Regardless of your circumstances, or even virtualization specifically, one of the things I believe allows people to be ‘a guru’ in anything (from golf to musicians to technologists) is that there must be a passion, or love of what you are doing.  I found my passion in empowering and mentoring other people in the transition to a virtualized data center. 

Now, I cannot imagine that spending 15 years in IT has hurt.  I had to work my way up through rank and file.  I supported users, printers, applications, networks, DSL lines, Frame Relay configurations, Windows, NetWare, Solaris, Linux, OS X, FC & iSCSI storage (from EMC, Compaq HP, Hitachi, Sun, IBM, LeftHand, EqualLogic), networking (routers, switches, DNS, NTP, routes), server hardware (HP, Compaq, IBM, Dell, Sun), manage backup environments, perform upgrades, move corporate locations between campuses, handle disaster recovery and business continuity requirements, and I’m sure there are a number of other tasks that I now take for granted.  I have had the opportunity to do almost all of the different skills that involve computers and datacenters.  But I still have enough sense to answer someone truthfully when I have to say “…I don’t know…”  No one person in the IT field can know everything, and you must know your limits, and when to call in the experts.

I have worked with hardware and software vendors to develop ways to integrate their offerings for the Virtual Infrastructures. I have had the opportunity to work in some of extremely large organizations where there were many hundreds of ESX servers.  I participate in all the VMware Users’ Group (which I recommend people out there participate in their local VMUG), and am willing to help people with their needs.

What are some of the biggest challenges when one upgrades to VMware vSphere?

Licensing.

Well…VMware has changed the way they do licensing again, but I believe that this time, they have it done correctly.  They have gone from originally using 20 digit key codes that you would have to enter for each ESX server and vCenter, to managing licenses with a License Server, back to using key codes.

What I see as the biggest obstacle here, will be people transitioning their existing VI3 licenses to the vSphere 4 licenses.  Just being aware that there is a change is not good enough.  A simple resolution to this is had by all…plan on having the licensing migrated to your vSphere 4 licenses before you actually do the migration to vCenter 4, or any of your ESX servers.

Oh…and something I like to do during the transition…consider switching to ESXi.

ESX and ESXi are licensed in the same way, so there is no concern there.  ESXi does not have an operating system like ESX does, it is a very lean install, and it is supported to install it to USB and SD cards rather than hard drives.  That can lead to cooler running servers, less power consumption, and 1 step towards the greener data center.  I see this as being the future of the hypervisor.

If you were to look into the Mark G crystal ball which areas do you see real project work happening this year?

Virtual Desktops, Cloud adoption, Disaster Recovery (as always), Upgrades to vSphere 4, and automation of the datacenter are where I see the most focus will be given.  Those are just the tangible projects that I see

Virtual Desktops are ready…maybe not for all the desktops just yet, but easily encompassing 50-90% of the desktops that are out there.  That doesn’t mean I expect that all desktops will move to a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure this year, but if you have any desktop projects out there, there will need to be a focus on Virtualizing them, and the applications that users require.

Disaster Recovery is always an important issue.  Automating DR is even more important, due to the need for it to be executed without incident when the need arises. 

vSphere 4 upgrades will be a big play this year.  People have had time to get up to speed with the new version of the vSphere Infrastructure, and much of the planning sessions are complete, with people ready to move forward with the upgrades.

Automation of the Virtual Datacenters is going to be a growing expectation fo the datacenter.

In closing, what advice do you have to those that aspire to become a VCP and VCDX?

VCP is a certification that you should acquire if you are given the opportunity.  A few days in class, and an exam are all that stands between you and a certification that can differentiate you from the rest of the IT community.  If you have used VMware for more than six months, and are involved in managing or maintaining said environment, you have the requisite skills that the certification aims to showcase.

VCDX, on the other hand, is a certification that is going to focus more on the solution providers and integrators in the market.  As stated earlier, it encompasses many aspects of the data center and the operation of the data center.  Not all VCPs will have a need for, or be accepted as candidates for the VCDX certification.

For those VCPs who are consulting or building solutions for their clients, this could be the next logical step.  This page:  http://mylearn.vmware.com/mgrReg/plan.cfm?plan=9657&ui=www is a perfect starting point to look into the steps required to acquire a VCDX.  The people I see who will have the best chance at being selected for a VCDX candidacy will be those who can practice and articulate networking, storage, hardware selection, business strategy, and most importantly, can document the above mentioned skills.  As you start down the VCDX path, you will most probably find the VCDX to be what I find it to be…. A next generation datacenter practitioner.

Good luck with both certification programs, everyone!

 

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