Attending The VMware vSeminar Series 2011

I've been a big fan of virtualization since the day I've discovered Windows Virtual PC somewhere back 5-6 years ago. At that time, my thought was its free, its convenient and it triggers a lot of new ideas for testing purposes. In 2005,my team (consist of me, my brother and my boss) had to handle a software upgrade for a very well known big multinational corporation.. Their technical team was kind enough to show us a software called VMware.

I first registered myself to VMware email subscription in 2008. VMware wasn't really big during those days but I heard that they are getting stronger by the day. Earlier this year in July, I attended a virtual event conducted by VMware.

I notice that such event utilized a lot of internet bandwidth. I had my network guy screamed at me for using most of the bandwidth during that time of the hour. I don't really blame him, he maybe wasn't equipped to handle such an enormous request. Anyway, he left the company to pursue a better position. Enough about that, I find the virtual event to be quite dull since I can't listen to any of the web conferences because of the bandwidth issue.

Last October, I received an e-mail invitation:

vSeminar Series 2011 – Online Registration is Now Open

Join us at vSeminar Series to discover the latest cloud infrastructure and management solutions to accelerate IT and your business, and learn how you can further leverage your virtualization investments to reduce capital and operating expenses and improve business agility.

vSeminar Series is a free one-day multiple track event where you will be able to hear from VMware and experts from our partner ecosystem as we share the latest technologies in enabling Your Cloud to meet your company's specific business needs.

If you're an IT professional tasked with virtualizing and managing your IT environment, or taking your organization to the Cloud, you won't want to miss this opportunity to:

• Explore the latest technologies to aid your transformation to deliver a flexible, agile IT-as-a-Service delivery model


• Learn the latest infrastructure and management solutions that enable greater efficiency, agility and choice for IT organizations - including vSphere 5, Site Recovery Manager 5 and View 5


• Create a modern, user-centric approach to personal computing that delivers secure access to applications and data from any device, such as the iPad


• Experience technology demonstrations from the exhibition showcase by VMware and a broad range of technology partners


• Dive into operational best practices, performance, tuning and troubleshooting for your IT environment


• Learn how, by using VMware vSphere, you can increase the performance of mission critical applications and how your organisation can accelerate its transition to the cloud

Don’t miss the opportunity to acquire best practices tips and strategies for virtualization and learn how to develop a cohesive, secure and compliant cloud strategy in three core areas: infrastructure, applications and end-user computing.

Register now in the city closest you and don't miss a seat. We look forward to seeing you!

Malaysia

Date: Tuesday, 15 November 2011 Time: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm Venue: One World Grand Ballroom First Avenue, Bandar Utama, City Centre 47800 Petaling Jaya Selangor Malaysia

I immediately register myself. At first, I thought the event wasn't going to have so many people. I was so wrong. Just look at these photos I've taken:



This was at 8.30am! I couldn't believe it. When the event started, the speaker told that there were a thousand people who had registered and come to the event. I then realized, VMware is huge!

Since one of my role in the company is to suggest better ways to manage the IT infrastructure for both ourselves and also to our clients/prospects. Virtualization is definitely the way of the future. My team has been fiddling with Oracle VM Virtualbox to maximize the use of our development and test servers in the office. So far, the only restriction that we have is the shortage of physical memory for the hardware. The cloud wasn't really a solution for us since we need to utilize what we have and keeping the cost down (although we have 2 virtual private servers running in the US for hosting purposes). Overall, virtualization has helped us in our IT deployment stage.

Back to the event, I must say that the event was way much cooler and more fun than any techno events I've ever been to and this was in Malaysia by the way. Kudos to the organizer and to all the sponsors for organizing such a wonderful event. Looking forward to next year's VMware vSeminar Series if VMware decided to conduct one again next year.

Oracle Technology Network: Java Workshop

It's time for another workshop from Oracle. As usual, I receive a workshop invitation from Oracle:

Modern Enterprise Java Development

Dear Ashrufzz,

You are invited to attend the Oracle Technology Network (OTN) Java Workshop, a free, hands-on workshop that will focus on Java EE 6 and designed to enrich the development experience of enterprise Java developers.

• Gain a better understanding of Oracle WebLogic Server's capabilities and a glimpse into Java EE 7 and cloud enablement


• Dive into the different layers of a typical Java EE Web application and learn how to implement them using the latest Java EE features


• Learn how the latest Java EE 6 features provide a modern, lightweight Java development experience


• Gain insight into why scaling web applications is challenging and learn some tips and tricks on how to deal with the issues involved


• Hear about the integration of Coherence and Oracle WebLogic Server and Oracle GlassFish Server and the native capabilities of each servers for HTTP session state management


• Learn how to configure and use powerful Eclipse plug-ins to develop, build, and deploy with Maven and Hudson for continuous build integration


• Learn how to develop a simple Java console-based application to access, update and remove simple types of information from a Coherence-clustered cache

LAPTOP REQUIREMENT

General requirements		Software requirements
• Laptop with DVD Drive • Any operating system • 3.9 GB free disk space for VirtualBox appliance		• 2GB RAM+ • VirtualBox 4.1+ software • 9 GB of disk space for VirtualBox image

Agenda
8:30 a.m.	Registration
9:00 a.m.	Keynote: Modern, Lightweight Development with Java EE 6
10:00 a.m.	Technical Session: Developer Experience with WebLogic Server and the Cloud
11:00 a.m.	Technical Session: Exploring Java EE 6
12:00 p.m.	Lunch
1:00 p.m.	InstallFest
1:30 p.m.	Hands-on Lab: Total Oracle WebLogic Server Development with Eclipse, Maven, and Hudson
2:30 p.m.	Technical Session: An engineer's introduction to in-memory data grid development
3:30 p.m.	Technical Session: In-memory session replication with WebLogic and GlassFish and Coherence
4:30 p.m.	Hands-on Lab: A Step-By-Step Guide to Oracle Coherence
5:30 p.m.	End

I arrived at Oracle's HQ in Level 23, The Garden. I guess they are cutting down on cost so the only goodies I get is an Oracle folder, a few sheets of paper and an Oracle Linux CD. It's okay with me since it's kind of annoying to bring along my laptop back-pack along with a bunch of goodies especially when you take the train to come to MidValley.


The first session was presented by Cipto Wibowo Herlianto, OFM Solution Consultant-ASEAN. He is based in Singapore and I believe he is an Indonesian by the way his name is spelt. There was supposed to be another speaker but he came in late, therefore, Cipto had to cover for him.


Cipto's topic was "Developer Experience with WebLogic Server and the Cloud" where he explained about Oracle WebLogic product regarding its features and many more things.


For me, the Oracle WebLogic is a fantastic tool to administer an enterprise application for a big scale environment. Of course, the learning curve would be a bit steep especially for those who had never handled any big enterprise application before. For those who do, the features can be really helpful.


Cipto also showed the audience a hands-on view of how to deploy 2 applications where one is the new version and side by side replacing the old version with a new one without compromising the uptime of the application. A feature where high availability application demands most.


My knowledge in Java is quite limited so I couldn't really understand what Java EE6 can do or could not do.

The second speaker is Chuk-Munn Lee where he talked about "Exploring Java EE 6".


I really admire Mr. Chuk-Mun Lee because of his vast knowledge of Java. He was also unafraid to tell the audience the truth about Oracle and Sun (He claimed he was from Sun) in terms of the product strength and weaknesses. Among some notes I've managed to collect:

• GlassFish Server V3 - Is free and most probably the most advanced web server application in the market


• JRuby - Is faster than the original Ruby


• WebXML - Format everybody loves to hate


• The use of annotation "" - If you have source code


• The use of XML - If you don't have source code/file


• Multitenancy in Java EE 7


• Scaling application in thread - requires a lot of CPU


• Some overview of JRockit and how it can be used to manage application

I've never heard of GlassFish before even though one of the applications my company is selling is using Tomcat and Jetty and based on Spring Framework. I think it's time for my company to focus on Java instead of PHP. It was also the first time I've heard of Maven and Hudson so it was an eye opener for me too.












Some of the materials being presentated were way beyond my IT knowledge so I had to pick up my pace on it using Wikipedia while during the talk. Again, I was fascinated by the dashboard showed by Mr Chuk together with his hands-on demonstration. How I wish I had the skills that he has. It was then time for lunch:


I could still remember the lunch I had during my last visit. It was fabolous. This time around, we were only served with packed lunch. Oh well, that'll do.


The afternoon session was the "hands-on" approach. My laptop was running at peak performance causing my CPU fan to work extra hard. I was left with only 13GB of hard disk space (Total capacity-160GB) on my ageing laptop. How I wish my company could provide me with an upgrade to my nearly 3-year-old laptop ever since my own laptop died on me because of overheating I supposed.


Check out my laptop which barely meets the minimum laptop requirement:

General requirements		Software requirements		My Laptop
• Laptop with DVD Drive • Any operating system • 3.9 GB free disk space for VirtualBox appliance		• 2GB RAM+ • VirtualBox 4.1+ software • 9 GB of disk space for VirtualBox image		• Intel Core2 Duo CPU T5670 1.8GHz • 3GB RAM • WinXP SP 2 • 13GB of free disk space

There was 2 hands-on lab:

1. Oracle WebLogic Server Development with Eclipse, maven and Hudson


2. A Step-By-Step Guide to Oracle Coherence

I only managed to finish the 1st lab. By the time I was finished, it's already time to leave.


Looking forward to another event (please invite me again ok?).

Thank you, Oracle.

The International Construction Conference 2011 - Kuala Lumpur

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a 2 days conference. If it wasn't for my boss who had to go to Jakarta, I wouldn't have to attend it. Anyway, the conference was a totally different industry, the construction industry. This is a huge industry with huge players. The event was jointly organized by UiTM (my former university) and The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) which was sponsored by CIDB Malaysia. I have never heard of CIOB before so it was new to me.



The welcoming address was done by Associate Professor Dr. Masran Saruwono, Dean of Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, UiTM. Opening address was done by Dr. Yeow Yoon Foo, President of CIOB Malaysia. Keynote Address and Official Opening was done by YB Dato' Sri Ir Dr. Judin Abd Karim, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, CIDB Malaysia.

A little disclaimer here. I am not from the construction industry and what I'm going to write is from my own perspective.  If for some reason the information is not correct, misleading or gibberish, I would really appreciate any comments or feedback.



Session 1 -  Paper 1 : Case Studies in Sustainability for Major Construction Projects: The Veritas Experience by Mr. David Mizan Hashim.



The introduction given by the moderator to the first speaker was quite lengthy but really interesting to listen.



Once Mr. David Mizan gave out his talk, everybody including myself became very attentive towards what he was talking. He is quite an interesting speaker. Let's check out his slides:



17 of the 20 tallest buildings in the world are in Asia and the Middle East.



For the first time in history, more than half of the world's population is urban.



Three types of Green Building Rating Tool from Singapore, Malaysia and USA were compared.

There were 4 case studies were featured,The LCCT, Menara Binjai, Menara Chua and PKNS HQ. I kind of get the understanding of what the speaker message is since I've read about the Malaysia Green Building Index.



In this case study, the speaker mentioned about conserving energy by making an open design for the building.



If you're familiar with engineering, the diagram above does make sense to you.



Some design view of the LCCT.



Case study 2: Menara Binjai. Don't ask me where the building is, I have no idea.



The objective of the building design is to bring as much as natural light inside the building thus a lot of glass is used.







Case Study3: PKNS HQ. I have live in Shah Alam for almost 4 years during my study years. I love Shah Alam and Kompleks PKNS is one the earliest shopping mall my father used to bring me when I was little.



Did you know that the lake in Shah Alam is owned by PKNS? I didn't know that. It is said that PKNS wanted to fence the entire lake area in Shah Alam since it is located their private land. Of course there were an uproar from the people in Shah Alam so they decided to leave it open to public. So the designer proposed this design:



The idea was to open up the building so that the public can go through instead of around it.



The building also is targeted to score a Platinum Level on the GBI scale.



I do gain a lot of knowledge just by attending this conference but I don't want to write about the whole content of the conference. It's not because I am lazy or so, it's because this industry is not really related to what I am paid to work for. So, I'll just summarize this entire post with photo galleries taken using my mobile phone down below:


international Construction Conference 2011 Kuala Lumpur - Day 1


international Construction Conference 2011 Kuala Lumpur - Day 2

Using Microsoft Word 2007 to Blog

This is a test post using Microsoft Word 2007. I've never tried this before eventhough I've been using Microsoft Word for like the rest of my working days.

Anyway, I'll see if I can adapt to the way of how MS Word will publish my blog post.

Until my next blog post.

Discovering RedHat Enterprise Linux

I am a Windows guy so when it comes to Linux, I am a complete newbie although I've been exposed to a few RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) version 5 x86_64 tasks related to Oracle database administration. I've played around with Ubuntu and Fedora but I find it hard to adapt since I'm so used to Windows environment. Earlier this month, I was invited to attend a free half a day RedHat Workshop conducted by ECS Pericomp. I've dealt a few software purchase with them and so far I've been satisfied with their level of service.



ECS Pericomp is located in Kota Damansara. I had to hustle the peak traffic jam, I am puzzled of why is it that during the fasting month of Ramadan, the road traffic are more congested than usual. Maybe I was driving on the wrong route. Anyway, I arrived there slightly late and the presentation started:



I must say that ECS ICT Berhad is quite big. They have a list of smaller companies within their own premises. My company is way smaller than them.



Mike Lai is the Technology Specialist at ECS Pericomp. I really admire his presentation style because I think he loves to share stuff instead of selling.



Some brief explanation about what Open Source is all about.



Some of the software development milestone related to RedHat.



Some of the tools and features of RHEL. Mike continued to share that a lot other organization clone the RedHat to become their own, one is example is the Oracle Linux where the OS are fine tune with Oracle products.



Now this is what the entire workshop is all about, "Virtualization". I've been exposed to virtualization ever since the creation of Virtual PC. From there, I moved on to VirtualBox and read a little bit about VMWare. It is really an interesting topic to learn and implement. I have a couple of ideas I wanted to experiment since my company has its own small data center and the aging servers are really hard to manage. Now comes the best part, demo:



In the demo, Mike showed how he actually makes a live migration. The Virtual Machine (VM) used is Windows XP. He opened a text file and without saving it, created an exact copy of the VM and launches it. The exact opened text file appears sort of like a clone. Of course this is no surprise for people who have been familiar with Virtual PC such as myself. However, the web-based virtualization tool used reminded me of Amazon Elastic Cloud Compute EC2 I've been playing around 2 months ago.



As much as I marvel all this new cool technology, conveying the virtualization idea and practical issues is something to work on. Overall, this workshop benefited me well enough thanks to ECS.

Upgraded from TMNet Streamyx to TM UniFi

Last February 2011, 2 TM UniFi agent came to my house claiming that my area is within UniFi coverage. I checked on UniFi's website earlier but my house address was no where to be found. Since the guy said that registration and the even the installation is free, I then agreed to sign up. 5 months later, after I signed up again online and confirmed that my house address was listed, I received an e-mail that my order was approved and the installation will be done in July 2011. Apparently, TM UniFi's personnel called me up and inform me of an earlier installation date and I happily agreed to it.

Unfortunately, they broke their promise and didn't show up on the date. I e-mailed them back and complain about it and received a reply from their customer support. The installation date was pushed to the following week. Here's how the installation work was done:



There were 2 vans arrived at my house, one contractor is for the outdoor installation and the other is responsible for the indoor installation. Altogether there were 5 people.



I admired this guy who engaged me as the customer and did most of the work compared the other guys. Not only did he brought the barrel of fiber optics cable to the telekom pole, he drilled a hole in my living room.



He then drilled my kitchen wall to insert the fibre optic cables from the outside.



He pulled the fiber optic cables were pulled into my house living room.



The fiber optics cable barrel.



My cracked kitchen wall caused by the drilling. One of the contractor then masked the cracked wall with white plaster.



The guy then sets up the UniFi equipments in my living room.



He and another guys working on the UniFi's connectivity.



My neighbourhood UniFi box connector. In some places, the UniFi connectivity is located underground.



My house TM UniFi equipment up and running.

The next step after installing UniFi is to terminate the TM Net Streamyx and telephone line. There were several issues I've encountered after the installation:

1. I tried requesting for my house number to remain the same. Unfortunately the TM Point staff told me that I can't have my old phone number to be replaced with the new UniFi telephone number. So there goes my old house number after using it for 14 years.


2. The TM powered wireless router administration page is very opened. Even though I've disabled the remote access to the router, until now I can't seem to change the password (current password is just blank).


3. I spent 2 days configuring the TM powered wireless router to work on my laptop. Only my laptop couldn't connect to the WiFi, the rest of laptop, PC and mobile devices in my house could connect to the internet without any problem. I tried configured everything I know on my laptop, installed and uninstalled several drivers and software but nothing seems to work. In the end, I hooked up my old wireless router back and my laptop automatically connects to the internet.


4. After consuming gigabytes of data (I am a heavy downloader once in a while), I think one the UniFi devices crashed and both the HyppTV and the internet is not available anymore. This had occur twice already. The solution is to reset the whole boxes (Consist of the UniFi modem, Wireless router and HypTV box; Switch off for a few seconds and switch back on after that) and the UniFi services will be back to normal. Don't bother tinkering into the admin page or call the customer service unless if you really need to.

If you want to read a full detail story of what happened before the installation, you can read it on my Malay blog here, that is if you can understand Malay language.

Overall, I am satisfied with TM UniFi services. There are moments when the internet line was really slow, I guess not all of the servers can cater for the high speed connection. The only significant improvement I've noticed is when watching YouTube where you don't have to wait for the buffering video anymore. The HyppTV/IPTV is crystal clear and at the moment I'm enjoying all of the HyppTV channel free for a month (1-31 August 2011). That's all for now. Do leave a comment if you would like to ask me anything.

Cheers.