VMware Hands-on Labs

Discover New and Updated Application Modernization Hands-on Labs

March 24, 2021

Written by Kevin Brady and Leanne Jones

It is no easy task to determine if a product or service can truly deliver value to your IT organization. If value is defined as how and when the product/service can solve complex IT problems, then it is critically important to find the easiest path to uncover value in something you’ve never seen before. The faster you can determine the value in a new product/service, the faster you can achieve better business outcomes. So, how can you get started on this value exploration journey? Begin with VMware Hands-on Labs!


VMware Hands-on Labs provides everyone free access to VMware products and services to explore and learn. No installation required. You only need your current web browser, a reliable internet connection, and hopefully not too many distractions.

With help from VMware product teams, in February we released multiple new and updated labs around Application Modernization covering our Tanzu portfolio. 

For a full list of Application Modernization labs please visit the catalog here.

Completely new labs include:

   HOL-2133-02-MAP – Tanzu Application Catalog (Bitnami) – Getting Started

Description: Tanzu Application Catalog is a customizable selection of open source software from the Bitnami collection that is continuously maintained and verifiably tested for use in production environments.

Tanzu Application Catalog gives developers the productivity and agility of pre-packaged apps and components while enabling operators to meet the stringent security and transparency requirements of enterprise IT.

Objectives: In this lab you will see how to interact with the Tanzu Application Catalog user interface, access the containers and Helm charts in a private repository, as well as build, deploy, and modify applications from the catalog.

Module Overview: 1- Introduction to VMware Tanzu Application Catalog; 2- Deploy an Application to Kubernetes Using Tanzu App Catalog Helm Charts; 3- Use Tanzu App Catalog Artifacts with a Private Internal Services Catalog; 4- Mirror TAC Artifacts to a Local Harbor Repository and Build a Node.js App

HOL-2133-03-MAP – Containers, Docker and Kubernetes 101

Description: Containers are exploding onto the application development scene, Docker has become the predominant container engine of choice. By taking advantage of Docker’s methodologies for shipping, testing, and deploying code quickly, you can significantly reduce the delay between writing code and running it in production. This lab explores the how/what/why of containers, walks through Docker as the container engine of choice and introduces the concept of container management and orchestration using Kubernetes.

            Objectives: The student will experience basic Docker functions such as building a container, exploring docker files and using a code repository to deploy a simple application.

           Module Overview:  1- Introduction to Containers; 2- A Quick Tour of Docker; 3- Introduction to Kubernetes; 4- Introduction to The VMware Modern Applications Ninja Program

Updated labs include:

   HOL-2113-01-SDC – vSphere with Tanzu

Description: vSphere with Tanzu is the new generation of vSphere for modern applications and it is available only through VMware Cloud Foundation. Developers can now consume the newly introduced VMware Cloud Foundation Services that includes Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Services and a family of Hybrid Infrastructure Services.

Module Overview: 1- Introduction to vSphere with Tanzu; 2- Managing vSphere with Tanzu; 3- Working with Tanzu Kubernetes Clusters

HOL-2133-01-MAP – VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG)

            Description: This lab gives an introduction to Kubernetes, Cluster-API and Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG). It shows how to install TKG Management & Workload clusters and work with TKG extensions & Integrations.  You will see how to deploy a containerized application and integrate both an ingress controller and cloud native storage in a production TKG cluster.

Module Overview: 1- Introduction to Tanzu Kubernetes Grid; 2- Deploying Management & Workload Clusters; 3- Working with TKG Clusters; 4- Deploying a Microservice Based Application; 5- TKG Extension & Integrations 

Special thank you to full the team making these possible, including:

  • Randy Carson, Sr. Systems Engineer
  • Mark McGill, Senior Technical Account Manager
  • Kevin Brady, Sr. Partner Solution Engineer
  • Jose Manzaneque, Sr Specialist Solution Engineer
  • Peter Kieren, Senior Solution Architect
  • Brad Bock, Product Marketing Sr. Manager
  • Bob Bauer, Kubernetes Staff Solution Engineer
  • Jason Harrison, Senior Technical Account Manager
  • Selvakumar Jaganathan, Senior Consultant
  • Michael Fleisher, Senior Solution Engineer

Once you’ve completed the labs, you can find additional free training on products in the VMware Tanzu Portfolio from the VMware ModernApps Ninja program here.