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Earlier this week we read about how the demand for multi-hypervisor management via SCVMM 2008 was supposedly strong. I proposed that if there are so many people enjoying VMware VI3 management via SCVMM, surely someone would respond with feedback on their experience.
Lo and behold, “Fred” responded with this comment:
I am using SCVMM to manage ESX. It is actually cool to see both environments in a single console. Plus, since I will never be 100% virtualized (or at least in the next 3 years), I like Microsoft’s management story. The ability to manage both phyiscal and virtual workloads using Operations Manager is very nice and my management loves it.
Wow, Fred really has it made — he is using a single console to manage his physical and virtual workloads. Awesome!
But we have a small problem — “Fred” is not an actual customer. Fred is Microsoft. This comment came from a Microsoft-owned IP address:
Ouch! Fred, you really took one for the team this week.
Related posts:
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Really don’t understand why they do it… And if you do it, at least be smart and use an anonymous proxy.
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I find that any time someone says “story” when talking about a feature set, it’s a Microsoft employee.
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The part that I like the most of Fred’s quote is: “…It is actually cool to see both environments in a single console….” It summarizes very well what SCVMM lets you do when it comes to ESX servers: see them.
Not sure that people outside Microsoft would call it cool though, because for actual management tasks admins would still have to use vCenter. -
Yeah, I like the anonymous proxy story. It allows people to leave deceptive comments about multiple vendors from a single browser.
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Very good catch Eric! I have been following the SCVMM stories quite closely. Love your blog, IMHO you provide clear, concise and open-minded comparisons of the two competing Management Consoles. Even though I am an ex-VMware employee, in my current role, I get to play with different hyper-visors and virtualization technologies. VMware is still light years ahead of the competition in terms of ease of use, in addition to the depth and breadth of VMware management tools.
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Thanks Bobbi, that’s good to know. Hope all is well with you.
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Nice Eric! I always start every comment I put on a blog post with “I am a VMware employee”. This is a nice reminder why I do that.
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Actually, you can use the guest wifi network at Microsoft as a visitor (I know, I’ve done so). The Global MVP Summit was recently held at Microsoft’s campus with thousands of non-Microsoft technology experts wandering all over the Redmond Microsofdt campus soaking up MSFT wifi. Not sure MSFT IP address = MSFT employee…
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Dave, wise move proactively providing the disclaimer.
Chuck, you might be right, but that sounds like the red-light camera ticket argument — it wasn’t me driving my car at the time.
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Eric, have you *been* to the Microsoft Campus at Redmond? It is ***HUGE***
It is an entire town.
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Chuck, I just did a traceroute to that IP and the route doesn’t go to Redmond — it goes to Charlotte, NC.
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Eric,
I’m not saying your assumption is incorrect. I’m just saying as a former MVP I have used MSFT wifi in so many MSFT offices around the world that I know for a fact that Microsoft is generous to its visitors and allows them use of their wifi (at user group meetings, Code Camps, etc). Value objectivity is all I’m suggesting.
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Is there much difference between a Microsoft employee and a MVP? Why is a Microsoft Valued Professional so valuable to Microsoft. Hmmmm, let me think about that for a second …. I don’t think objectivity is in the equation.
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MPR,
Dude, if you’re a MS hater or a fanboy for some other vendor and you permit that to affect your objectivity you damage your credibility and the credibility of the very position to articulate.
MSFT says they value MVPs because they are independent, credible, recognized experts. MVPs aren’t lap dogs. I was there when Balmer asked MVPs to raise their hands if they used various search engines. Very few hands went up for Live, derisive laughs were heard for Yahoo, and nearly EVERY hand went up for Google – including mine.
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We’re splitting very fine hairs at this point. MVPs are independent, as are vExperts. They are often customers.
So yeah, it could have been somebody jumping on the MSFT wifi. But it’s not very likely, and readers should treat the comment with an appropriate level of skepticism until there are successful SCVMM 2008 customers managing mixed Hyper-V & ESX production environments. I’m sure we’ll see actual published case studies from MSFT about them. I’ll go even further out on a limb and say these customers will be easier to find than Bigfoot, although I’m personally skeptical there will be many of them soon.
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John,
“So yeah, it could have been somebody jumping on the MSFT wifi. But it’s not very likely”
You say that based on ________?
To be very clear – I have no idea if the poster was MSFT or not.
Frankly, I don’t even care. I don’t work in the virtualization space and only came here because this was a popular twitter meme and I wanted to see what the big “Microsoft tries deception, gets caught” headline was all about.
Here’s what I do know: most, not all – and I have no clue about NC – non-Redmond MSFT offices in the US exist for one reason: sales.
Guess what sales offices have in them constantly: customers.
Go to the MSFT office in NYC on the Avenue of the Americas (next to Radio City Music Hall).
Guess what you’re likely to see there?
Customers.
Lots of them (probably more customers than MSFT employees).
Skepticism is fine, but objectivity is a great thing to.
I have, however, never seen a Bigfoot and I don’t think they exist.
Chuck
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As an MVP, I don’t get paid or awarded for sugar coating my opinions. However, I do try to ensure my comments are accurate, constructive and respectful…and as an MVP I focus on helping the community – which often means filling gaps in documentation and product features – no software company is perfect.
You have some excellent info on this blog, but you need to seriously consider how your obvious bias and negative attitude affect others perceptions of your expertise.
But for the constructive and helpful guidance you do provide on this blog, you have my sincere thanks.
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Folks, let’s not let a civil discussion go any farther off the rails. There is absolutely no reason to start denigrating the “other side.”
In the end, it doesn’t really matter if “Fred” is an employee or a wifi freeloader — if you will notice, he also posted in a similar tone last month. My take-away is that he is not legit. I’ll gladly post a correction if that turns out not to be the case.
Pete, I appreciate your thoughtful feedback and I am glad you find some of the content here useful. What I am trying to accomplish does require a balance. I intend to write more on this point in the future, but I need to leave it at that for now — something really big is happening tomorrow.
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