Broadcom Archives - ElasticSky

20. December 202420. December 2024

2024 – Time to say goodbye to cherished resources at VMware

For years I have been teaching students in my VMware courses to memorize only a few important URLs.

docs.vmware.com
configmax.vmware.com
VMware HCL
core.vmware.com

Following the takeover by Broadcom, there are understandable changes here. We take a look at where the individual sources of information have gone and which ones remain available.

Goodbye Docs – Hello Techdocs

If you visit the VMware Docs page today (December 2024), the following information catches your eye:

After December 31, 2024, the site will go offline and in future information will have to be obtained via the Broadcom Techdocs site. Here you will not only find VMware information, but documents on almost all products that Broadcom has in its portfolio. Don’t bother scrolling down to the letter “V”. That is a waste of time. Instead, type in the name of the product you are looking for.

PDF Export?

One feature that I really appreciated about the previous VMware documentation was the pleasantly readable HTML continuous text, the clearly structured outline and the optional export of the documentation as a PDF.

The continuous text and the outline are available in the Techdocs portal, but the download as PDF is missing. Maybe the link exists and I just haven’t found it yet. If someone finds it -> please send an info in the comments.

Configmax

The link to configmax.vmware.com no longer works at all. Instead of a redirect, there is only a timeout. Too bad.

The new resource can be accessed at https://configmax.broadcom.com.

Fortunately, it looks exactly the same as before – only the TLD has changed.

VMware HCL

The VMware Host Compatibility List (HCL) has always been the central point of contact in cluster design. Where has it gone? It is no surprise that it has also been migrated under the Broadcom TLD. The new URL is https://compatibilityguide.broadcom.com

The dashboard for selecting the different Compatibility Guides is a little clearer compared to the old HCL. At the top level, we have a quick selection grouped according to application areas.

What else is (still) available

When it came to design guides, the URL core.vmware.com used to be an important starting point. If you follow the URL, you come to the VMware Resource Center. At least a redirect has been set here. The navigation is somewhat cumbersome and the search field is not very helpful. Unless you know the name of the document you are looking for. The naming of the products is also not intuitive. NSX, for example, can be found under “Networking by NSX” and vSAN under “Storage by vSAN“. Sometimes you have to play with the product filters and asset types to get to the desired destination.

I was pleased to see that the URL code.vmware.com is still accessible and filled with content. We’ll see how long.

As the above-mentioned resources are still under the vmware.com TLD, it will only be a matter of time before they move to the broadcom.com TLD.

9. March 20249. March 2024

German VMUG UserCon 2024 in Frankfurt

On April 25, 2024, the German VMUG UserCon will open its doors in Frankfurt am Main. It is the first UserCon in Germany since the acquisition of VMware by Broadcom.

The German VMUG UserCon is the annual meeting of the seven local VMUG groups in Germany.

Keynote Speaker

We are particularly pleased to present this year’s keynote speakers.

With Joe Baguley, CTO EMEA, who has already supported us at several previous VMUG events, we were able to win over our preferred candidate early on in the planning phase. Joe is an eloquent and witty speaker who knows how to engage his audience, even with complex topics.

Brad Tompkins, VMUG Executive Director, should be familiar to regular UserCon visitors. This year he will not be joining us via video message as usual, but will be present in person. In view of the many UserCons taking place around the world, it is a special pleasure to welcome him to Frankfurt.

Our third guest is no less than Broadcom President and CEO Hock Tan. His commitment to come to Frankfurt has only been official since the beginning of March and has surprised even the biggest optimists in the organization team. The story behind it all began at last year’s VMUG Leader Reception during VMware Explore in Barcelona. The then-not-yet VMware CEO came to the traditional VMUG Leader Reception as a surprise guest and chatted freely with the leaders about his plans with VMware, VMware Explore and the VMUG. Over a glass of wine, I asked him if he would like to come to Frankfurt for UserCon in 2024. He said yes, if his calendar would allow it, and that we should clarify the details with his office. We took his answer at the time as a polite ‘maybe’ without seriously hoping for it. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the VMUG HQ in the Netherlands for making this appointment possible.

Breakout Sessions

Nevertheless, what would a UserCon be without its presentations in the numerous breakout sessions? In four parallel series of lectures, each with 6 blocks, technical backgrounds are explained and new technologies are presented. Here, too, we were able to attract top-class speakers. These include the well known vRockstars Duncan Epping and Cormac Hogan, who will introduce us to the latest developments in vSAN ESA and DSM 2.0 respectively.

Duncan Epping , VMware
Chief Technologist Cloud Infrastructure

Agenda of the German VMUG UserCon 2024

Closing Keynote

The event will be wrapped up by Björn Brundert (Broadcom). He is also an old familiar face at German UserCons. In 2022, he gave the keynote speech at the first UserCon after the pandemic. His presentation on Tanzu Kubernetes at UserCon 2019, during which the room was about to burst, was also unforgettable.

Björn Brundert
VMware Principal Technologist

Registration und Key Data

Die Veranstaltung findet statt in Frankfurt am Main im Kap Europa (Osloer Str. 5, 60327 Frankfurt am Main). Die Teilnahme und Registrierung ist kostenlos.

The event will take place in Frankfurt at Kap Europa (Osloer Str. 5, 60327 Frankfurt am Main). Participation and registration is free.

Registration and coffee: 8:30

Start: 9:30

9. November 202211. November 2022

VMware-Explore EMEA is back

It was almost exactly three years ago that IT experts from all over the world met in Barcelona for the VMware IT trade fair, which was then still called VMworld. Due to the pandemic, the following events in 2020 and 2021 had to be canceled and held virtually instead. Certainly an alternative in times of emergency, but no substitute for the on-site event. Lectures and presentations are only a small aspect. Much more important, on the other hand, is personal contact and networking.

VMworld is now VMware Explore

This year’s event is a new beginning in many aspects. The rebranding may be subject to controversy. VMworld was a constant term within the community and many are still having a hard time with the new brand. That VMware-Explore is a new beginning can also be seen in the visitor numbers. While there were more than 12,000 visitors in Barcelona in 2019, the organizers expected only about half that figure in 2022. Also from the experience from the North America event in San Francisco which remained far below expectations. Surprisingly, demand in the EMEA region is high and instead of around 6,000 estimated attendees, there are over 7,500, not including VMware employees.