In 2008 I purchased a Dell T110 tower server for my home. I wanted something to run ESXi 4 on so I could run Windows 2003 servers to study for my MCSE. From that point on a home lab has been critical to my success as a technician. It is very common for a technical professional to have some sort of personal space to mess around with.
There are many reasons someone may want to spend hard earned money on a home lab.
As vCenter has evolved many programs and plugins depend on it for functionality. With the recent GA to vSphere 6.5 a discussion came up on twitter. Veeam released version 9.5 around the same time but it’s not compatible with vSphere 6.5. I tried to install Veeam into my lab but couldn’t. Instead I was met with an error warning me to wait until Veeam 9.5 Update 1.
The discussion about Compatibility reminded me of the spreadsheet I use to track plugins and configuration of all my servers.
The application for vExpert 2017 opened today and go through December 16th. The vExpert program is a VMware advocacy group that recognizes people who give back to the VMware community and promote VMware technology. You can become a vExpert by leading a VMUG, speaking, blogging, and/or tweeting your support of VMware technology.
I can say one of the best things that has happened in my career was being selected as vExpert 2016.
I have publicly committed to submitting a design to the VCDX committee. My design is due in March 2017. I’m very glad I signed up to submit because it has kick started my motivation. Today I wanted to talk about my progress.
I am using an actual design for a project I worked on. It’s a fairly complex system with many moving pieces. It mostly meets AMPRS requirements (Availability, Manageability, Performance, Recoverability, Security) so I shouldn’t have to do much tweaking to make it pass muster.
I’m a huge fan of the Full Stack Journey podcast. In the show Scott Lowe investigates the question “Can someone truly be a full stack engineer?”. He and his guests work together to give actionable advice and talk about the benefits of being a full stack engineer vs working in a silo.
The definition of a full stack engineer really hard to pin down. Many people have opinions on the matter and they revolve around some common themes.
I am a regular listener to The Geek Whisperers podcast. If you haven’t listened to them before please check them out here. Trust me, you won’t regret it. The podcast always has a very interesting guest and they talk soft skills and high level concepts with very technical people. A lot of their discussion revolves around career paths, decisions that lead their guest to their current position, and practical advice a listener can implement to change, improve, or develop similar skills.
After a lot of going back and fourth, gnashing my teeth, etc I decided to participate in the #vDM30in30 challenge. I suppose that starting a VCDX design and working to improve my presentation skills wasn’t enough. Add on work responsibilities and family time and I have a challenge ahead of me.
I refuse to let doubt or fear stop me so here I go. In the next month I hope to talk about the following topics (and more!