It’s that time again.  VMworld 2015 kicked off Saturday with the Welcome Reception. But, the unofficial start was earlier in the day.

vBreakfast started off the day at Mel’s Diner.  This is the 4th year for this great get together organized by Shane Williford.  vBreakfast tweetup is a great time to meet with your fellow tweets in person, and too meet new ones. And, the food is fantastic.

Starting off the afternoon was VMunderground Opening Acts.  Opening Acts is a great way to get the lowdown on the trends that matter in Virtualization.  This year, there were six separate panels.  They covered:

• Storage
• Infrastructure
• Networking
• Automation
• Careers
• Data Protection

I was lucky enough to attend the storage panel, and I was not disappointed.  Each panelist had great things to say about the state of storage today, it’s future, and it’s problems.

Third in the day was the sixth annual v0dgeball tournament, hosted by EMC.  This is the second year I’ve participated on the vExpert team.  Pure Storage ended up taking the title this year, but not without a fight.  In all, we raised over $17,000  for the Wounded Warrior project.

Next was the official VMworld Welcome Reception.  At the reception the solutions exchange is opened up for the first time, and drinks and hors d’oeuvres were served on the floor.  All booths were open, and it’s a great time to get a first hand look at products and vendors.

Finishing up the day was the VMunderground party.  This is one of the go to parties while attending VMworld.  This year, the party was at a (much needed) larger venue – City View at the Metreon. Drinks, good food, and good people – the party is another great time to meet up with people in the community.

Stay tuned for additional posts and daily recaps for VMworld 2015.