VMUG at VMware Explore
Join us at VMware Explore for essential insights, peer connections, and boundless possibilities in cloud solutions. Don’t miss out—set your sights higher and come Explore with us!
#VMwareExplore
Las Vegas | The Venetian
August 25 - 28, 2025
VMware Explore is your opportunity to connect with global VMware users, learn the latest VMware innovations and build on your community. VMUG is a proud partner and will have unique content and experiences during VMware Explore 2025. More information coming soon!
VMUG Events at Explore
VMUG Member Reception with Special Guest Broadcom President and CEO Hock Tan
Tuesday, August 26th at 6:30-8:30 PM at Wakuda
Join us for an evening of good food, drinks, connections, and insights with fellow VMUG members! This is a can’t miss part of the VMware Explore experience. Plus, we’ll have special guest Hock Tan, Broadcom President and CEO, joining us from 7:30-8:00 PM!
VMUG Happy Hour
Sunday, August 24th at 5:00-7:00 PM at Venetian Sportsbook
Join us for a casual evening of networking and community at Venetian Sportsbook ahead of the buzz of Explore. Generously sponsored by Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Minneapolis, Chicago, Calgary, and Belgium VMUGs, and is open to all VMUG members.
vFit Run Club
Monday August 25th, Tuesday August 26th, Wednesday August 27th at 6:00 AM on the Gondola Bridge
Be a part of the vFIT Running Club this year at the VMware Explore conference in Las Vegas. Make sure to pack your running shoes and join us each morning of the conference as we start off the day with a morning jog around the surrounding area. Please gather at 6 AM on the Gondola Bridge in front of the Venetian Hotel. We will take about 5 minutes to stretch and warm up before journeying out on a 2-3 mile run at your own pace. Please register for this event so we can share any additional details leading up to the conference.
Atlanta VMUG and Friends 7th Annual VMware Explore Kickoff Breakfast
Monday, August 25th at 7:00 AM at the Grand Lux Cafe at The Venetian
Atlanta VMUG members traveling to VMware Explore, please join us for our annual conference kickoff breakfast at the Grand Lux Cafe at The Venetian. I can promise that you will not have to fight the Atlanta traffic to make it to this event. This is a great opportunity to connect with Atlanta members and hang out a bit before the conference gets into full swing. We look forward to seeing you in Vegas.
The Power of Advantage
As IT professionals, it’s critical we stay ahead of the curve. That’s why VMUG build the Advantage program – an easy way to upgrade your experience packed with technical insights and exclusive experiences. For just $210/year VMUG members have access to VMUG Advantage, the best way to gain the technical skills to accelerate your success.
VMUG Members receive $100 their full pass Advantage tickets. Please use your VMUG Advantage email when registering to ensure you receive the discount. Now is a great time to jump right into Advantage!
Featured Speakers
ADRIAN WOODWARD
Session Code: PCB2845Uss
Session Title: Expanding Your Future With VMUG
Session Type: The Expo Theater Session
Twitter Handle: @vAdrianW
VMUG Membership Status: VMUG President
JOHAN MARAIS
Session Code: SECB1680US
Session Title: Discovery path to DevSecOps with VMware
Session Type: Breakout Session
Twitter Handle: @Pinballas
VMUG Membership Status: VMUG Leader
Session Code: CLIB1729US
Session Title: CloudHealth and CloudHealth Secure State: The Best of Both Worlds
Session Type: Breakout Session
FRANKY BARRAGAN
Session Code: VMTN1991US
Session Title: It started with “Get”. My PowerShell Strategy to Get You Started.
Session Type: VMTN Theater Session
Twitter Handle: @FrankyTheVIGuy
VMUG Membership Status: VMUG Leader
DR. PRANAY JHA
Session Code: VMTN2005US
Session Title: How Hybrid Cloud Solutions are Transforming your Datacenter
Session Type: VMTN Theater Session
Twitter Handle: @imPranayk
VMUG Membership Status: VMUG Leader
JOHAN VAN AMERSFOOT
Session Code: EUSB2289US
Session Title: See the Value of a Complete Anywhere Workspace at the EUC Nerdfest 2022
Session Type: Breakout Session
Twitter Handle: @vhojan
VMUG Membership Status: VMUG Leader
RUSSELL HAMKER
Session Code: DOSB2118USD
Session Title: Create a Tanzu Community Edition OVA Using HashiCorp Packer
Session Type: Breakout Session
Twitter Handle: @butch7903
VMUG Membership Status: VMUG Leader
JUSTIN SIDER
Session Code: CODE1865US
Session Title: Try this, Catch that, Finally an explanation on PowerCLI error handling!
Session Type: Code Theater Session
Twitter Handle: @jpsider
VMUG Membership Status: VMUG Advantage
TONY FOSTER
Session Code: VMTN1980US
Session Title: Educating the Next Generation of IT Professionals Using VMware Technology
Session Type: VMTN Theater Session
Speaker: Tony Foster
VMUG Membership Status: VMUG Advantage
KYLE SETCHEL
Session Code: VMTN1996US
Session Title: How to keep IDM standing
Session Type: VMTN Theater Session
VMUG Membership Status: VMUG Advantage
Session Code: VMTN1997US
TOM FENTON
Session Title: Increase Horizon guest density using MMR
Session Type: VMTN Theater Session
VMUG Membership Status: VMUG Advantage
Session Code: VMTN2000US
Session Title: Monitoring Horizon VDI Clients and Home Networks
Session Type: VMTN Theater Session
VMware Explore on Tour
Explore is extending across the globe as 1 to 1.5 day events that will highlight the top content and insights from Explore in Las Vegas. Each event will include a curated subset of sessions and Hands-on Labs, a meetings program, and networking opportunities. Check back on this page for registration updates and more information coming soon.
VMUG Sessions
Top 2025 VMUG Session
Tales from Broadcom Customers in 2025 [INVB2050LVS]
Get ready for one of the most insightful VMUG sessions of the year. Join us for a discussion that blends customer experience, technical strategy, and community insights. Presented by VMUG Vice President Matt Heldstab and VMUG President Brenda Emerson, this session highlights how VMUG supports users throughout their VMware portfolio journey—and what navigating the Broadcom transition really looks like. For most Broadcom customers, 2024 was a year of change. Hear what one customer (and VMUG VP) did to prepare for the new normal, honest lessons from their renewal, cost-saving architecture tips, and how they leveraged Broadcom and VMUG’s partnership for professional growth.
Takeaways include: • Renewal prep tips • Cost-effective architecture changes • Professional development ideas using evaluation software
Speakers:
Brenda Emerson, VMUG President, CIO, Carrollton Bank
Matt Heldstab, VMUG Vice President, Minnesota State – System Office, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
Top 2025 VMUG Session
Level up and Get Certified! Customer VCP Experiences [CMTYQT1046LV]
The VMware Certified Professional (VCP) certification is the first step in the cert journey. You can sit VMware Cloud Foundation® certification exams at VMware Explore (and elsewhere) but why should you do it and what can you make of it? Join three VMUG leader certification experts who have gone through the VMware Certified Professional – VMware Cloud Foundation (VCP-VCF) Administrator and Architect exam process and discover what a certification can do for you and your career. Matt Heldstab, Dave Simpson, and Maarten van Driessen share their personal exam preparation experiences and discuss what made them sit another test. Discover how all that extra content fits into a single exam, learn where to go to study for the exam, and see how VMUG Advantage provides you with benefits before and after you get certified.
Speakers:
Dave Simpson, VMUG Leader and Board Member, Cloud and Virtualisation Professional, Travelers
Matt Heldstab, VMUG Vice President, Minnesota State – System Office, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
Maarten Van Driessen, VMUG Leader, Owner, Brisk-IT
Hear from a VMUG Board Member
Become a Better Problem Solver [CODEQT1050LV]
Problem solving is one of the most overlooked skills in the world today. While Google and ChatGPT have become system administrators’ reliable ways for finding answers, they are merely a couple of tools in the overall problem-solving toolbox. Problem solving directly impacts personal success in our industry and can be a competitive advantage in the job marketplace. During this session, you will learn how to become a better problem solver by embodying the behavior of a bird of prey. We will walk through several scenarios and explore how to best approach a specific problem, comparing each method to a different species in the animal kingdom. Using these skills will allow you to build a reputation as someone who can handle tough situations in a wise and productive manner.
Speaker:
Justin Sider, VMUG Board Member, Chief Powershell Officer, Belay Technologies
Top 2025 VMUG Session
Avi, AKO, and AMKO: Easy Way to Build Load Balancer Services for Kubernetes Clusters [NSLB1677LV]
Avi Kubernetes Operator (AKO) is used to simplify Avi-specific functions in a Kubernetes environment with the VMware® Avi™ Load Balancer (formerly VMware NSX Advanced Load Balancer). AMKO is an operator for Kubernetes/OpenShift that facilitates application delivery across multiple clusters. AMKO runs as a pod in one of the clusters and provides DNS-based Global Server Load Balancing for an application that is deployed across multiple clusters. AMKO automates the GSLB configuration and operations on the Avi Load Balancer platform. Together with the Avi Kubernetes Operator (AKO) in each cluster, AKO and AMKO provide application deployment and operations through familiar Kubernetes/OpenShift objects and Avi Load Balancer CRDs.
Speaker:
Ebrahim Aldesouky ElMehsnawy, Egypt VMUG Leader, Cloud and Solutions Architect, SDAIA
Top 2025 VMUG Session
Preparing for a Disaster/Business Continuity Event [CLOB1030LV]
In this session, you will learn the steps and processes to help you position yourself, your team, and your company in the event of a disaster/business continuity/security event. It will cover planning, testing, implementing, and steps to take to achieve a solid plan for when an event occurs. No one wants to deal with a DR/BC event, but being prepared, focused, and ready will help you and your organization succeed.
Speaker:
Eric Kubla, Pittsburgh VMUG Leader, IT Server Manager, First Commonwealth Bank
Top 2025 VMUG Session
Bare Metal to VMware Cloud Foundation as Code: Automate Your Private Cloud Deployment [CODEQT2049LV]
Whether it is for a greenfield deployment of VMware Cloud Foundation® (VCF) or recovering from a disaster recovery event, you will learn how you can use APIs to fully define your build down to the last BIOS setting. This will be a technical deep dive into utilizing both the Redfish and VCF APIs to take a server from bare metal to being a host registered to a VCF fleet. This allows you to save time, reduce complexity, and avoid configuration drift through automation.
Speaker:
Eric Stacey, Denver VMUG Leader, Private Cloud Architect, City and County of Denver
See Yourself at Explore
Dig into photos from VMUG at Explore through the years. Our community is one-of-a-kind and our time together is truly electric. From the technical conversations, new friendships to the new experiences and new members – we hope to see you there!
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VMware Explore US 2024 - Keynote Reaction
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