VMTN Blog

As reported all over Twitter, wifi in the Venetian rooms is a bit overwhelmed by VMworldians, so we'll keep this short, sweet, and text-based.

Speaking of Twitter - after Paul's general session tomorrow, he's doing a Q&A. He will take several questions from Twitter, so 'd vmworld' and ask away. During the keynote you can still ask but they're going to be turning off the re-tweeting temporarily, since I think they're going to project it, and since I know I couldn't resist tweeting something funny, and I've met some of you, I know you couldn't resist either. They'll turn it back on afterward. Anyway, ask Paul a question. He's done several Q&A's internally at VMware and he's good.

VMware Fusion 2.0 has been released. Let's not forget as we talk about all this server virtualization that VMware has by far the best client/hosted virtualization platform as well. How could this all tie in to our roadmap? Hmmm, magic 8 ball says ask again Tuesday morning...

Sven at virtualfuture.info found his cartoon version up on the wall. He had this to say about Paul speaking at Partner Day. "Paul Maritz gave his keynote, and it was good to finally see the new CEO live in action. He had a very clear story. I’m confident this guy is going to lead VMware to the next level."

Who else has seen their cartoon doppelganger? Pics or it didn't happen.

Mike Laverick seems to be a little jet-lagged after flying over from RTFM-ed.co.uk-land, so it would be cruel to embarrass him by linking to his posts on virtual rainbows, Dr. Evil, and his new guitar. Oh, and some "coming in 2009" videos. Also, the man is a genius and the preview copies of his SRM book already sold out at the bookstore. Sorry.

Rich at VM /ETC posts so I don't have to:

Holy vMoley, I was just blown away by the 3:30 pm Partner Day session titled Sneak Peak Into Future Virtual Infrastructure. I thought I was ready. I researched the new VMware VDC-OS and vCloud announcement last night and I saw the list of new features. I even read the new feature posts by Duncan at Yellow-bricks.com and Scott over at blog.scottlowe.org, but I had no idea. This concept is such a game changer that it is almost hard to believe. The features by themselves don’t do proper justice to the technical possibilities they create together.

What’s even more amazing is that you can see and understand how VMware got to here. There is not a “black magic” technology we are being asked to accept on faith. VMware has taken most of the pieces of their individual virtualization products, enhanced and improved them, and put them all behind the vCenter (the new VirtualCenter) GUI. Once again let me point you to yellow-bricks.com for Duncan’s post with details about the new vCenter.

Andrew Kutz at SearchVMware.com wants VDC-OS to be a push-button/off-the-shelf product.  I disagree -- I think we want to strike a balance between customizability, ease-of-use features, and vision/roadmap. I also think we all should approach tomorrow's keynote with an open mind. (Andrew also applauds the new academic community go-virtual.org.)

I’ve been thinking about VDC-OS all morning, trying to figure out that nagging feeling in the back of my mind. Something feels so familiar about this new, seemingly fantastic, initiative from VMware. And then it hit me — VDC-OS is an initiative! IT professionals expecting an off-the-shelf software-in-a-box solution from VDC-OS will be disappointed. VDC-OS is made up of several components, all of which will, I am sure, have their own sets of individual highlights and disappointments.

Chad Sakac of EMC breaks down vStorage into several components. I'm not a storage guy, so I'm just going to go with "more APIs = enable partners to each shine with their own differentiated brilliant light = cooler features for you."

Philips Sellers was in the Partner Day briefing and appears to have taken very detailed notes on the VDC-OS features.

AlexD only got through a third of the Solutions Exchange tonight and had a good schwag haul. He also lists some of the contests -- there are many more. Looks like big prizes are in fashion.

Blogs at vmworld.com are really taking off.

I want to thank everybody who stopped by the Communities Lounge at the reception tonight, and if you have time or just need to sit, drop by during the week and get a t-shirt. Also, I've got a podcasting setup going, and here's an open call to any blogger, analyst, journalist, or any attendee with something to say -- I'd love to do a quick 5 or 10 minute podcast with you about what you think about the new announcements, the keynote, and the show in general. Much better than interviewing execs.

This Internet connection is making me stabby. I've had line printers on dial-up better than this. More tomorrow.

The liveblogging starts at 8:00 am PDT.