
Virtually Speaking Podcast
The Virtually Speaking Podcast is a weekly technical podcast dedicated to discussing VMware topics related to private and hybrid cloud. Each week Pete Flecha and John Nicholson bring in various subject matter experts from VMware, recently acquired by Broadcom, and within the industry to discuss their respective areas of expertise.
Latest episodes

Jun 13, 2024 • 25min
Exploring VMware Cloud Foundation: Inside the Private Cloud
Welcome to a special 10-part series on the Virtually Speaking Podcast: "Exploring VMware Cloud Foundation." In this series, hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson interview various subject matter experts to break down the components that make up VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and provide insights into its powerful capabilities for private cloud environments.
In this kickoff episode titled "Inside the Private Cloud," Pete and John sit down with VP of Product Management, Paul Turner, and Director of Product Marketing, Rick Walsworth. Paul discusses the vision for VMware Cloud Foundation following VMware's acquisition by Broadcom, emphasizing how VCF is a key focus of the acquisition. Rick provides a comprehensive overview of VCF's features, highlighting how they streamline the deployment and management of cloud infrastructure. This episode serves as an essential introduction to the series, offering a clear understanding of what VCF is and the value it brings to modern cloud strategies. Don't miss this foundational discussion as we embark on our journey through VMware Cloud Foundation.
Links Mentioned:
VCF Landing Page
Announcing General Availability of VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1.1
VCF Webinars
VCF YouTube Page
Virtually Speaking YouTube Page
Virtually Speaking Podcast
Watch the Entire Series
Ep 01: Inside the Private Cloud
Ep 02: What’s Inside
Ep 03: The Cloud Admin Journey
Ep 04: VCF Compute
Ep 05: VCF Storage
Ep 06: VCF Networking
Ep 07: A Cloud Management Experience
Ep 08: VMware Private AI
Ep 09: Data Services Manager
Ep 10: VMware vDefend
The Virtually Speaking Podcast
The Virtually Speaking Podcast is a technical podcast dedicated to discussing VMware topics related to private and hybrid cloud. Each week Pete Flecha and John Nicholson bring in various subject matter experts from VMware and from within the industry to discuss their respective areas of expertise. If you’re new to the Virtually Speaking Podcast check out all episodes on vspeakingpodcast.com and follow on Twitter\X @VirtSpeaking

May 20, 2024 • 27min
The Rise of the Data Processing Unit (DPU)
In this episode of Virtually Speaking, Pete and John dive deep into the transformative impact of Data Processing Units (DPUs) on virtual infrastructure with special guest Dave Morera from vSphere Technical Marketing. They explore how vSphere Distributed Services Engine leverages DPUs to modernize infrastructure by offloading critical functions from the CPU. This advancement enables significant resource savings, accelerated networking, and enhanced workload security. Dave explains how the integration of DPU lifecycle management into vSphere simplifies operations, reduces the need for third-party tools, and strengthens security with agentless controls. Tune in to learn how DPUs are enhancing performance, improving workload consolidation, and reducing total cost of ownership while simplifying infrastructure management and boosting security.

May 14, 2024 • 19min
VMware Desktop Hypervisors
In the latest episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete and John dive deep into the world of desktop hypervisors with special guest Michael Roy. The discussion takes us on a journey through the history of desktop hypervisors, exploring their various use cases and shedding light on recent changes in licensing following Broadcom's acquisition of VMware.
Desktop hypervisors, notably VMware Fusion and Workstation, have revolutionized the way we approach virtualization on personal computers. These powerful tools enable users to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single machine, opening up a world of possibilities for developers, IT professionals, and enthusiasts alike.
During this episode Michael Roy delves into the myriad use cases for desktop hypervisors, highlighting their importance in software development, testing, and education. We explore how these tools have become indispensable for developers seeking to test their applications across different environments, as well as for IT professionals managing complex systems.

Apr 17, 2024 • 30min
Analyzing HCI Storage Performance in a vSphere Environment
In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete and John sat down with Chen Wei, the creator of HCIBench, from VMware by Broadcom. HCIBench streamlines HCI benchmarking, simplifying a once-complex process.
Chen Wei shared HCIBench's journey, emphasizing its user-friendly interface, which caters to both novices and experts. We explored its technical architecture and discussed key metrics like throughput and latency crucial for assessing HCI performance accurately.
Our conversation also touched on HCIBench's collaborative development model, driven by user feedback and community contributions. Looking ahead, Chen discussed upcoming features and the tool's evolving role in the HCI industry.
Tune in to gain insights into HCI benchmarking and discover how HCIBench is shaping the future of infrastructure optimization.
Links Mentioned:
Download HCIBench - https://via.vmware.com/hcibench
Blog: How do I Identify if I have bad performance
Reference Architectures - https://core.vmware.com/reference-architectures
The Virtually Speaking Podcast
The Virtually Speaking Podcast is a technical podcast dedicated to discussing VMware topics related to storage and availability. In each episode, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson bring in various subject matter experts from VMware and within the industry to discuss their respective areas of expertise. If you’re new to the Virtually Speaking Podcast check out all episodes on vSpeakingPodcast.com and follow on Twitter @VirtSpeaking

Mar 28, 2024 • 30min
VMware Live Recovery
Last week VMware by Broadcom announced the general availability of VMware Live Recovery, an innovative solution that delivers unmatched cyber and data resiliency for VMware Cloud Foundation environments. VMware Live Recovery is the industry’s first solution that combines enterprise-grade disaster recovery with purpose-built cyber recovery in a single management experience across clouds. On this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast Pete and John welcome Mike McLaughlin and Cato Grace to discuss the details of this new solution.

Feb 23, 2024 • 44min
Inventory and Calculator scripts for VMware Cloud Foundation VCF and vSphere Foundation VVF
There are two new tools to help understand and calculate the required subscription capacity for the new VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) offerings, which are licensed based on physical CPU Cores for compute and total raw physical storage (TiBs) for vSAN. On this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast Pete and John welcome William Lam to discuss the details of these new scripts and how demonstrates with a live demo.
Links Mentioned
WilliamLam.com
VMware KB 95927 - Counting Cores for VMware Cloud Foundation and vSphere Foundation and TiBs for vSAN
VMware KB 96426 - License Calculator for VMware Cloud Foundation, VMware vSphere Foundation and VMware vSAN

Feb 21, 2024 • 15min
Is this thing on?
The Virtually Speaking Podcast is venturing into the world of live streaming. On this mini episode, Pete and John discuss the new Apple Vision Pro and promote our upcoming Live Stream with William Lam this Friday at 1:00 EST. Enjoy!

Jan 3, 2024 • 36min
VMware Cloud on AWS version 1.24
On this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast Pete and John welcome Glenn Sizemore to share the details of VMC on AWS SDDC Version 1.24.

Nov 10, 2023 • 13min
A closer look at Data Services Manager with Cormac Hogan
This week VMware announced the latest release of VMware Data Services Manager (DSM), version 2.0. DSM enables the provisioning of data services (e.g., databases, object stores) on vSphere infrastructure. This release builds on earlier versions of VMware Data Services Manager 1.x, but also extends the product.
On this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast Cormac Hogan shares the details of this new release.

Nov 10, 2023 • 19min
What’s New with VMware Cloud at VMware Explore Barcelona
VMware Explore Barcelona was filled with innovation, tech previews, and releases from the VMware Cloud team. The announcements included new partnerships for VMware Private AI, proactive detection capabilities in Ransomware Recovery, and advanced data service capabilities and new partnerships with Data Services Manager. The common denominator of all of these is VMware Cloud Foundation.
On this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast Pete and John welcome VP of Product Marketing Prashanth Shenoy to discuss how VMware Cloud Foundation enables customers to simply operations and deliver consistent experiences across clouds.