Developer Center Blog

Announcing the VMware Coffee Talk Live Webinars - First Wed. of the Month 9:00 am - 10:00 am PST

heyitspablo — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 00:30:40 GMT

Please Note: We will continue to update this post with latest webinar information, for all new VMware SDK API information visit us on our new Blog platform @ http://blogs.vmware.com/developer

Welcome to our VMware Coffee Talk Live Webinars. The goal of our webinars is to communicate latest information about our SDKs and Toolkits to our developers and scripters integrating and automating with the vSphere platform. Our meetings will be held the first Wednesday of the month from 9:00 am – 10:00 am PST. We will also be recording these sessions for folks that cannot attend. Visit our calendar on vmwareapis@gmail.com for latest sessions and be sure to invite a friend.

About our live webinars We will be using Web Ex for our events this means that some of the folks out there might need to download the Web Ex client. Our recorded sessions and pdfs will be posted here as well. These webinars are a great opportunity for you to meet our Product Management and Engineering teams and ask your questions. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Topic	Day	Registration Information	Presentation, WebinarLinks
What is new with vSphere Web Services SDK Deep Dive with Balaji Parimi\ Part 1	Wed May 6th, 2009	Completed	vSphereSDK_NewFeatures-5-6-09.pdf Webinar recording Link\
What is new with vSphere Web Services SDK Best Practices with Balaji Parimi\ Part 2	Friday May 8th, 2009	Completed	vSphereSDK_BestPractices.pdf Webinar recording Link\
PowerCLI - What is new in PowerCLI by Carter Shanklin	Wed June 3rd, 2009	Completed	PDF, Slides, Sample Code Link\ Webinar recording link\
Special Event - VMware Studio 2.0 - Matthew Ford\	Wed June 24th, 2009	Completed	Studio-CoffeeTalk-final.pdf Webinar recording link\
VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit - VDDK 1.1 - Sudarsan Piduri\	Wed July 1st, 2009	Completed	vddk-coffee-talk.pdf Webinar recording\
Extending PowerCLI to Enterprise Applications with Virtualization EcoShell - Scott Herold	Wed August 5th, 2009	Completed	Virtualization EcoShell.pdf Webinar recording Link\
Best of Technology Exchange - Developer Day	Wed Sept 2nd 2009	TBD	TBD
vCenter Orchestrator APIs	October 7th 2009	TBD	TBD

Introduction to the vSphere SDK (VI SDK) in Java and C#

ddeeths — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:33:12 GMT

We wanted to let you know we ran a very successful vSphere SDK lab at [Partner Exchange / Tech Exchange a few weeks ago in Orlando. For those of you who missed the event, I'm posting the manuals and code files. Going through the lab is a great way to get started with the API and includes handy sample code for modification or inclusion in your own programs.

{youtube}http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paGqr9SWl-4{youtube}

The lab covers both the Java and C# versions of the VI SDK and uses the vSphere Web Services SDK 4.0 (formerly VI SDK 4.0). Though the lab doesn't cover any vSphere-specific features, I haven't tested it with VI SDK 2.5 and it will probably require some minor modification. For scripters that would prefer an introduction to the vSphere Perl SDK (formerly the VI Perl Toolkit) or the vSphere PowerCLI (formerly VI Toolkit for Windows), I posted a similar lab for those in an earlier blog post.

Exercises cover all the basics for using the SDK:
* Understanding managed objects and data objects
* Connecting to the VI API webservice
* getting the properties of managed objects using the PropertyCollector
* Using the SearchIndex
* Finding objects using TraversalSpecs
* Finding objects based on arbitrary criteria
* Collecting properties of multiple objects at the same time
* Understanding performance differences in some basic property collection strategies
* Monitoring properties for changes
* Monitoring tasks for completion
* Gathering performance statistics

There's obviously a lot more to do in the SDK, but once you've mastered those basic skills, most of the rest of the SDK is just an extension of what you already know. The exercises on collecting multiple objects properties at the same time and understanding performance differences due to property collector strategies cover some common problems I see with the management ecosystem partners I handle and are a great review for anyone trying to make sure their SDK code scales well.

A few things to note: I didn't update the doc with the new names of the various API components... I wrote the lab while those names were still under development. Also, I want to thank the other folks who helped put this lab together: Balaji Parimi (who wrote the Java code), Rajesh Kamal (who wrote the C# code), Alton Yu, John Kennedy, Paul Vasquez, and Steve Jin.

While most of the code handles errors gracefully and follows best practices, I’d like to point out that the code here is designed to teach concepts, not to be “enterprise ready”.

VMware vSphere & VI 3.x Management Survey - Cool prizes 1- VMworld Pass, 1- iPod 8 GB Touch

heyitspablo — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:15:19 GMT

Folks,

We have put together a survey to help us understand what your needs are from a vSphere Management perspective. The survey is targeted at folks that manage and write management applications for vSphere, VI 3.x environments.

Please take our survey - click here

The goal of this survey is to better understand which applications (commercial or in-house developed) you use or develop to manage the VMware vSphere Platform. We need your feedback as it will help us understand which 3rd party vendors or tools VMware needs to focus on.

This survey should take approximately 22 minutes to complete.

We will be awarding great prizes to lucky winners.

Grand Prize - 1 Full Conference Pass to VMworld San Francisco 2009
First Prize is - 1 iPod Touch 8GB

Winners will be chosen in a random drawing

Please review the contest rules, terms, and conditions below.

Contest Information and Rules

o Survey Starts: June 17, 2009 11:59 PM PST
o Closes: Monday August 3rd, 2009 10:00 PM CST
o Winners will be announced on the Developer Center Blog: Friday August 7th 2009
o VMware employees are excluded from entering
o One entry per person
o Raffle participants must fully complete survey
o Winners will be chosen at random by VMware
o You must provide a valid corporate email address - no personal email addresses please
o This contest is for VMware customers, there is no purchase necessary to participate
o Terms and Conditions

VMware vSphere SDKs and Toolkits have landed !

heyitspablo — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:24:40 GMT

Folks,

We are extremely happy to announce the availability of our VMware vSphere SDKs and Toolkits to support the relase of the vSphere platform.

Congratulations to the teams around the world working day and night to make this happen.

New SDKs & Toolkits released today

VMware vSphere Web Services SDK 4.0

VMware vSphere Guest SDK 4.0

VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit 1.1

VMware CIM SDK 4.0

VMware SDK for Perl 4.0

VMware vSphere Client Plug-ins

VMware vSphere CLI 4.0

VMware vSphere PowerCLI 4.0

VMware vSphere Management Assistant 4.0

VMware Open Virtual Format Tool 1.0

Changes to our site:

o Creation of dedicated community style product pages. Product pages have links to Documentation, Discussions and community contributed documents.

o Added Events Calendar for exclusive developer / administrator topics - visit our VMware Coffee Talk Webinars for more info

o Consolidated our Community Contributed & VMware Sample Code into one site we call Code Central

o Updated the VMware Icons for the vSphere platform

VMware vCenter Lab Manager SDKs join the VMware Developer Community

heyitspablo — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:38:53 GMT

Folks,

Exciting things happening in our community !

We have just created a nice comfortable place where all Lab Manager developers can share ideas, contribute and build a strong vibrant ecosystem. Please join us.
http://communities.vmware.com/community/developer/labmanager

Pablo Roesch

Announcing the VMware Infrastructure SDK for Java (Tech Preview)

heyitspablo — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:53:24 GMT

Folks very happy to announce the VMware Infrastructure SDK for Java Tech Preview ! Take a test ride, give us your feedback. We want to make this one of the very best tools for building the very best Virtual Data Center OS.

SDK contains sample code, libraries, documentation - Visit our forums - give us feedback http://vmware.com/go/sdkforjava

VMware Technology Exchange - a must attend for any TAP ISV/IHV partner..

heyitspablo — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:21:02 GMT

Hello,

I wanted to let our partners know about the upcoming VMware Technology Exchange Event in sunny Florida (below is a picture of me before i got involved with the VMware SDKs in case you were wondering

This will be a fantastic event ! There will be deep dive sessions guaranteed to make your ears bleed, plenty of refreshments and a great opportunity to meet the rest of the VMware PMs and R&D. Our SDK teams will be there delivering sessions on what is new and exciting in our SDKs. David D and team will also be putting together an SDK Lab that should be a hit.

Plrease note this is for TAP Partners only

To become a TAP Partner or want more information visit http://vmware.com/partners/alliances/programs/

See below for event details....

Register for Event

Top 5 Reasons to Attend VMware Technology Exchange
April 15-16, Orlando, Florida

#1 Get Exclusive Content Designed Just for TAP (ISV/IHV) Members

VMware Technology Exchange is all about timely content designed specifically for TAP members (ISV/IHVs). It includes confidential information that is not generally available. The wide variety of sessions will target all types and levels of VMware technology partners. Product planners and product managers will appreciate immediate access to roadmap information about our next generation VMware Infrastructure platform and beyond. Developers will learn how to integrate with VMware products and integration best practices. Business professionals will find the discussion on many new business benefits of working with VMware relevant and useful.

#2 Hear Our Virtualization Vision and Roadmap from the Executives

Get an exclusive opportunity to hear VMware executives Tod Nielsen, COO, Carl Eschenbach, EVP of Worldwide Field Operations, and Dr. Stephen Herrod, CTO, unveil VMware’s industry vision and roadmap, and what they mean for partners.

#3 Network with VMware Product Managers, Engineers and Resellers

Attendees can get their questions answered directly from our engineers and product managers at one of the many venues—conference sessions, hands-on-Labs, Birds of Feather (BoF) roundtables, Experts Bar or several networking events. Technology Exchange is combined with VMware Partner Exchange, a worldwide event focused on our reseller partner community. As a result, attendees of Technology Exchange will also have an opportunity to connect with a vast network of VMware reseller attendees, and build better business relationships.

#4 Receive Hands-on Training from VMware Experts

Develop your skills and technical expertise in interactive hands-on labs, share best practices during Birds of Feather roundtables, and meet with VMware sales and technical gurus at the Experts Bar to get your questions answered.

#5 Get Complementary Software and Discounts

All registered attendees will get a free 1-year developer license for VMware Infrastructure Standard product ($2,995 value). In addition, attendees will have the chance to take complimentary VCP Prep ($350 value) and VMware View ($700 value) classes on Monday, April 13 while space is available (pre-requisites apply). The first 1,000 registrants will also receive an 80% discount on our new online “Next Generation Virtualization” course, regularly priced at $1,500!

Register Now and SAVE MORE via Early Bird Discount

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about VMware products and network with VMware employees and VMware reseller community. Register now and save.

Attention Technology Exchange Alumni

If you've attended Technology Exchange in the past, be sure sign up for this year to deepen your knowledge as we provide updated roadmaps, overview of new APIs and program benefits.

An introduction to scripting VI using Perl or Powershell

ddeeths — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:01:29 GMT

Hello, my name is David Deeths and I’m a new contributor to the VMware Developer Blog. I wanted to share with the community the scripting lab we put together for VMworld 2008. This is a great introduction to scripting with the VI Toolkits in Perl or PowerShell. The PowerShell version doesn’t require any programming or scripting experience at all.

The labs will help you get started with scripting VMware Infrastructure to enable automation, extensibility, and integration with existing tools. When we ran this at VMworld, we had about 600 attendees and it was so popular some students camped out in line to attend the lab a second time. We had so many folks request a way to share this with their teams that we decided to publish the whole thing for the community.

The lab is available in two versions: one shows how to use the VI Perl Toolkit and the other shows how to use the PowerShell-based VI Toolkit (for Windows). The attached files contain the manuals for both versions of the lab and the exercises for both versions of the lab.

The lab takes 2-3 hours to complete (not including the time to set the environment up first), but is conveniently split into 20 minute exercises. You’ll walk away with a better understanding of VMware Infrastructure, resources for using the toolkits, and a variety of useful scripts for performing common administrative tasks. The exercises cover triggering tasks, examining VM attributes, performing actions on VMs, and exporting performance data.

My team for the lab was phenomenal, and I want to thank Doug Baer, Shridhar Deuskar, Lisa Guinn, Terry Lyons, Aaron Miller, Alket Memushaj, Owen Thomas, Brian Watrous, and Alton Yu for building this exceptional lab.

If you don’t have gear to try this out on or if you want more lab opportunities, a similar lab is in the works for VMworld EMEA (Cannes, February 24-26). For Technology Exchange (Orlando, April 14-17), we’re looking into doing a lab focused more on professional-developers that covers the VI SDK using Java and C#.

Enjoy!

PS. I’d like to point out that the code here is designed to teach concepts, not to be “enterprise ready”. Things like error checking have been kept to a minimum so concepts covered in each exercise are as easy as possible to understand. The lawyers have asked that I inform you that the sample code is provided "AS-IS" for use, modification, and redistribution in source and binary forms, provided that the copyright notice and this following list of conditions are retained and/or reproduced in your distribution. To the maximum extent permitted by law, VMware, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates hereby disclaim all express, implied and/or statutory warranties, including duties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement of intellectual property rights. IN NO EVENT WILL VMWARE, ITS SUBSIDIARIES OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE TO ANY OTHER PARTY FOR THE COST OF PROCURING SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF DATA, OR ANY INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF THIS OR ANY OTHER AGREEMENT RELATING TO THE SAMPLE CODE.

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless VMware, and any of its directors, officers, employees, agents, affiliates, or subsidiaries from and against all losses, damages, costs and liabilities arising from your use, modification and distribution of the sample code.

VMware does not certify or endorse your use of the sample code, nor is any support or other service provided in connection with the sample code.

NetworkWorld / NY Times Article - 9 Web sites IT Pros should master in 2009....(VMware Developer #3)

heyitspablo — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 02:18:26 GMT

December 31st 2008 article from NetworkWorld / NY Times recommends our VMware Developer websites as the # 3 Website IT Pros should master...

"..... To get the best real-world feedback on how best to deploy VMware, keep your eyes on the VMware Communities Web site. It’s got user groups in your community and lots of tips from other VMware developers that can help you solve problems faster..."

NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/external/idg/2008/12/31/31idg-Nine-Web-sites.html?em

Network World: http://www.nytimes.com/external/idg/2008/12/31/31idg-Nine-Web-sites.html?em

Big Thanks to our VMware community of developers for your contributions !!

Pablo Roesch
VI SDK Product Marketing
http://vmware.com/developer

VI API Performance Video - 60 minutes of helpful data..

heyitspablo — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:45:45 GMT

Folks,

We just published the VI API Performance Video for developers building performance monitoring applications..

Sit back, grab some warm tea and enjoy the show.

http://download3.vmware.com/media/partners/techexchange/vi05.html

Also, In case you have not noticed the Developer Community page has gone through some small changes in terms of look and feel.. this is the first installation of our infrastructure improvement efforts. Thanks Robert D and team !

http://vmware.com/developer

Open sourced - client side Java APIs for VI

Steve Jin — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:19:00 GMT

The open source client side Java API for VI can now be found at

http://sourceforge.net/projects/vijava

Thanks!

The VMware Technology Exchange Event.. May 13, 14, 2008 San Jose, CA.

heyitspablo — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:58:00 GMT

The VMware Technology Exchange Event..

I have been recently involved with helping put together the VMware Technology Exchange event and wanted to share some insight on what the event is about and why an ISV / IHV might be interested in attending..

Event goals: The goal of the VMware Technology Exchange event is to get our partners and product teams together to share product directions, understand integration points, and learn how VMware can help you go to market with your solution.

About the sessions: We are planning on 70% percent deep technical content and 30% business topics making this ideal for Product Managers, Software Developers, Development Managers and Business types. If I were to recommend sessions for folks out there interested in VI integration I would suggest Power Shell for Partners, VI Performance Monitoring and the VC Client Plug-ins. I tend to lean in favor of the VI oriented sessions but there are plenty of other sessions discussing Security, Storage and Applications.

Who can attend ? We are limiting this to our Technical Alliance Partners (TAP) members so if you are not a TAP member you might be interested in joining the program... For folks on a budget the Access level is no charge and you can apply at: http://www.vmware.com/partners/alliances/programs/

Please note there is a Event Fee of $725 and it also includes a 1 year license for VMware Infrastructure and VMware Workstation.

So if we see you there be sure to say hello, and if we meet during the reception I would be more than happy to purchase you a refreshment of your choice.

Regards,
Pablo Roesch
SDK Product Marketing Manager

Event Details:

When: May 13, 14, 2008 San Jose Convention Center, CA

Registration Website, more information: http://vmwaretechnologyexchange.com

VMware Developer Spotlight - Andrew Kutz: Valued Community Member

heyitspablo — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 06:20:00 GMT

VMware Developer Center Blog - Developer Spotlight April 4th, 2008

I had an opportunity to meet with Andrew Kutz and wanted to share this conversation with folks out there that might be curious on who the person is behind the great contributions he has provided to the VMware Developer Community.

Andrew: First of all, thank you for this honor. The VMware online communities are for me the most professional and helpful forums I have ever had the opportunity to be a part of, and to be singled out amongst the long list of brilliant participants is an experience I will not soon forget.

Pablo: Tell us about your programming background and work experience?

Andrew: Short Version : I'm a geek whose had the privilege of working in a variety of odd jobs (from a boat valet to a Senate Paige) and Programming languages (from C to C#) for the last decade, transforming me into somewhat of a mutt, just like my baby boy Scruffy who is pictured with me above. I guess I fit the old cliche, "Jack of all trades ...". I don't really qualify for the "wearer of many hats"description since those who have met me know that I pretty much only wear my gray fedora, and that's it : )

Long Version: A lot of people are a bit taken a back by my area of study in college -- my degree is in Ancient History and Classic Civilization, so I do not have the same structured background as a lot of the developers you may meet. While some individuals look at my resume and deduct a point from their opinion of me, I've never looked at my chosen educational path as a negative, rather I think it taught me a whole separate area of critical thinking that a lot of programmers are missing these days. Truth be told my intent was to pursue a career in law, but I married soon after graduating college and my number one priority became helping my Mandy finish her graduate career in the history department at the University of Texas at Austin (UT).

Despite my penchant to disappear at parties only to be found upstairs participating in a mad orgy of Latin and Greek oration, I have actually been hacking out code since the days of Q-Basic and Nibbles.I suppose my professional programming career began when I worked at the American Crane & Equipment Cooperation (ACECO) and then went into hibernation once I began attending college where I worked several very non- technical jobs (albeit still geeky): a music geek at Tower Records on the Drag, a political geek as a paige at the State of Texas Senate, and even a car and boat geek as a valet for a lake-side restaurant. Eventually I ended up working for the UT Academic Computing and Instructional Technology Services (ACITS) Help-desk. From the help- desk I moved to the NT group that became the Windows Enterprise Services (WES) group. I stayed put for another 7 years in which time I cranked out a bunch of random code that somehow managed to function as Sudo for Windows (Sudowin), Exchange resource schedulers,Mainframe-to- Active Directory account synchronization web services, and they even let me manage a few servers(Terminal, Web)!I also helped create the first central-IT virtualization solution at UT using VMware ESX 2 and VirtualCenter. Just as the virtual infrastructure was getting off the ground I did something silly and left UT to pursue an Analyst position with the Burton Group. After 6 months I learned that the life of the analyst was not for me (too hands off), and I returned to UT as a member of the Information Technology Services (ITS) Applications group where I am currently abusing my on-the-clock time to respond to these questions! : )

Oh yeah, just because my editors would be a little peeved if I didn't mention it, I also write for SearchServerVirtualization, SearchVMware, andSearchEnterpriseLinux.TechTarget.com. So, you know, check them out! : )

Pablo: Tell us about any recent or cool projects you are working with using the VMware SDKs ?

Andrew: (All code mentioned is freely available under the New BSD license)Sure thing! FYI - all of the current VMware-related code I am working on is FREELY available or linked from http://www.lostcreations.com/code/wiki/vmware/

. Definitely one of the cooler things I am working on is Monét.Monét exports VI logs to a syslog or Windows event log server. I wrote it in part to help other developers understand basic ideas about VI SDK development, and since it is implemented in C#, Java, and Perl, it is a great way to see how to transition between the different languages
that are available to leverage the VI SDK. About a month ago I managed to get lucky with Lutz's Reflector and figured out how the internal plugin architecture of the VI client is
put together and released the SVMotion plugin. Since then I released a PDF that explains the VI plugin architecture and hopefully shows other developers how to create plugins (I apologize if it doesn't make sense, I wrote most of it while trying to keep track of the
goings-on of 4 dachshunds). In an effort to recapture some hosting costs I started VIPlugins.com for the sole purpose of injecting some Google ad placements (j/k). So far I've had +12,000 downloads of the PDF and various plugins and no click-throughs -- sigh. Two of the cooler plugins are Invoke, which lets you invoke third-party applications from within the VI client using the currently authenticated session cookie and 37migrations. The 37migrations plugin works in conjunction with 37migrations.com to plot VMotion events across the world.Basically I was looking for an excuse to play with the Google Maps APIs : )

I also started work on ivi - the Java Virtual Interface (sorry, that's my Latin showing --J's looked like I's back in the day -- wayyy back).ivi is an attempt at creating an OS-agnostic management application for VMware VI, Xen, KVM, and OpenVZ. ivi attaches to the aforementioned virtualization solutions using the VI SDK, the XenAPI, and lib-virt. So far ivi can connect to VI and Xen and list their contents. Once I get lib-virt to compile and function (the latter is the hard part) on my Mac I will include support for KVM and OpenVZ. I know the project is in alpha stage, and while the milestone of listing contents seems simple, the project is more about creating an abstract plugin architecture for accessing multiple virtualization solutions than actually producing a marketable product. Again, the code for ivi is OPEN and FREE.

Some ideas swirling around in the mess that is my mind include:

- - Implementing the Cisco IOS commands for the ESX virtual switch infrastructure using Perl? Maybe? Dunno yet...

- - A free and open implementation of VirtualCenter called OpenVirtualizationManager in order to help reduce the cost of a VMware Infrastructure.

- - A role-playing game at VMWarpg.com that uses stats from your VI installations to generate stats for your avatars, and you battle for territory on Google maps. Think D&D meets Risk.

- - A version of the VI client written with the Google Web Toolkit called Aianteia (cooming soon).

Some people may ask, "Aren't you worried about showing your hand?" Not really, if you want to take any of these ideas and run with them, please do so. I just ask that if you need help that you ask me as I'd love to be involved. I'm just in it for the fun. It was for the groupies, but turns out that virtualization groupies, yeah, not so much. : )

Pablo: How long have you been using the VMware SDKs and what has been your experience using them ?

Andrew: I have been using the VMware SDKs since the summer of 2006 when I started playing around with the VI SDK in order to automate the creation of port groups. I parlayed that experience into a series of articles forSearchServerVirtualization.TechTarget.com called "Leveraging the VI SDK with .NET" that have apparently remained high- traffic articles to this day (It's got to be because of spiders, certainly not readers!) : ) Anyway, I've been hooked for developing for VMware and other virtualization solutions ever since.

Pablo: What would you like to see from VMware in terms of SDK / API functionality ?

Andrew: I would LOVE to see the equivalent of the VI Perl Toolkit for C# and Java. I now understand that the odd nature of the SDK (a reference for one and all!) is simply due to the nature of SOAP, but it does not make it any less aggravating to deal with. I have played with the C# toolkit that VMware uses internally and it is sooo smooth. Smooth like a line of Aaron Sorkin's dialogue smooth. We're talking triple-blade action smooth. You get the idea.

I would also like to see a unified SDK. In terms of Java:

com.vmware.vim
com.vmware.workstation
com.vmware.fusion
com.vmware.server

And the all important:

com.vmware.common
com.vmware.virtualmachine

The last one would be really nice in order to tie together common VM properties and such. Of course, this would have to be a public- facing SDK that VMware wasn't married to for revision purposes, but it would still be nice from a developer point-of-view to have
VM-management code work regardless of the intended product or platform. Of course, this is probably made difficult by the generational differences between all of VMware's products, but a boy can dream, no?

Pablo: Any tips for developers out there new to the VMware SDKs ?

Andrew: Certainly they should use the VMware Developer's Center! Us "old- timers" did not have access to such a luxury back in the "day" (umm, last year!), so anyone new to VMware development should certainly take advantage of VMware's new commitment to its development communities.Also, you can always e-mail me. I'm always happy to help out when I can.

In a previous Spotlight, Tom Milner related some sage advice that I would like to repeat -- "What do you want to do with it?" Tom, I could not agree more. Too many developers see a problem and create a solution. That works, but you usually end up with a fairly boring solution. I like to throw caution to the wind and come up with the idea of a solution, and then build the pieces that it takes to get there. At Austin's SXSW festival this year, Apple engineer Michael Loop shared with audience members Apple's design process(http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2008/03/apples_desi gn_p.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_techbeat). Basically, Apple approaches its design process much like a car designer or a fashion mogul - they design the fantastic and then look for the kernel of truth in their design and work backwards in order to turn truth into reality.

VMware developers should seek the truth in order to create solutions that are beautiful, fun, and fantastic.

Welcome to the VMware Developer Center Blog

heyitspablo — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 02:15:00 GMT

Welcome to the VMware Developer Center Blog

Atami Beach, San Salvador

Hello,

Welcome the VMware Developer Center Blog. My name is Pablo Roesch and I am the Product Marketing Manager for the VMware Infrastructure SDKs. My job at VMware is to help empower developers, IT administrators when integrating, and automating with our SDKs.

Before VMware I worked for Sun Microsystems in various roles, most recently responsible for building out the Developer Services Portfolio for the Sun Developer Network. On the personal side I have lived in San Francisco most of my life, and enjoy spending time with my wife and kids. Just in case you are ever in this fine city I would recommend the Slanted Door for dinner and CafeGreco for an after dinner Cappuccino. As a side note I have included a photo of my all time favorite beach in San Salvador which helps me put things into perspective.

It is an exciting time for us at VMware as our SDKs are going through a much needed evolution with recent release of the VI Perl Toolkit 1.5 and upcoming sneak peak of the VI Toolkit for Windows (manage VI using Powershell)

I often get asked what the difference is between the VMware Developer Center and the Developer Community so thought I would bring this up front.

The VMware Developer Center provides information on latest SDK product downloads, knowledge base articles, webinars, questions and answers as expressed by VMware. The Developer Community is how the community interacts with VMware. The VMware Community is where developers, scripters post questions about our SDKs, provide sample code for community use, and comments on our products.

Visit our VMware Developer Center http://vmware.com/developer as we have recently made some much needed improvements to hope you find them helpful.

Navigation: Created a new navigational bar on right hand side, which will help with navigation of our site.

Knowledge Base Articles: Growing list of KB articles, to see current list click here

SDK Questions and Answers: Adding list of frequently asked questions

New webinars and sessions: New sessions posted range Product information to VMworld Sessions.

VMware Sample Code: Ongoing effort to increase our code sample library as requested by our users. Comment or suggestion for Sample Code? Please let us know by answering this quick questionnaire.

We look forward to continuing improvements to our site, please keep the feedback coming !

Pablo Roesch - VMware SDK Product Marketing Manager

Visit the VMware Developer Center: http://vmware.com/developer Latest Downloads, Code Samples, Knowledge Base Articles