VMware is currently conducting its Partner Exchange from February 10 to February 13, 2014 in San Francisco. Some thoughts on Day 1.
At first glance, the PEX seems so similar to VMworld and many other industry and trade conferences. There is an Exhibit Hall, lots of sessions, labs, workshops, certification programs, receptions, and other networking events. There are a lot of familiar faces as well. However, the differences between PEX and VMworld are apparent only on closer examination.
VSAN is the emerging technology that has loads of promise. In this context, the following sessions were very helpful.
SDDC3444: Virtual SAN – Technical Best Practices
SDDC3445: Virtual SAN – Use Cases
Updates on VSAN availability, in particular that it would be GA during Q1 was heartening. The Hands-On Lab was well organized with a team of experts as well. A shout out to Pablo and his team on this. VSAN will help transform storage over the next few years, reversing the consolidation into SANs and improving the performance while reducing the cost.