NJ VMUG Q1 2026 Meeting
About Event
Join us for the first NJ VMUG Event of 2026 on 3/27/26 at the Rutgers Inn and Conference Center!
This event is sponsored by Carahsoft. Carahsoft will be raffling off a $100 Amazon gift card.
Carasoft Speaker: Ethan Palmer, Senior Solutions Architect, Carahsoft Technology Corp
Speaker bio: Ethan Palmer is a Senior Solutions Architect at Carahsoft Technology Corp, a prominent distributor specializing in private cloud solutions. In this role, he focuses on supporting education, healthcare, and government organizations as they work to modernize their datacenter infrastructures. Additionally, Ethan is recognized as a member of the Broadcom VCF Knights program.
Session: Unlocking the Power of vSAN 9
Join us for a brief overview into the exciting new capabilities and enhancements featured in vSAN 9. This session will showcase how vSAN ESA especially in version 9 transforms storage performance and efficiency, thanks to enhancements with Deep Snapshots and Global Deduplication. We’ll walk through practical approaches for seamlessly integrating vSAN 9 into datacenter environments with existing hardware or during a refresh.
Speaker: Tarsio Morales, Cloud Solution Architect, Broadcom
Speaker Bio: Tarsio Moraes is a Cloud Solution Architect at VMware by Broadcom, bringing 24 years of experience in designing and deploying cloud solutions to his role. He specializes in server and network virtualization/migrations, assisting customers worldwide in migrating their workloads to VCF, AWS, AVS, and Google Cloud platforms. Previously, Tarsio held key positions at Amazon and IBM, where he led successful cloud migration projects, achieving significant cost optimization and improved data recovery speeds. A recognized expert in the field, Tarsio has delivered over 10 Public speeches on major events.
Session: VMware Cloud Foundation Import Tool
Traditionally, adopting VMware Cloud Foundation® (VCF) meant deploying a brand-new greenfield environment. Now, with the VMware Cloud Foundation Import Tool, you can convert and prepare your existing, pre-VCF production environment—no full rebuild required.
You will learn how the VCF Import Tool acts as a conversion engine, adapting your legacy infrastructure to meet VMware Cloud Foundation requirements. Once your brownfield environment is successfully imported, we will explore the seamless upgrade path to bring your components fully up to date with VCF 9.0 standards, completing your infrastructure transformation.
Speaker: Rich Bean, Solution Architect, Broadcom
Speaker Bio: Rich Bean joined VMWare in 2012 as a Solution Architect. He has covered large enterprise accounts in the NY Metro both as an SA and SA Manager. You may catch him presenting at a VKS Experience Day in the near future.
Session: Kurious about Kubernetes?
Kurious about Kubernetes? Is it "kube control" or "kube cuttle?" This session will demystify any konfusion about VMware Kubernetes Service and discuss the komponents, konsiderations for deployment and help you understand how you can get komfortable with VKS.
Speakers: Eric Garrison, Networking & Security Solutions Architect, Broadcom & Annemarie Lyons, VCF Solutions Architect, Broadcom
Speaker Bios: Eric Garrison and Annemarie Lyons work together with customers in the New York, New Jersey Areas.
Eric Garrison has been with VMware and Broadcom for nearly 5 years now in the role of Network and Security specialist supporting the VCF Account teams in the Northeastern US and Eastern Canada. He has been an active member of the VMware community for many years, is a vExpert, was a 2025 HOL Team Captain for NSX labs at Explore 2025, and currently acts as a Technical Advisor to 2 VMUG chapters. He is based near Albany, New York, at the base of the Adirondack Mountains.
Session: VCF Adoption
The shift to VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) hasn't just changed your license key; it’s changed the fundamental way we design, consume, and pay for infrastructure. But between the "Broadcom tax" headlines and the technical "VCF vs. VVF" confusion, what is actually true?
Join us for a candid discussion where we pull back the curtain on the most common hurdles holding organizations back from VCF adoption. We’ll tackle the hard questions: Is your hardware truly obsolete for vSphere 9? Can memory tiering actually save your budget from hardware pricing spikes? And more.
We won't claim to have every answer, but we will provide a grounded, peer-to-peer guide to help you move from "analysis paralysis" to a clear infrastructure strategy. Come prepared to share your roadblocks and leave with a roadmap.
GIVEAWAYS:
Carahsoft will be raffling off a $100 Amazon gift card.
NJ VMUG is giving away a Lego Classic TV Series Batman Batmobile.
NJ VMUG is also giving away various NJVMUG / VMware branded items.
AGENDA:
10:00am – REGISTRATION
10:15am - Welcome & Housekeeping
10:30am - Carahsoft - How vSAN ESA is a better platform (Deep Snapshots, Global Dedup, etc.)
11:00am – Tarsio Moraes - VCF Deploy/Import Demo
12:00pm – Lunch & Rich Bean - Introduction to vKS
1:00pm – Eric Garrison & Annemarie Lyons - DeBunking the Myths around Adopting VCF as a Platform
2:00pm - Closing & Final Giveaways
Parking Information:
Visitors may park in Lots 82, 76, and 74A. They must use the link below to register their vehicles. They will click “Visitor” then enter their email and vehicle information to complete registration. Once completed, they will receive an email and/or text confirmation. Rutgers affiliated faculty, staff and students must purchase a Rutgers parking permit (Annual, Semester, Daily, or Event) and park accordingly. Faculty, staff, and students parking without a parking permit or outside their parking permit assignment will be subjected to ticketing and/or towing.
Link
https://parkingbase.com/c/rutgers/d/3676664?eventId=42b85120-31e8-4d7b-83c8-cf6fb0f187d9
Event Parking Guide
https://parkingbase.com/c/rutgers/d/3676664?eventId=56de4a43-64c3-49bb-93db-758ade6c0b06
Directions to parking lots can be found at maps.rutgers.edu.
For all DOTS related information and inquiries, please visit DOTSHelp.rutgers.edu or call 848-932-4809.