Tag Archives: VMware

VMware Explore US 2023

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For the first time since VMWorld 2019 I am planning on being back in person at VMware Explore US 2023 in Las Vegas. This is going to be my first time in person as a VMware employee. I am really looking forward to connecting with customer and fellow champions in the vExpert and VMUG communities.

I am going to be working in the VMware Cloud booth supporting and talking about OCVS (Oracle Cloud VMware Solution). Come by and find me in my cowboy hat and boots and let’s chat about how you could benefit from using OCVS and how it will tie into your multi-cloud strategy. I will also likely have some stickers for your laptop.

Some of my favorite things about events like this are seeing customers and partners that I have known over the years. Having the ability to learn new techniques and technologies during the general sessions is always exciting. The breakout sessions also add deeper understanding and access to Product Management and senior engineers and consultants. I’m currently scheduled to be co-presenting about OCVS with a peer from Oracle during a breakout session on Wednesday.

One of my favorite things to do is to wander around the expo floor and see new and upcoming software vendors and new hardware. There are many good nuggets of treasure that can be found while wandering. Remember that those who wander are not lost. And making connections and having random hallway conversations that often provide answers for problems or help brainstorm new methods. Putting so much brain power into one place is so powerful on influencing trends in architecture and design. I just love conferences like this. How about you? What are the things that make you excited about VMware Explore? Will you be attending? Let’s catch up in person and see all y’all soon!

Home Lab 1 – The Unboxing

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The day finally came when the shipment from PC Server and Parts arrived. It was four nicely packed boxes weighing in at a small 47 pounds apiece.

Of course they had to pass customs inspection of the DSA (Dog Security Agency). After inspection and finding that these packages included no biscuits or other materials that would be confiscated then the full unboxing could commence.

Here is the hardware list again:

  • Quantity four (4) Dell Precision Tower 7820 Workstation
    • Processors: 2x (2.20 GHz) 10-Core Intel Xeon Silver 4114 Processors
    • Memory (RAM): 384GB (12x32GB) DDR4 2133 MHz PC4 R Memory
    • Storage:
      • 1TB SSD SATA 6GB/s 2.5″ Solid State Drive
      • M.2 Storage: 2TB M.2 NVMe Solid State Drive
      • HP Z Turbo M.2 Adapter Card
    • Graphics Card: Nvidia Quadro K600 1GB DDR3
    • Network: Intel X540 Dual 10GbE network card
Side view of one of the 4 systems. The card closest to the top of the picture is the dual port 10GbE network card. The middle PCI is a single PCIe NVMe adapter that holds the 2TB NVMe device and then the NVidia Quadro video card.
All four systems looking identical with their side access panels off.
The CPU fan shroud removed along with the 2nd Processor and memory tray. This is how the system allows for dual processors and 12 slots for memory. Both the upper tray and the base motherboard have good airflow shrouds and large CPU coolers.
Front bezel removed showing the 4 removable drive bays. All 4 of these were missing a drive sled.
Only one drive sled populated with the SATA 1TB SSD for boot purposes.

I’ve moved the systems into my office and temporarily setup the networking using my Ubiquiti UniFi 10GbE Aggregation switch to 4 10GbE UniFi Flex switches which will provide the connectivity to these systems. The Aggregation switch is connected via fiber to my UniFi UDM-SE which handles the inter-VLAN routing and network firewall along with 1GbE Symmetric FTTH internet connectivity.

So that is the unboxing. At this point they will live for a little while in a temporary location at the side of my office. I’ll likely connect them to the TV and use it to step through the installation of ESXi and the basic network setup for vSphere 8.

Looking forward to this next part as it has been a while since I’ve physically done an install where I can actually put my hands on the keyboard/video/mouse and not use a remote KVM solution like iDRAC. Till next time!