LISA '11 training: VMWare vCloud

LISA '11's virtualization training series kicks off on Sunday with an all-day session focused on VMWare's vCloud product. vCloud allows administrators to set up internal clouds, run on external cloud providers, or use a mix of the two. Leading the session are VMWare experts and LISA veterans John Arrasjid and Ben Lin. Although John and Ben are not new to LISA, vCloud is. When asked why this training was brought to LISA this year, Lin said

Complexity in designing cloud environments can vary drastically based on the use cases driving the project. Based on our cloud architecture experience to date and previously created material, we've attempted to distill the relevant decision points in a logical manner. Cloud encompasses a much broader view of the enterprise and touches many different components in order to drive the automation and orchestration required. Technology is changing rapidly to adapt to the cloud vision, which means our skill sets also must adapt accordingly.

The experience and previous material is nothing to sneeze at. Between them, they bring many years of VMWare experience and several USENIX publications. In addition, they taught a similar course at LISA '10.

As is the norm for LISA sessions, the exchange of information is never one-way. Ben looks forward to "meeting with attendees learning about their experiences and pain points." Because of their positions in VMWare, John and Ben are well-positioned to respond to feedback. In addition, cross-pollination between session attendees always provides additional learning experience. Ben suggests attendees "bring plenty of business cards and attend as many events as possible." Major opportunities exist to make connections across the industry.

Information about other training sessions and the rest of the LISA '11 events can be found at http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa11/.