Today I bring you the long anticipated sequel to "Block or file based storage for VMware". Ok, not exactly a Hollywood blockbuster and maybe not accurate to call it a sequel but it is the second half of a very popular session that my fellow vExpert Eric Siebert delivered at HP Discover in June. 

In part 2, Eric talks about several misconceptions about iSCSI and gives some great advice when deciding on your storage protocol for VMware.  As with yesterday, I turned the audio into a video and also have a downloadable podcast version.

At HP Discover, my fellow vExpert Eric Siebert had a session titled "Block or file based storage for VMware environments". I recorded the audio of that session and have it for you today on the blog.  You have a couple of ways to get this content:

• YouTube video where I have added the slides Eric used
• Audio only podcast and if you want to download Eric's slides

As we have done for at least three years, we're bringing a group of bloggers to HP Discover (though it was originally called HP Tech Forum).  We have a bloggers' lounge right in the middle of all that action in the Discover Zone that is just for them.  During the three plus days of the event, they'll get exclusive access to HP executives, engineers, and subject matter experts.  I know several of the bloggers coming and there are a few that I'll meet for the first time. 

I've created a Twitter list of all the guys coming so you can follow what they have to say.  Watch what they have to say on their blogs and on Twitter.  I personally get a lot out of their feedback and insight and I think you will too. 

If you continue to the blog post, you can see who all of the bloggers are and there blog URLs.



The lights at HP Discover have been turned off - all the hardware in the Discover Zone has been sent back to HP (except for the HP StoreOnce B6200 that was sold right off the show floor to a very local customer in Las Vegas), but there's lots of ways to still connect with everything that happened at HP Discover.  Here are just a few:



• There will be lots of content on the event website at www.hp.com/go/discover. It has video replays of the keynotes, and some of the general and track sessions.  In fact, I just found a link to the HP Storage strategy session that you should check out.
• I have lots of content on the blog from HP Discover.  Here's a single link to find all of them.
• I really like Storify - its a great way to tell a story with images, videos, and links to social media feeds (like Twitter and blog posts).  I have an HP Storage at Discover Storify page - check it out!
• I have a number of podcasts from HP Discover with more on the way.  You can subscribe to my podcast from the iTunes store; go to the store, click on Podcasts and then search for "Around the Storage Block". 
• If you have any questions, leave me a comment here or ping me on Twitter.

Closing thoughts

Hope you had a great time at HP Discover! I can tell you that it was my best HP Discover ever.  It was meeting great customers like Juan from the Tampa Bay Rays, Karen and Shahin from Centerbeam; hanging out with fantastic HP partners like Nina from Connect, Bart who came all the way from Belgium and brought me some chocolates, and Mitch from Intel; and there were too many bloggers to mention all of them here but you can see who they were on my blog post talking about them.  And a big thank you to my HP colleagues who worked tirelessly to make this a great HP event. 

For those of you in Europe, hope to see you at HP Discover in Frankfurt December 4-6. 

(Click on the image to go to the HP Discover event page)





HP Discover is creeping up on me quickly and I am definitely excited about it.  For those of you coming, I wanted to give you my pick for the top storage sessions to consider.  Now mind you, I'm sure there will be other great sessions that aren't in our storage track - but hey, I am the Storage Guy.  So here's my list of top storage sessions:

I'm at NAB and got a demo of Watchitoo.  They are a partner of HP's and are in our booth.  As a video blogger, I'm pretty excited about their technology.  I just recorded a short video from their platform - here it is.  I hope to have a podcast or video in the next few days going deeper on Watchitoo.

If you've been reading the blog over the last few days, you know that I'm at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in Las Vegas. Just in case you haven't seen those blog posts, here's a link to the two blogs I've written talking about NAB. Today I have a quick blog post to point you to a few things happening today (especially for NAB attendees) and a very cool video I have of a demo I got yesterday.

Today at NAB, I have a great deal for you!

HP has what promises to be a great session titled “Better than HAL? – The impact of new meaning based computing on Media industry” Tuesday at 1 PM in session room S224.  HP Autonomy CEO and co-founder Dr. Mike Lynch and HP Storage VP of Marketing, Strategy and Operations Tom Joyce will lead the session with special guest Lincoln Wallen, head of R&D at DreamWorks Animation.

So what's my deal? I have a pretty generous supply of beer tickets for the NAB Beer Garden (sponsored by HP - thank you very much!).  Join me at the session today, find me and say hello and you can have a beer on me.  I shouldn't be too hard to find - I'll be wearing my HPStorageGuy logo-ware and will sit toward the front of the room.

I'll also have another option that I'll talk about on Twitter - so if you're at NAB, follow my Twitter stream and you'll have a great chance to have a beer on me!

UPDATE on 4/16:  Our theatre sessions are being streamed live on the internet on our Facebook page.  I watched most of the sessions today and it's some very good stuff.  Check it out!

The other day I did an initial post talking about what HP would be doing at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show next week.  Today, before I head out to Las Vegas for the like the sixth time in eight months, I wanted to focus on the exhibit halls, specifically what HP will have in our booth. 

I know in this space, you probably care most about where in the digital process we have solutions, so here's a look at that:

• Asset Management: Autonomy (media bin), Avid (interplay MAM), North Plains (Telescope),  Gorilla Technologies (Gorilla Enterprise MAM), the HP Digital Library Project (Paul McCartney Library), and Vizrt (Ardome MAM)
• Editing: HP will highlight its file based editing solution with partners ATTO Technology and Quantum StorNext which includes HP infrastructure
• Ingest and Play-out: HP will feature presentations from Miranda Technologies and their ITX solution that is based on HP servers and HP X9320 storage. 
• Content Distribution: HP will feature Envivio and Concurrent who both offer Content distribution for VOD, web distribution, to manage video delivery to any device.
• Media Archive: HP will also feature SGL Broadcast (Flashnet), TOLIS backup/recovery software, Cache-A, Panasonic, Crossroads, and Storage DNA all integrated to HP Tape LTO5 and LTFS 
• Other Key Highlights in HP booth: HP will feature the Aurasma application which turns the real world into the virtual world and expands monetization possibilities to virtually any-where, HP will show HP’s media cloud, and we will be highlighting our new line of workstation systems in the booth. 

HP is a major sponsor of NAB 2012 and I’m heading there next week.   I am SO looking forward to it.  You can read more about NAB on the NAB Show website.  Some of the HP highlights at NAB are:

• You can find HP in the North Hall, in booth N5106.  The Exhibit Halls are open from 9 AM – 6 PM starting on Monday April 16 through Thursday April 19, closing at 2 PM on the last day.
• HP Storage is the exclusive sponsor of the beer garden, located between the South and Central Halls.  Stop by our booth and we’ll have daily beer garden ticket give-a-ways.  There will be specific times we give the beer garden tickets away so follow me on Twitter and I’ll tweet the details daily.
• HP is also the exclusive sponsor of the NAB opening party on Monday night at the Marquee Club, Cosmopolitan Hotel from 10 PM until midnight.  It promises to be a great time!  Bring your conference badge and join us.
• The HP will host a session titled “Better than HAL? – The impact of new meaning based computing on Media industry” Tuesday at 1 PM in session room S224.  HP Autonomy CEO and co-founder Dr. Mike Lynch and HP Storage VP of Marketing, Strategy and Operations Tom Joyce will lead the session with special guest Lincoln Wallen, head of R&D at DreamWorks Animation.

How can you follow along?

There's a lot more happening at NAB...

Recently my colleague - and VMware PEX unofficial official Tweetup co-host - Eric Siebert hosted a vote on his website vSphere-land.com looking for the top VMware-focused blogs.  He's held the public vote for 3 years on his site.  If you're a VMware administrator or enthusiast, you'll find a treasure trove of VMware tips, tricks, detailed discussions, best practices and a lot more from the best VMware bloggers out there.  Here's a link to his VMware top blog 2012 results post.  

Yes, I made the list! 

ATSB landed at number 33. It's my first time being voted a top VMware blog and along with being named a VMware vExpert last year, they're both honors I'm humble and proud of - can I be humbled and proud at the same time?  I just submitted my application for the 2012 vExpert program and am hoping I'm selected again.