Bring back VMTN Subscription?

This would be awesome! I pay MS $250 a year for TechNet. I why can't I do the same with VMware?

-Jason

+1

Additionally this may very well drive down piracy (and the need thereof)!

Andre

This would be an absolute ${Deity}send.....

+1

I would also like to see the VMTN subscription reinstated. I have no problem with paying Microsoft £200 per year for Technet Plus, and wouldn't mind having that option for VMware VMTN as well.

+1! I would love to see this happen - it would be extremely useful for getting hands on with these technologies for the purposes of study or training, without dealing with demo licenses expiring every month or two!

I was an original subscriber to the VMTN. I will say that there is a strong chance that I wouldn't be in the position I am in today (Virtualization Solutions Architect at NetApp) without having first tried the VMware ESX/GSX products via access to the VMTN subscription. It was $299 well spent for me! (and on par with the current pricing for Microsoft's TechNet subscription these days)

I owe my entire virtualization experience beyond VMware Workstation to the exposure to products that I was able to test due to the VMTN. I even exposed a company I worked for in Japan to VMware ESX via my VMTN subscription back in 2007-8 timeframe.

Please, please, please bring it back, Steve!!!

-Chris

Yes, this is much needed.  Often discussed at VMUG's!

Agree completely. In today's market the responsibility of staying current on technology rests with the employee. If you really want to separate yourself from the pack, you have to take a personal investment in time and resources to make yourself better. Things like VMTN, Technet, etc. provide a cost effective way for someone to develop the skills they need to be successful. Furthermore, it benefits VMware by providing a means that they can help ensure they have a talented group of users of their products, advocating their use when it comes time to make budget decisions because "I already know how this works and can make it work here". Sure, you can setup eval copies that expire every 60-90 days, but that's a huge PITA. How huge? I'd wager just about no one at VMware operates that way consistently. They use what is in effect a VMTN license for their testing, labs, etc. There is a reason for that. No one wants to spend a day or two recreating a robust lab environment every 2-3 months if they don't have to...

+1!

I'm a subscriber to TechNet Professional and the benefits and accessibility this offers for home lab training are huge (for a relatively small yearly cost).

I would absolutely agree with brining back the VMTN subscription.  A great deal of the adoption and success of VMware thus far can be attributed to the people who have been working in the trenches and proving the value of the software.  By re-enabling those subscriptions I think it would be a win-win situation.  You would give people who are probably already overwhelmed at work(no time to test the software) the opportunity to test some of this at home in a home-based lab.  This will only be of benefit to VMware as these individuals will now be more aware of your product offerings and will be able to "push" products to their management as they will have first-hand knowledge of the product beforehand. 

Hi

This would be great - got my VMTN the last year VMWare run it.  Shame readlly they scrapped it.  Was very usefull in my homelab (at work) .  Electricity is cheaper

At the UKVMUG yesterday,  this was hot topic in Simon Gallagher's vTardis Talk.

VMWare need to be carefull as new upcoming techy (vNerds) will switch to <cough> microsoft as they can get licences on the Technet subs.

So, Please VMWare, bring back the VTMN.

Phil

A big +1 from someone who already pays for MS Technet and would pay for a VMTN subscription.

Ditto on all the above.  Pretty please..