Submit a nomination for the next VMTN Community Warrior. In 2018, this program will continue recognizing users who commit time and energy to engaging with peers in the VMTN community. Learn more.

VMware Technology Network’s newest Community Warrior, @daphnissov, captures the meaning of community in his actions every day and it’s a privilege to honor him for his contributions.

Any VMware user who has been on communities since 2015 has likely interacted with the newest Community Warrior, @daphnissov, and left the forums better for it. Rather than try to capture the value he adds, I will let the Community Warrior nomination submitted by another user do the talking:

“For a vRA installation, he spent his own time troubleshooting my issue and trying to replicate a rather specific error within his own environment. Seeing that this was my first post as well as interaction with another forum member, I can only say that other places are hard pressed and should be lucky to find one as him/her/it (AI or something)”

Thank you for all that you do @daphnissov – we are lucky to have you contributing to VMTN!

Learn a little bit more about @daphnissov…

Which VMware communities are you involved in?

I am involved with many of the VMTN Communities on an almost daily basis including vSphere, ESXi, vCenter, vRealize Automation, vRealize Orchestrator, vRealize Operations Manager, vRealize Log Insight, vSAN, VMware Workstation, and VMware Fusion. Although I’ve been on the communities for a number of years, I came to the realization (sometime earlier) that it’s fairly unsportsmanlike conduct of me to always be the beneficiary of others’ generosity and knowledge without ever reciprocating, and so I ramped up my contributions over the past year.

I think I speak for all of VMTN when I say we’re glad you did! Tell me, how do you work with VMware day-to-day?

 Well, my day-to-day can be very VMware filled, but I am currently a Senior Solutions Architect for Sovereign Systems, a VMware partner, where I architect, design, and then implement the full SDDC stack of solutions, so everything from vSphere up to cloud management platforms and all things in between. I have the privilege of working with an awesome team who, in turn, get to help and guide customers of all sizes through their virtualization and cloud journeys.

After that, I can often be found in my home lab where I tinker with (and sometimes break) more VMware products and find interesting ways to solve real-world problems with them. And, of course, assisting others on the VMTN Communities is a daily hobby as well.

Wow – that’s fantastic. Can you tell me the most rewarding thread you’ve helped to answer in the forums?

That’s tough since I get a lot of reward just knowing that I was able to make a difference in any thread, but also difficult in just finding posts since I have a hillock of discussions to which I’ve contributed (I’ve always wanted to use that word in a sentence). This one was rewarding to see resolved, however.

What is the most difficult thread you’ve helped to answer?

That’s also tough as there have been some real head-scratchers. Generally, whenever there are any discussions which necessitate a full environment be deployed it’s got to be pretty interesting. This one was a good candidate.

You are clearly a VMware expert. What advice would you give to community members on learning more and becoming a better professional?

The first thing is to get involved in the communities. Let the problems experienced by others be your problems and, in turn, let the solutions build your knowledge. Do one thing each week which scares you by taking you out of your comfort zone. Never hesitate to state the obvious. Shun no knowledge, regardless of what it may be. And never be afraid to admit ignorance on a subject—the beginning of all wisdom starts with the phrase, “I do not know.” Your struggles as you attempt to find those answers will result in tremendous personal and professional growth.

Are you working on any projects you think the VMTN community would be interested in?

I’m always working on at least three things at once, it seems. Blogs are constantly in the works and some of the ones forthcoming include things like LACP use in vSphere; for the automation folks I’m continuing my exploration of the SovLabs extensibility modules for vRealize Automation; and for those more operations-centric I’ll be diving into vIDM usage with vROps and vRLI soon. I am also trying to finish up a fairly substantial article that covers any and every form of vSphere migration type which I hope to expand into a book at some point. I’m also working towards my VCDX.

I’ll look out for updates… How can people follow you or get in touch?

I’m fairly accessible over either Twitter (@chipzoller), LinkedIn (Chip Zoller), or send me a private message through the VMTN Communities.

Thanks @daphnissov!

Do you see someone frequently answering questions in your favorite forums? Did someone provide support to you recently at a VMUG or over Twitter? Any community involvement counts. Head to the Community Warrior page to nominate a user, or email katieb@vmware.com.