I dived deep into the VMware community. Here's what I found... The VMware community is more complex than any other IT community I've studied. El Reg sysadmin blogger Phoummala Schmitt has given a fantastic look at the stark contrast between the VMware and Microsoft communities. I am going to delve into the details of the VMware community a little more thoroughly. The tweets must flow If …
As a VMware user I suddenly feel alienated simple because I refuse to have anything to do with Twitter (or facebook) for that matter. This is not the only case I have come upon recently.
I received an email offering a holiday riding my fav motorcycle around Arizona, Nevada and Utah. To enter you have to 'like' the company on FaceBlock. I'd rather miss out that opportunity than let my personal details become 'ad' fodder for the likes of google etc.
There is more to information sharing that the increasingly irrelevant stuff that gets posted on 'T*' and 'FB'. They are also highly addictive and need regulating like booze and Fags (the ones you smoke doh)
Anon for blindingly obvious reasons.
But I don't think that is a bad thing. It means there there is a thriving eco systems of partner products to the VMware suite - something the Hyper-V / SCVMM platform from Microsoft needs IMHO. I'm a VMUG member in the UK and have to agree that there really is nothing like it from a Microsoft perspective I don't think. I'll probably mark myself out as light weight techie by saying that I'm actually a big fan of both companys and their data centre technology stacks specifically - Windows Server 2012 with system center is great and I really like the whole VMware SDDC vision.
I have to say that whilst there is overlap I think there is definite distinction between the two companys directions. VMware almost seem to be saying 'we want to abstract and manage your data centre infrastructure' whilst Microsoft are saying ' we want to abstract and manage your workloads and if they happen to move to Azure then great, btw heres our new SCE server licence model to help you there'.
For me Microsoft have a problem though. The old ECI licence model was great to stand up Server 2012 with system centre and create a private cloud. It suited virtualisation hosts. The SCE model replaces this and FORCES you to licence every other Server licence in your estate under the same SCE, whether they are virtualised or not, whether it is cost effective or not, It applies a blanket coverage.
For me this is Microsofts 'VM Memory Tax' moment and it could well bite them in the proverbial. Where as ECI was really cost effective and allowed Microsof to make the argument to CIOs that they 'already had software for a cloud licenced - why pay for VMWare' completly null. In our scenario the cost difference to take VMware vCloud suite plus plain old Server 2012 data centre licencing rather licence EVERY server instance under SCE is pretty much gone.
As a Vmware Consultant with a company a Vmware Partner some of the community is excluded. We cant attend VMUG or Vbeers unless invited. More and more people are TRYING to be noticed online and posting every experience and fix they find. Result is looking for answers is either easy of clouded by the sheer copy and paste of KB's into blogs.
I love the Vmware Community and take part where i can. But I am not ready to give away my skills I get paid to provide to all and sundry.
Blogging can be bad as well as good.
2 points to counter here:
VMUGs and vBeers are by their definition open events where EVERYONE is invited. Most VMUG leaders by the way are active as local VMware Consultants. VMUG as an organisation is independent from the vendors but not all leaders and members are end-users.
"giving away my skills" is really an old-school phrase. These days we call that knowledge sharing. I can assure you that sharing knowledge gets you a lot of free and valuable knowledge in return. If you have troubles finding the right blogs that are NOT there to get noticed but to share true knowledge, I am sure a local (or even global) vExpert will help you find them.
I found his site early on and was overjoyed that I didn't have to have any prior knowledge to follow his examples...because at the time, I didn't. So many heres-how-you-do-this sites are missing trivial, yet crucial, steps that you only find out about on the 8 page of comments...or after borking everything.
When I think of an 'Expert' with respect to VMware, I think of the VCDX program/certification path. To me, there is roughly 125 certified vExperts in the world. I don't know a lot about the vExpert program, but it seems to me if you are active on the Twitters or you blog a couple times per month about VMware topics, then you can obtain this 'award'. Does regurgitating a KB article and adding in some pictures from your Home Lab or posting about new products and features (which have just been announced and posted somewhere on vmware.com for example) make you an Expert? Does being active on the Twitters talking about vBacon or using silly phrases like 'awesomeness' or announcing your footsteps while you attend a VMUG or a VMWorld, make you a vExpert? Maybe vPassionate, vHelper or even a vRockstar. But that doesn't make you a vExpert (in my humble (anonymous) opinion) - not by a long stretch.
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