What a week! VMware Odyssey, sponsored by Intel, was a HUGE success. Contestants and viewers gathered around the Odyssey stage to witness the first official launch of the program at VMworld 2019 US.

RECAP – What is VMware Odyssey?

VMware Odyssey, sponsored by Intel, is the gamification of Hands-on Labs, designed to engage, challenge, and showcase user’s expertise across the VMware portfolio. Last week at VMworld US, we offered two types of Odyssey labs:

1. Game Mode – Individual VMworld attendees could take an Odyssey lab in game mode at one of our desktop stations to compete with other players around the world!  The global Odyssey leaderboard displayed the top players with the quickest times.
2. Tournament Mode -Teams come together in a tournament setting to compete against each other in rounds. The winning teams continued to the finals to play for 1^st and 2^nd place.

VMware Odyssey – Game Mode

Outside official Odyssey tournament hours, our stage was open to anyone who wanted to try our brand-new Odyssey ‘Game Mode’ labs. Customers came to experience a taste of the ‘Odyssey Game Lab’. Participants raced against the clock to complete the given lab tasks as fast as they could to rank on the global leaderboard. Some initial customer feedback is included below:

• “Great experience. This would be a good way to expand on VCP certification and have a lab setup to test the skills of a certification.”
• “Fun concept. Challenging enough to be fun but not impossible. Leading but not spoon fed. Really well done; enjoyed this. Thanks!”

The VMware Odyssey Tournament Begins

Ready, Set, Go!

On Tuesday, all the participants delved into Round 1 with great scrutiny, trying to figure out the correct configurations. The excitement was almost tangible as teams huddled together to help each other in figuring out the correct configurations for the tasks.

After the first two rounds finished, the top 12 teams progressed to the semifinals on Wednesday, August 29^th. Each round covered a brand-new VMware product topic.  To kick off the final rounds, our CEO, Pat Gelsinger, cheered on the teams, and even gave them back rubs for good luck!

The top six teams from the semifinals advanced to the final round and competed for first and second place. After some breathtaking minutes we had a winning team, the Meteors!

Congratulations again to our Odyssey grand prize winners – the Meteors! Well done Dmitri,
Ben, and Nick! Check out Ben’s blog post on his experience with Odyssey: https://www.murben.net/2019/09/vmworld-2019-hol-odyssey-competition-we.html

Thank you again to everyone who participated in or cheered on VMware Odyssey at VMworld US last week. A special shout out and thank you as well to our sponsor, Intel, for making our first official VMworld Odyssey Tournament possible!

Check out our Facebook page for more photos: https://www.facebook.com/vmwarehol/ 

What’s Next?

Our next stop is VMworld 2019 Barcelona.  We can’t wait to see you there!  In the meantime, check out the VMware Odyssey website to learn more: http://odyssey.vmware.com/

About Kate Lee – 

Kate Lee is a Technical Marketing Manager (Support Engineer) of the Hands-on Labs Team and the only member residing in Asia. She loves supporting day-to-day customers and employees with their Hands-on Labs experience and is also engaged in supporting Odyssey.

Make your mark at Hands-on Labs VMworld 2019 US! Over the last 12 months, our team has been working tirelessly to create a meaningful experience for you. This year we have 83 new labs across all of our products and several never-before-seen offerings.

What’s New?

We are excited to be introducing several new programs this year.

• VMware Odyssey™ by Hands-on Labs: We are taking Hands-on Labs to the next level by adding gamification elements to the labs you know and love. Showcase your technical expertise in our Hands-on Labs environment across the VMware portfolio of products. Compete through rounds and go head to head with teams to be crowned the grand prize winner! Register now and become the Odyssey Champion!

Are you ready to be crowned this year’s Odyssey Champion? Limited availability, Register today, claim your spot and jacket!

• Partner Labs: Test drive our newest partner products and solutions with Hands-on Labs. At VMworld 2019 US, we will offer many new partner labs including Dell, AWS, and more.
• Hands-on Labs Augmented Reality: Augmented Reality will be available within the VMworld App throughout the Hands-on Labs area. Discover the Expert-Led Workshops, Command Center Wall, Hands-on Labs Tours, and VMware Odyssey.

Labs That Fit Your Schedule

Take any lab, anywhere, anytime. VMware Hands-on Labs are flexible to fit your schedule. Here are a few options available at VMworld:

• Self-Paced Labs: Explore VMware’s latest products by taking a Hands-on Lab on your own time and at your own pace.
  • At a traditional workstation: Come into the Hands-on Lab room and we will provide you with a seat, a screen and a keyboard.
  • Bring in your own device (BYOD): Find a spot in our open HOL Connect (info on VMworld website) to start a lab.

• Expert-Led Workshops: Try Hands-on Labs in an engaging, instructional environment with lab creators and experts in the room with you! This year we increased the number of workshops available AND added two workshops in Spanish and Portuguese. 

What about Prizes?

 This year our prizes are better than ever! Here are a few ways you can qualify to win:

• The CloudCred, Hands-on Labs Great Labs Game: Score your CloudCred points for EVERY lab and workshop. Follow the QR code at the end of your lab or session for CloudCred points to win BIG PRIZES!! 
• VMware Odyssey™ by Hands-on Labs: Come to VMware Odyssey during VMworld and enter for a chance to win prizes and Odyssey swag.

We can’t wait to see you there!

About Olivia Reyes

Olivia Reyes is a Content Delivery Specialist and the newest member of the Hands-on Labs team! She is excited to drive innovation and automation across current processes, products and solutions for all things Hands-on Labs.

Have you ever wished there was a fun and quick way to learn about a VMware product and its features? If your answer is yes, we are happy to introduce VMware Odyssey a new approach to evaluating VMware products.

How? We have added gamification elements to the labs you know and love. VMware Odyssey are short 15-minute tasks that challenge your knowledge and expertise across the VMware portfolio.

How did it all get started?

It is in VMware’s DNA to push the boundaries, we launched an in-person competition during vForum Singapore 2018. The results were amazing! We had a total of 52 customers and partners, forming 18 teams of 2-3 people competition against each other. Within the teams, there was a great amount of teamwork as participants worked together to complete the required given tasks.  There were a lot of interactions with the audience as they cheered for their favorite teams and friends. Click here to read more

How has it evolved?

The Hands-on Labs team has been working tirelessly to grow and scale the program in-person and online. For the vForum Singapore event all the validation was done manually; participants completed tasks and lab staff checked to make sure they were done correctly. This did not give us much room to scale, so over the past 6 months, we have been developing a fully automated game engine that will automatically check that a task was completed correctly.

Odyssey is created using VMware’s Hands-on Labs environment with customized manuals created specifically to test your technical knowledge and expertise of VMware products. Once you complete a task you get instant feedback on your progress. You can form a team and go head to head against the clock to reach the highest ranking on the leaderboard.

Watch Video to Learn More

What’s next…?

We are happy to announce we are bringing the fun and excitement to VMworld 2019! Come and join the fun in San Francisco August 25-29 and Barcelona November 4-7, register at www.vmworld.com!

Stay tuned for our next blog with details about our upcoming in-person events. Please leave your comments and feedback to learn more.

Lightning Labs are short 30-minute, concentrated modules of our Hands-On Labs that are designed to maximize your time. Simply put, they are the fastest and easiest way to learn about core product features broken down to bite-sized actions.

These evaluations are FREE, easy to access thru our Lighting Lab Catalogue and up and running on your browser in minutes, NO INSTALLATION required.

Simply choose the lab you’d like to test drive and click on the Start Lab button.

Now you are ready to dive in and evaluate the features and functionality of VMware products. It’s that simple.

But don’t take my word for it, listen to the experts:

Got 30 minutes? Try one now!

If English is not your preferred language, you will be pleased to know that our 2019 Hands-on Lab manuals have been localized to serve our global audience. Click here for instructions on how to change your language in the Hands-on Labs portal.

Let us know what you think of our Lighting Labs. Carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

We know your time is valuable so we have been working on identifying the best way you can learn more about VMware products in small segments of time.

How? With the development of Lightning Labs.

What are Lightning Labs?

Lightning Labs are the fastest and easiest way to test-drive the full technical capabilities of VMware products. These evaluations are free, up and running on your browser in minutes, and require no installation. We have broken down the content of a lab into small “bite-sized” sections that allow you to learn about a core product feature in 30-minutes.

Explore Horizon 7, the leading platform for virtual desktops and apps.  Discover the integration between Workspace ONE and SaaS applications, and learn about Workspace ONE Unified Endpoint Management. Take one or both of these free 30-minute labs and be entered into a prize draw to win an Apple Watch.

To find out more, click here Lightning Hands-on Labs Competition

Lightning Labs must be completed in full and taken between 2nd April – 2nd May 2019*.

The winner must be a UK resident and all participants must agree to the terms and conditions* of the contest when signing up for the lab.

Full terms and conditions* can be found here

Learn more by watching this video:

Excited about VMworld 2018? We are too. That is why this year VMworld Begins With You!

For the first time at VMworld Las Vegas, on August 26 through August 30, the Hands-on Labs will be live streaming Hands-on Labs ON AIR on Facebook Live and YouTube Live.

It is in VMware’s DNA to always innovate and try new things.

In building out the Hands-on Labs ON AIR program, the team made sure that both in-person and online attendees have the opportunity to be part of the magic. That is why the live stream will be included as a key component of the Hands-on Labs experience.

Join our host, Sandy Visoso, part of the Hands-on Labs team, for a jam-packed series of live streaming material.

Below is a glimpse of the type of content that will be live streaming during the event.

Opening Day Highlights

Start the day with a run-down of the key activities that will be happening throughout the Hands-on Labs room.

Opening Day ON AIR Schedule:

• Monday, August 27th, 2:00-2:30pm PST

• Tuesday, August 28th, 1:00-2:30pm PST

• Wednesday, August 29th, 2:00-2:30pm PST

• Thursday, August 30th, 3:00-2:30pm PST

Hear from the Experts 

Engage with lab creators and engineers as they share their experience and details of their favorite Hands-on Labs modules.

Hear from the Experts ON AIR Schedule:

• Daily, August 27th-30th, 4:00-4:15 pm PST

Expert-Led Workshops

Live stream the Expert-Led Workshops and get exclusive access to VMware product experts in an engaging instructional environment.

Expert-Led Workshop ON AIR Live Schedule:

• Sunday, August 26th, 2:30-4:00 pm PST: VMware NSX Data Center for vSphere – Operations & Troubleshooting Workshop

• Monday, August 27th, 5:00-6:00 pm PST: vRealize Automation – Doing More with Custom Forms Workshop

• Tuesday, August 29th, 5:00-6:00 pm PST: VMware vSAN Sizing Workshop

• Wednesday, August 30th, 10:30 am-12:00 pm PST: What’s New in VMware vSphere 6.7 Workshop

Hands-on Labs Tours

Get a glimpse of the Hands-on Labs room, and a behind-the-scenes peek at what it takes to run a Hands-on lab.

Hands-on Labs Tour ON AIR Schedule:

• Wednesday, August 30th, 3:00-3:30 pm PST

Make sure to follow the action from any location and interact in real-time by following the Hands-on Labs Facebook and YouTube accounts.

Remember if you aren’t able to join the live stream you can always view the recording on our social channels at a later time.

Want more information? Check out these two videos on VMworld Hands-on Labs 2018.

Tips for Attending VMworld Hands-on Labs 2018

What’s New with 2018 VMworld Hands-on Labs

Folks,

Super excited to announce our Raffle Winner Nicole Williams. Nicole will be joining us at VMworld Las Vegas.  Nicole is a detail-oriented database engineer with experience leading and working in teams on complex projects using a wide range of technologies such as SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, NoSQL, Hadoop, Cloudera and MapR.

Congratulations Nicole !

There are only a few more days until we have released the new labs for this year!  Today’s release will be focused on some of the cloud based offerings and solutions in VMware’s portfolio.  These labs include everything from hosting your own desktops in the cloud to helping Telco providers run elastic, cross-cloud services.

The first lab, HOL-1856-01-ADV – VMware Horizon Cloud – Getting Started, walks you through setting up your own desktop as a service on Horizon Cloud and helps you understand the differences between running an on-premise solution.  You will also see how to integrate Horizon Cloud with User Environment Manager and Workspace ONE

I was fascinated by the next lab, HOL-1881-01-HBD – VMware HCX – Getting Started with Cross-Cloud Mobility and includes the solution to what I believe a lot of Customers have been or will be looking for.  This lab illustrates how to move applications across data centers, whether they are in your private or public cloud.  It also includes a look at protecting your applications with site to site disaster recovery and how to design secure networks and the tools you need to move workloads to the public cloud.

If you are part of the VMware Cloud Provider Program (formerly vCloud Air Network), you will want to a look at HOL-1883-01-HBD.  This lab provides an introduction to vCloud Director and how it interacts with vSAN, vRealize Operations and vRealize Log Insight.  It also covers two new tools, Usage Meter and vCloud Availability.  Usage Meter assists Services Providers in metering usage of VMware products for monthly billing.  vCloud Availability helps customers protect their on-premise vSphere environments with replication and recovery to Public Cloud.

Would you like to run your own Hands-on Labs or are you just curious about how it all works, then you should take a look at HOL-1885-01-EMT – VMware Learning Platform – Deliver Your Own Hands-on Labs.   This is also a great lab for those that are looking for a tool to integrate with their current Learning Management System.  In the lab you will get an idea of what it takes to deliver the labs to you, our users.  The lab also shows how it can be used in an Instructor-led environment and the ability to grade a student’s work in a lab.

The last series of labs, HOL-1886, focus on VMware vCloud Network Functions Virtualization with a Getting Started and an Advanced topics lab.  VMware vCloud Network Functions Virtualization is a platform geared towards the telecommunications industry.  In the Getting Started lab, you will follow the end-to-end lifecycle of vCloud Network Functions Virtualization, along with our partners Athonet and Cloudify.  The Advanced Topics lab covers integration with VMware Integrated OpenStack and deploying Metaswitch.

Thank you for sticking with us as we are down to the last few days.  We’ll be back tomorrow with more great labs for you!

We had another record breaking year at VMworld US last week and are on our way to VMworld Europe for next week’s show, which will hopefully be just as exciting!  We debuted lots of new content and we cannot wait to share it with you.

As we prepare to get the latest labs out to you after VMworld, we want to make sure you are prepared for what’s to come. The process is what we have done in year’s past and we will start rolling out the labs after VMworld Europe.  Since VMworld Europe is a month earlier this year, that means we will be delivering the labs that much sooner to you!

As the new labs in the 2018 catalog get released, their 2017 counterparts will be placed in the HOL Archives catalog. The catalog can be found at the bottom of the list.  We will also be restructuring the catalog listings, very similar to what we are using at VMworld, to make things easier to find.  More details to come in the next post.

One thing to note is that once the 2017 labs are placed in the archive catalog, you will likely need to wait a bit longer for your lab to start and make sure the Lab Status indicates ‘Ready’ in green before proceeding with your lab.

As a reminder, in order to make room for all this great new content, we will have to retire the 2017 catalog and that will happen on December 1st, 2017.  For those of you that may be planning to use our HOL-in-a-Box service for upcoming events, make sure you keep those dates in mind and transition any events to the 2018 labs prior to that date!

Finally, to help you find the lab replacing the 2017 SKU, you can use the HOL 2017 to 2018 Lab Listing PDF.  For the most part, the 2018 SKU lined up to identical content that was in the 2017 SKU.  For example, HOL-1703-SDC-01 (NSX) has been updated and replaced with HOL-1803-01-NET.  In cases where there was no direct match, you can review the Notes column to see where the content is now or if it has been removed.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks for further updates on some of the changes we have implemented this year and to see which labs are released!