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VMworld US 2018 sessions on VMware Cloud on AWS

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VMworld US 2018 is just around the corner and hopefully most of you have started. I was just browsing the session catalog this morning see what sessions were available for VMware Cloud on AWS and I have always found the VMworld search results less than ideal as I prefer to be able to see all results on a single page without having to continue to load. I decided to write some automation to extract all VMware Cloud on AWS sessions and make them available on a single page.

In total, there are 93 sessions (spread across Sunday - Thursday) and there is literally something for everyone including intro type sessions, partner/3rd party solutions, different solution verticals, technical deep dives, customer panels and even some upcoming slick Tech Previews that we are working on! If you still have some open slots on your schedule, have a look at the list below and sign up.

I have also created a short URL, in case you want to share this list with others: http://vmwa.re/vmcvmworld2018

Sunday

Dear IT, You Gotta Modernize Your Data Center. Let vSphere Help. [VIN1622QU] (1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.) (13:00 - 13:30)
Understanding the TCO Benefits of VMware Cloud on AWS [HYP2817QU] (1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.) (13:00 - 13:30)
How to Deliver the VMware Cloud Story and Vision [PAR7002BU] (2:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.) (14:00 - 14:50)
New Architectures for Big Data/Machine Learning on VMware Cloud on AWS [VAP1593QU] (2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.) (14:00 - 14:30)
New Tools and Information for Partners Selling VMware Cloud on AWS [PAR7004BU] (3:00 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.) (15:00 - 15:50)
Software-Defined, Hybrid, and Distributed: Welcome to the VMware Cloud [HYP3024QU] (3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.) (15:00 - 15:30)
SAP in the Clouds [VAP2294QU] (4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.) (16:00 - 16:30)
Site Recovery Manager and Multiple Sites: The What, How, and Why [HCI2827QU] (4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.) (16:00 - 16:30)

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VMworld Hackathon Hardware/Software BOM

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I know many of you have been asking about the hardware setup that we had used in this years VMworld Hackathon. I finally got a chance to document the details and you can find the complete hardware and software BOM below. For VMworld US, we had two different HW configurations, one for the primary Hackathon which was also re-used for VMworld Europe but we also had another configuration for the Hackathon Training sessions which was new this year. For VMworld Europe, we re-used the primary Hackathon hardware, but we also had the opportunity to take advantage of the new VMware Cloud on AWS offering and built a similiar configuration that teams could also remotely connect to as well. The only difference between the on-premises hardware and VMWonAWS, is the latter required users to RDP to a Windows jump host. Both options were provided and teams could select either environment to use.

Note: Internally, CDW is one of our vendors for purchasing hardware/software and that is why there are links directly to their site. However, you may find better pricing by looking online, especially Amazon which majority of the components are cheaper except for the server which you can get an exclusive vGhetto Discount at MITXPC. I have added links to both CDW/Amazon where applicable and I recommend doing research to find the best pricing if you are on a budget.

Here is a picture of the setup at VMworld US:


Here is a picture of the setup at VMworld EU:

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VMworld Hackathon vSphere Client Login UI Theme

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For those of you who attended this years VMworld Hackathon (US/Europe), you may have noticed something different when logging into the vSphere Web/H5 Client? In case you missed it or could not attend, here is a GIF demonstrating what you would have saw:

via GIPHY

No, the VMworld Hackathon environment was not hacked 😉 but instead I had built a very special VMworld Hackathon vSphere Client Login UI Theme for the event. I was also getting tired of looking at our boring blue login screen. Customizing the vSphere Client Login UI has been possible (though not officially supported by VMware) since vSphere 6.0 which I have written about here, here and most recently here (due to vSphere 6.5 Update 1 changes). Having received a large number of requests from folks who attended the Hackathon as well as folks who had heard or saw the customization who wish to replicate this in their own environment, I have posted the instructions below.

This slick customization would not have been possible without the help from Timo Sugliani (thanks dude!) who was the one that made me aware of the two of the creatives that then gave me the idea to combine them into a vSphere Client Login UI Theme. The first is V for Vendetta image which can be found here and the second is super slick interactive Bootstrap animation which can be found here. Lastly, I added my own touch by using a Mr. Robot font from this site here which goes really well with the overall theme.

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