Blevins - A conversation about edge computing and the showcase innovation keynote.Charles Cockshoot - A conversation about edge compute stack and the police car use caseChris Wolf - A conversation about his new role and how it impacted the content that was presented.If you would like to check the sessions that have been mentioned in the interviews, check these:CODEB2757LV - State of Union for VMware Home LabsK2906LV - Technology Innovation ShowcaseVIB2123LV - Leveraging LLMs for Enterprise Use Cases - Are You Ready for ChatGPT?CEIB1101LV - Tech Deep Dive: vSAN 8 ESA - Performance and Resilience Without CompromiseEUSB2527LV - Data Science Deep Dive in Anywhere Workspace, and What AI Means for EUC

This is the fourth time we have Pete on the podcast, and of course, we are talking vSAN again. We invited Pete to discuss the vSAN 8.0 U2 announcement. What new features is VMware introducing in vSAN 8.0 U2, and how does it benefit our customers?Make sure to follow Pete on Twitter (https://twitter.com/vmpete) to keep up to date with his adventures, and check out the VMware website for more documents and whitepapers on vSAN 8.0 U2 / ESA / Max: Blog post: Introducing vSAN Max: https://core.vmware.com/blog/introducing-vsan-maxvSAN Max landing page: https://core.vmware.com/vsan-maxvSAN ESA landing page:  https://core.vmware.com/vsan-esaFollow us on Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://twitter.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button, rate where ever possible, and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

We invited Féidhlim O'Leary back to the show to discuss the vSphere 8.0 Update 2 announcement. What new features is VMware introducing in vSphere 8.0 U2, and how does it benefit our customers? Make sure to visit Techzone, and read up on all the announcements and the enhancements introduced.Follow us on Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://twitter.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, hit that subscribe button, rate where ever possible, and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

In episode 52, Liselotte Foverskov and Niels Hagoort talk about the upcoming Tech X 300 event on September 20th and 21st in Copenhagen.Tech X 300 focuses on delivering only Level 300 deep technical presentations. Open for every  IT professional, system administrator, or technology enthusiast.TechX 300 will be a hardcore technical event hosted by hardcore techies for hardcore techies. The organization considers this to be an extension of VMware Explore, and the focus will be on creating opportunities for the attendees to interact with speakers and engineers in the Breakout, Lightning, and Community sessions, as well as at Meet-the-Experts, in smaller group discussions, in the Solution Exchange, and during the overall event.Discover more about the event here: Tech X 300 20232

In episode 051, we had a great conversation with Scott Lundgren, CTO of VMware Carbon Black. We dive into the platform, how it provides end-to-end protection,  and how Carbon Black differentiates itself in the security space.Topics covered and additional insights:Carbon Black EDR - https://carbonblack.vmware.com/resource/carbon-black-enterprise-edr-technical-overviewCarbon Black XDR - https://www.vmware.com/solutions/xdr-security.htmlCarbon Black MDR - https://www.vmware.com/nl/products/managed-detection-and-response.htmlFollow us on Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://twitter.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button, rate where ever possible, and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

In episode 050 Corey Dinkens introduces self-managed Tanzu Mission Control. Corey not only discusses this new deployment model for Tanzu Mission Control, but also covers the various use cases and features of Tanzu Mission Control.Topics covered and additional insights:Beyond SaaS - https://tanzu.vmware.com/content/blog/vmware-tanzu-mission-control-self-managed-announcementTMC - https://tanzu.vmware.com/mission-controlManaging Amazon EKS - https://tanzu.vmware.com/content/blog/manage-eks-cluster-deployments-with-tanzu-mission-controlAutomation and package management with TMC - https://tanzu.vmware.com/content/blog/tanzu-mission-control-automation-and-package-managementInstalling self-managed TMC - https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Tanzu-Mission-Control/1.0/tanzumc-sm-install/install-tmc-sm.htmlFollow us on Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://twitter.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button, rate where ever possible, and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

In episode 049 we have two guests on for the very first time. Gerrit Lehr and Andrea Siviero help us understand how the Multi Cloud Adoption Framework helps VMware customers to increase their ROI, lower TCO, and maybe even more importantly, meet their business goals!Topics covered and additional insights:IDC Marketscape PaperMCAF Tech WhitepaperMCAF Feature Friday Youtube videoMCAF Maturity Model PortalFollow us on Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://twitter.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button, rate where ever possible, and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

In a world where security and compliancy are top priorities for companies, we got you covered! In episode 48 of Unexplored Territory, we have well known vCommunity member Stan Markov as our guest. Stan is CEO and co-founder of Runecast, and explains to us why he co-founded Runecast, how they help VMware admins, and how they continue to innovate in a rapidly changing world.Topics discussed:Free NFR licenses for vExperts:https://vexpert.runecast.com/free-runecast-nfr-licenseOnline demo:https://www.runecast.com/runecast-analyzer-online-demoFollow us on Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://twitter.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button, rate where ever possible, and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

In episode 047 we spoke with Varghese Philipose about VMware's sustainability efforts and how they help our customers meet their sustainability goals. Features like the green score help many of our customers understand how they can lower their carbon emissions and hopefully reach net zero.Topics discussed:Creating sustainability dashboards - https://blogs.vmware.com/management/2019/06/sustainability-dashboards-in-vrealize-operations-find-how-much-did-you-contribute-to-a-greener-planet.htmlSustainability dashboards in VROps 8.6 - https://blogs.vmware.com/management/2021/10/sustainability-dashboards-in-vrealize-operations-8-6.htmlVMware Green Score - https://blogs.vmware.com/management/2022/11/vmware-green-score-in-aria-operations-formerly-vrealize-operations.htmlIntrinsically green - https://news.vmware.com/esg/intrinsically-evergreen-vmware-earth-day-2023Customer success story - https://blogs.vmware.com/customer-experience-and-success/2023/04/tam-partnerships-make-customers-the-hero.htmlFollow us on Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://twitter.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button, rate where ever possible, and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!

In this episode we have Frances Wong joining to discuss a new VMware offering, which currently is in Tech Preview, called VMware Cloud Flex Compute. VMware Cloud Flex Compute is a new offering as part of the VMware Cloud on AWS portfolio which lowers the entry barrier for our customers. Frances shares a lot of interesting use cases and details with us in this episode! Make sure to follow Frances on Twitter (https://twitter.com/frances_wong) to keep up to date with her adventures, and check out the VMware website for more details on the Cloud Flex Compute offering!Additional resources can be found here:Announcement - https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud/2022/08/30/announcing-vmware-cloud-flex-compute/Deep Dive - https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud/2022/08/30/vmware-cloud-flex-compute-deep-dive/Early Access Demo - https://vmc.techzone.vmware.com/?share=video2847&title=vmware-cloud-flex-compute-early-access-demoFollow us on Twitter for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://twitter.com/UnexploredPod.Last but not least, make sure to hit that subscribe button, rate where ever possible, and share the episode with your friends and colleagues!