Last month I wrote a post about why you should attend VMware Explore. In the mean time it looks like I will attend myself! So exciting times ahead and time to start planning because the content catalogue is open!

Here are my top 10 sessions or activities to attend:

• A Technical Update On VMware Cloud Foundation Operations Innovations [CLOB1458LV]
  Let’s get started with the basics…
• Deploying Minimal VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Lab [CLOB1201LV]
  An interesting session on different ways to deploy VCF 9 in your home lab, so that you can keep busy when you get back.
• Extending VMware Cloud Foundation Operations [CLOB1485LV]
  Management Packs, my favorites!
• Faster Audits: Regulatory Compliance With VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 [CLOB1260LV]
  Another favorite: regulatory compliance. If you need DORA or NIS2 compliance in Europe there will be interesting info.
• Maximize VMware VSphere Operational Efficiency With VMware Cloud Foundation Health And Diagnostics [CLOB1675LV]
  How to use the new diagnostics and Logs integration in your vSphere diagnostics.
• Modernizing Cloud Operations In VMware Cloud Foundation Private Clouds [CLOB1068LV]

Meet the Experts events also offer great opportunities to learn and interact. I am for example right now working on a project where I brought the customer to such a meeting two years ago. It’s about pricing in Operations… So here are two that stand out to me:

• Learn Best Practices About Capacity Management For VMware Cloud Foundation Operations [CLOM1917LV]
• Ask Me Anything About VMware Cloud Foundation Operations—Diagnostics And Health [CLOM1921LV]

There are also some interesting Quick Talks, I am not familiar with this format:

• Enhancing VMware Cloud Foundation Operation Management Packs With PowerShell [CODEQ1121LV]
  In case you don’t know: I love management packs… And this talk will show how you make them with Powershell if there is no API endpoint. Intruiging!

And let’s do a tutorial, allright? This is tech level 100, but Fleet Management, the artist formerly known as Lifecycle Manager, has a whole new structure and features:

• Fleet Management Tutorial: Single Sign-On, Certificates, Passwords [CLOT1502LV]

This is only the start of course. There will be many other activities and sessions, I will try and make some more recommendations. The Hub will be back for some community talks and please don’t forget the Hands-On Labs. They are one of the most incredible features of Explore and beyond. At Launch Day yesterday they had already two VCF 9 labs available! Imagine learning all those new features in a safe lab environment!