Archives October 2014

You heard it here first (Well, I certainly did) when I read it on Steve Kaplan’s blog Get in on the Nutanix Technical Champion (NTC) ground floor.

So here’s the gist of it.  I’m sure a lot of you are familiar with Microsoft’s MVP Program, the VMware vExpert Program, EMC Elect Program and the many other iterations of community champions who are head and shoulders doing things in their own right and often on their own time (and dime!) Well, this is Nutanix’s reach into that same atmosphere, showing that Community is King.

The official announcement of things to come are available here on the Nutanix Blog;  Announcing the Nutanix Technology Champion (NTC) Program with the actual Application (quite detailed I might say) available through the online NTC Application Form.

For those who are new to Nutanix and Hyper-Converged Infrastructures… I thought through the NUMEROUS image options to depict it, and chose to go with this brief picture I heartily ‘borrowed’ from Nutanix Sr. Solutions Engineer and rockstar Derek Seaman!

I definitely encourage you to check out his blog (and there are others) to continue to get that deep dive understanding of Hyper-Convergence like infrastructures like Nutanix.   Otherwise be sure to check it out, and if you are indeed the rockstar we all know you to be, definitely be sure to get your application in! Applications are due 15NOV2014 – So time is running out! <3

Hey! Why do you keep tagging these posts about EMC with #EMCElect? I just want you to know that I like to party.

But seriously, after my past (and even very recent) posts about Free EMC Education, I love to share the love, the word and the FREE!

Thanks to the awesome team at EMC Education Services there’s a whole boatload of training available to get yourself started!

What kind of topics?

• Cloud
• EMC Hybrid Cloud with VMware Fundamentals
• Storage
• AppSync Fundamentals
• Atmos Fundamentals
• Connectrix Fundamentals
• Isilon Fundamentals
• PowerPath Fundamentals
• RecoverPoint Fundamentals
• Symmetrix Fundamentals
• VNX Fundamentals
• VPLEX Fundamentals
• XtremIO Fundamentals
• Backup and Archive
• Backup Recovery Fundamentals
• Avamar Fundamentals
• Cloud Tiering Appliance Fundamentals
• Data Domain Fundamentals
• EMC Data Protection Advisor Fundamentals
• NetWorker Fundamentals
• SourceOne Archiving Family Fundamentals
• Big Data
• Greenplum Unified Analytic Platform Fundamentals
• Isilon Fundamentals
• Infrastructure Management
• ViPR Fundamentals
• Service Assurance (SA) Suite Fundamentals
• Watch4net Fundamentals
• ViPR SRM Fundamentals

Where can I find out more?

More details can be found at the Free Fundamentals e-Learning Index! So get out there and continue being awesome. :)

So I noticed this recently, OMG FREE TRAINING! You know how much I love sharing free stuff with ya’ll so I figure, why not do it with this as well!

This training (which may not be the only one… I’ll try to get a consolidated list and share that in another post) but this training is free, available, and BOOM! Right there at your disposal.  I did notice some things though, which I’ll share here with my experience of acquiring it.

Where do I get it?

Firstly, you can gain access to it easily by visiting this blog post; New! EMC Hybrid Cloud with VMware Fundamentals e-Learning 

That webpage provides you with pretty much all the details on the training, and even where to click to “Register now”

Why can’t I Register for it?!

I’m not saying this will DEFINITELY affect you but let’s just say, I tried to do it from Chrome on this PC and it kept kicking back various errors, I’ve seen errors of this sort before and having worked at EMC in the past and dealt with Saba I figured… “Let’s try this with Internet Explorer” and I’ll tell you. That worked.  Immediately even! I went through and setup a brand new account, nothing special required, and then POOF! I registered and was SET!

BOOM!

Get out there and edumacate yourselves! <3

Are you familiar with VMware’s Hands On Labs? You know, that thing they make available at VMworld and filled with so much training, dedication, effort, awesomeness? If not, then you should be! One of the best kept secrets about it… Is if you go to the links that you THINK work for it, sometimes they don’t even work, they’ll TELL you about the Hands On Labs, but not provide an actual LINK to the hands on labs! Kind of distressing! :)

For example if you go to this awesome link you’ll find all about Project Nee, all the benefits, all of the details about the labs. But no where in there is an actual LINK which will take you to the labs!  But don’t worry, you’ll be able to find it here, and various places throughout this blog post!

You can also check out and keep updated at the VMware Hands-On Lab (HOL) Blog which shares details about what’s new, and what else is going on!

What’s new?

• HOL-SDC-1401 – Cloud Management with vRealize Operations
• HOL-SDC-1420 – OpenStack with VMware vSphere and NSX
• HOL-SDC-1421 – Brokering IT Services and Applications with vCloud Automation Center
• HOL-MBL-1451 – Horizon 6 with View from A to Z
• HOL-MBL-1452 – Horizon View – Use Cases
• HOL-MBL-1453 – VMware Workspace Portal – Explore and Deploy
• HOL-MBL-1454 – Applied ThinApp with the Horizon Suite
• HOL-MBL-1455 – Managing Desktops with VMware Mirage
• HOL-MBL-1456 – Horizon DaaS – Explore and Deploy
• HOL-MBL-1457 – AirWatch – Explore and Deploy

And so much more. Seriously, there’s so many labs, so much useful content that it’s worth checking out.  Oh and did I mention Free? Let me try again FREE!

This is seriously the best kept VMware Secret that you may never know about and likely didn’t realize how much you appreciate it.  So check it out!

I know some of you may be aware of this, and others of you have absolutely no idea about it at all! Well don’t let that be a hindrance!

This is the 9th year of this Competition and the camaraderie which comes with it is awesome and drips with community!

Some of the key points which are used to convey interest in this (At least from EMC) involve a few points below..

Your idea can lead to:

• Articles selected for publication can reach thousands of your colleagues worldwide
• The current top 10 downloaded articles have been downloaded more than 475,000 times
• Overall, our Knowledge Sharing library recently reached a significant milestone; 1.5 million Knowledge Sharing article downloads!
• Enhancing your professional credentials by having your work published
• Gaining recognition from EMC, the EMC Proven Professional community, and the information storage industry
• Becoming eligible for cash prizes ($15,000) and a free pass to EMC World 2015 in Las Vegas

So if that doesn’t seem interesting enough to you… turning your abstract and written ideas into technology gold, recognition in the community AND Cash and Prizes… I mean, why not, right?!

This doesn’t mean it is easy!

That’s so true. I looked at the winners from previous years. This is VERY high quality work, I commend and admire the effort and results they put out, this makes those expensive whitepapers put out by organizations look like nothing compared to the very well researched and laid out work by the folks who are in this competition.  Don’t let that sway you though, you should still do it if you’ve got the passion and something to share!

Signing up has never been easier. It all starts with expressing interest at this link, and then the EMC team will reach out to you to provide you additional links, places to update information, etc.   Also you don’t have to go at it alone, you can join as a team with multiple authors! Also more details can be found at the EMC Community here.

I know that TIME IS RUNNING OUT! So I wanted to make sure you in the community were aware and to take advantage of these opportunities!

Good luck and stay awesome!