Unexplored Territory Duncan Epping, Frank Denneman, Johan van Amersfoort

In episode 073 Duncan and Pete discuss various updates and changes related to vSAN, including ReadyNode configurations, licensing, vSAN Max, capacity reporting, and compression ratios. They highlight the improvements in compression ratios with vSAN ESA, which can result in significant space efficiency gains. They also discuss the use cases for vSAN Max and vSAN HCI, as well as the flexibility in making changes to ReadyNode configurations. Overall, they emphasize the ongoing development and exciting future of vSAN and VMware Cloud Foundation.
Takeaways
vSAN ESA offers improved compression ratios, with an average of 1.5x and some customers achieving 1.7x or better.vSAN Max is a centralized shared storage solution for vSphere clusters, providing storage services to multiple vSphere clusters.Customers can choose between vSAN Max and vSAN HCI based on their needs, such as independent scaling of storage and compute, separate lifecycle management, extending the life of existing vSphere clusters, or specific application requirements.Changes in ReadyNode configurations for vSAN Max have reduced the minimum number of hosts required and lowered the hardware requirements, making it more accessible for smaller enterprises.Capacity reporting in vSAN has been improved with the introduction of L0FS overhead, providing more accurate information on capacity usage.vSAN ESA's improved compression ratios, combined with RAID 5 or RAID 6 erasure coding, can result in significant space efficiency gains compared to the original storage architecture.Ongoing development and updates are expected in vSAN and VMware Cloud Foundation, with exciting new capabilities on the horizon.Links
https://core.vmware.com/blog/smaller-vsan-esa-readynodes-accommodate-vmware-vsphere-foundations-trial-capacity-capabilityhttps://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/8.0/rn/vsphere-esxi-80u2b-release-notes/index.htmlhttps://core.vmware.com/blog/improved-capacity-reporting-vmware-cloud-foundation-51-and-vsan-8-u2 https://core.vmware.com/blog/greater-flexibility-vsan-max-through-lower-hardware-and-cluster-requirements Follow us on X for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.
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Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

Summary
Chris Gully discusses his current role in the new Broadcom organization and highlights of his career. He emphasizes the importance of staying relevant in the technology industry and the value of working with cool and smart people. The conversation then shifts to the topic of small language models (SLMs) and their role in the landscape of gen AI applications. Gully explains that SLMs offer a more progressive approach to working with large language models (LLMs) and enable more efficient and scalable deployments. The discussion also touches on the components of gen AI applications, the need for right-sizing models, and the challenges of scalability and efficiency. Gully highlights the importance of data and its role in driving business outcomes through AI. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the benefits and limitations of fine-tuning LLMs and the potential future of SLMs. The conversation explores the concept of SLMs (Small Language Models) and their role in AI development. It discusses the advantages of SLMs over LLMs (Large Language Models) regarding efficiency, optimization, and governance. The conversation also touches on the challenges of infrastructure management and resource allocation in AI deployments. It highlights the importance of right-sizing workloads, distributing workloads across data centers, and maximizing resource utilization. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the future trends in machine learning and AI, including advancements in math and the need for accessible and efficient technology.
Links
VMware's Approach to Private AIMicrosoft Phi-2 - The surprising power of small language modelsMixtralMixtral on HuggingFace
Takeaways
Staying relevant in the technology industry is crucial for career success.
Small language models (SLMs) offer a more efficient and scalable approach to working with large language models (LLMs).Data is the most important and untapped asset for organizations, and leveraging it through AI can drive business outcomes.Scalability and efficiency are key challenges in deploying gen AI applications.Fine-tuning LLMs can enhance their precision and reduce the need for extensive training.The future of SLMs may involve dynamic training and efficient distribution to support evolving business needs. SLMs offer advantages in terms of efficiency, optimization, and governance compared to LLMs.Infrastructure management and resource allocation are crucial in AI deployments.Right-sizing workloads and maximizing resource utilization are key considerations.Future trends in machine learning and AI include advancements in math and the need for accessible and efficient technology.Follow us on X for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.
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Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In this new episode of the Unexplored Territory Podcast, DaShaun Carter, a Spring Developer Advocate at VMware Tanzu and Broadcom, discusses his career highlights, his home lab setup, and his passion for Spring. He explains the concept of developer experience and how Spring and Tanzu contribute to it. DaShaun also highlights the innovations in Spring, such as AOT processing and native images, and their impact on use cases. He discusses the relationship between the open source aspect of Spring and the closed source solutions in the Tanzu portfolio. Finally, he explores the importance of developer experience in platform engineering. In this conversation, DaShaun and Johan discuss the importance of collaboration between developers and platform engineers, the value of Spring for platform engineers, the role of AI in developer experience and Spring, interesting topics for the VMware Explore conference, and where to learn more about Spring and open source.

Takeaways
Spring and Tanzu provide an easy and efficient developer experience, allowing developers to focus on solving problems and delivering software.Innovations in Spring, such as AOT processing and native images, enable the deployment of enterprise-grade workloads on low-cost devices and at scale.The open source aspect of Spring allows flexibility and choice for customers, while the commercial solutions in the Tanzu portfolio provide additional support and 24/7 access to experts.Developer experience plays a crucial role in platform engineering, as it attracts developers to the platform and enables efficient onboarding and deployment processes. Collaboration between developers and platform engineers is crucial for successful software delivery.Platform teams should build relationships with developers and continuously iterate on meeting their needs.Spring provides enterprise-grade, production-ready tools and frameworks that make the life of platform engineers easier.AI is becoming increasingly important in the developer experience, and Spring AI provides an abstraction layer for consuming AI models.Interesting topics for the VMware Explorer conference include overcoming obstacles in software delivery, cost-saving solutions, and success stories.To learn more about Spring and open source, connect with DaShaun on X, YouTube, and LinkedIn, and check out the Spring Office Hours show.
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Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In episode 070, we spoke with Patryk Wolsza about vSAN performance. Patryk wrote some great whitepapers on the topic of vSAN OSA vs ESA, vSAN on AMD vs vSAN on Intel, and vSAN with RDMA and 100GbE. In this episode, we discuss the benefits of ESA, Intel CPUs, and RDMA/100GbE.

Some links to topics discussed:
vSAN and RDMA/100GbEHow Server Consolidation with VMware vSAN 8 Boosts Performance by more than 7.4x!VMware vSAN and 4th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors Outpace AMD GenoaBoost Performance and Lower Latency with VMware vSAN 8 and 4th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors — Solution Design BriefSystem Health Inspector ToolFollow us on X for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.
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Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In episode 69, we spoke with Earl Ruby on running AI and ML workloads on CPUs. Earl is an R&D engineer at VMware by Broadcom focusing on AI/ML accelerators. He provides us with an overview of the do's and don't of successful deployments of AI-enabled applications on CPUs.

Some links to topics discussed:
earlruby.org/AI without GPUs: Accessing Sapphire Rapids AMX instructions on vSphereEarl Ruby on LinkedinFollow us on X for updates and news about upcoming episodes: https://x.com/UnexploredPod.
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Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.

In episode 067, we invited Niels Hagoort back to the show to talk about the latest VMC on AWS announcements.

Topics we discussed:
The new M7i instance, including its use cases and specsThe Cloud Management Add-on for VMC on AWS and how Aria can add valueThe differences between the M7i instance and the other instance types, and the deployment considerations.More about these announcements can be found here:
https://vmc.techzone.vmware.com/closer-look-m7i-instance-vmware-cloud-aws

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Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions shared in this podcast are our own/guest(s), and not necessarily those of Broadcom or VMware by Broadcom.