NEC at NFD2: 3 ProgrammableFlow Demonstration
Event: Networking Field Day 2
Appearance: NEC Presents at Networking Field Day 2
Company: NEC Networking
Video Links:
Personnel: TBD
NEC at NFD2: 2 ProgrammableFlow Architecture and Use Cases
Event: Networking Field Day 2
Appearance: NEC Presents at Networking Field Day 2
Company: NEC Networking
Video Links:
Personnel: TBD
NEC at NFD2: 1 NEC Introduction by John Wise
Event: Networking Field Day 2
Appearance: NEC Presents at Networking Field Day 2
Company: NEC Networking
Video Links:
Personnel: John Wise
Cisco at NFD2: 3 Nexus 1000v presented by Prashant Ghandi
Event: Networking Field Day 2
Appearance: Cisco Presents at Networking Field Day 2
Company: Cisco Datacenter
Video Links:
Personnel: Prashant Gandhi
Cisco at NFD2: 2 Orchestration and Cloud Management
Event: Networking Field Day 2
Appearance: Cisco Presents at Networking Field Day 2
Company: Cisco Datacenter
Video Links:
Personnel: Brian Promise, Jason Schroedl
Cisco at NFD2: 1 Evolving Network Fabrics with Omar Sultan and Ron Fuller
Event: Networking Field Day 2
Appearance: Cisco Presents at Networking Field Day 2
Company: Cisco Datacenter
Video Links:
Personnel: Omar Sultan, Ron Fuller
Interview with Abner Germanow of Juniper Networks
Event: Networking Field Day 1
Appearance: Juniper Presents at Networking Field Day 1
Company: Juniper Networks
Video Links:
- Vimeo: Interview with Abner Germanow of Juniper Networks
- YouTube: Interview with Abner Germanow of Juniper Networks
Personnel: Abner Germanow
Abner Germanow from Juniper Networks shares his involvement with Tech Field Day, expressing admiration for the insightful questions posed by the networking community participating in the event. He became interested in Tech Field Day after following its contributors via Twitter and blogs for nearly two years. Abner is looking forward to his brief presentation followed by in-depth whiteboard sessions led by engineers covering topics such as switching, routing, security, and Juniper’s software strategy.
Interview with Steve Garrison of Force10 Networks
Event: Networking Field Day 1
Appearance: Force10 Presents at Networking Field Day 1
Company: Force10
Video Links:
- Vimeo: Interview with Steve Garrison of Force10 Networks
- YouTube: Interview with Steve Garrison of Force10 Networks
Personnel: Steve Garrison
Interview with Steve Garrison of Force10 Networks at Gestalt IT’s Networking Tech Field Day 2010. This was recorded at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA on September 16, 2010.
In the interview, Steve Garrison of Force10 Networks explains the company’s motivation for participating in Tech Field Day, emphasizing its value as a unique and cost-effective way to engage the blogger community. He details how the event allows them to connect directly with a targeted group of influential bloggers—twelve at once—providing Force10 an opportunity to both understand the interests of the blogging community and share the company’s own narrative, including its capabilities, market positioning, and differentiators.
Garrison highlights the benefits of the event’s informal and technical format, which moves away from traditional presentations like PowerPoint and flashy marketing in favor of deep technical dialogue and whiteboard sessions. These sessions are meant to resonate with Force10’s core audience, which includes IT professionals and technical decision-makers who use their gear and contribute to the company’s growing user community. This direct engagement enables Force10 to better communicate their real-world solutions and technical strengths in a more authentic and effective manner.
He concludes by commending the overall experience and the collaborative atmosphere cultivated by Steve, Claire, and the bloggers. According to Garrison, the combination of marketing, genuine industry dialogue, and personal connection not only made the event productive for Force10 but also enjoyable. For him, the ability to discuss industry movements while forming meaningful relationships marked the day as a significant success.
Interview with Josh Stephens of SolarWinds
Event: Networking Field Day 1
Appearance: SolarWinds Presents at Networking Field Day 1
Company: SolarWinds
Video Links:
- Vimeo: Interview with Josh Stephens of SolarWinds
- YouTube: Interview with Josh Stephens of SolarWinds
Personnel: Josh Stephens
Interview with Josh Stephens of SolarWinds at Gestalt IT’s Networking Tech Field Day 2010. This was recorded at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA on September 16, 2010.
In this brief interview, Josh Stephens, Head Geek at SolarWinds, shares his impressions of attending Networking Tech Field Day 1. Representing SolarWinds, a company based in Austin, Texas, Stephens explains that the main goal of attending was to engage directly with other networking professionals and experts. He emphasized the value of meeting in person with individuals he previously only interacted with through social media, blogs, and podcasts, highlighting the importance of building real-world connections within the networking and IT community.
Stephens describes the event as a refreshing change from his routine role, which typically involves educating newcomers to the field. The opportunity to interact with peers who are also well-versed in networking technology allowed for richer, more advanced discussions and a sense of camaraderie among professionals. He expressed particular appreciation for connecting with others involved in the tech-centric social media landscape, such as vloggers and podcasters, reinforcing the sense of a tightly-knit and collaborative community.
Overall, Stephens conveys a sense of enthusiasm and satisfaction with his participation in the event. He thanks the organizers for the opportunity and notes his eagerness to continue engaging with fellow attendees through online platforms once back home. His comments reflect both the professional value and personal enjoyment he derived from Networking Field Day 1, underscoring the event’s role in fostering meaningful dialogue and collaboration among thought leaders in the networking space.
Interview with Jay Mellman of HP
Event: Networking Field Day 1
Appearance: HP Presents at Networking Field Day 1
Company: HP Networking
Video Links:
- Vimeo: Interview with Jay Mellman of HP
- YouTube: Interview with Jay Mellman of HP
Personnel: Jay Mellman
Interview with Jay Mellman of HP at Gestalt IT’s Networking Tech Field Day 2010. This was recorded at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA on September 16, 2010.
Jay Mellman, Senior Director of Marketing for HP’s Networking Division, shared his company’s approach and experience during their participation in the Networking Tech Field Day. HP aimed to build stronger relationships with influential technology bloggers and engineers who are deeply involved in the networking space. Mellman acknowledged that this audience is less receptive to typical marketing messages and far more engaged with technical content and innovation from vendors. The company observed that these bloggers and engineers were curious about real technological differentiation and the potential benefits HP’s networking solutions could offer, such as saving time, money, and resources for enterprise customers.
Throughout the session, the HP team noted heightened interest when discussions became more technical, particularly around their intelligent network management tools and security solutions like the TippingPoint intrusion prevention system. These topics sparked lively and in-depth conversations, sometimes even heated debate, which Mellman saw as a positive indication of meaningful engagement. The feedback provided by the participants revealed both interest in and scrutiny of HP’s offerings, reinforcing the idea that this audience values detailed explanations and real-world application of technology over high-level business messaging.
Mellman reflected on how events such as Networking Tech Field Day are shifting from traditional public relations and analyst-focused engagements to more organic, authentic interactions with the broader technical community. He stressed that beyond promoting HP’s solutions, these events are valuable learning opportunities for the company to understand what truly resonates with engineers and practitioners. Mellman expressed optimism about continuing these conversations—not only through online communities but also at future industry events—signaling HP’s commitment to fostering more genuine, two-way dialogues with the tech community.
Compellent Roundtable at Gestalt IT Tech Field Day Seattle
Event: Tech Field Day 3
Appearance: Compellent Presents at Tech Field Day 3
Company: Compellent
Video Links:
Personnel: Bob Plankers, Craig Stewart, Ethan Banks, Howard Marks, Jason Boche, W. Curtis Preston
This roundtable discussion focusing on storage maker Compellent is taken from Tech Field Day Seattle, held in July of 2010. The delegates dive into the topic of enterprise storage, reacting to Compellent’s presentation of their products and technology.
One of the most-interesting points raised concerns the recent technological advances made by the major vendors. Is it too late for a small, innovative company to seize market share or will the big guys match their functionality and head off their advance?
Another key issue in the conversation is W. Curtis Preston‘s discussion of snapshots and data protection. Can traditional backup be made obsolete by storage system snapshots? “Mr. Backup” doesn’t see why not, and suggests that Compellent be more aggressive in pushing this capability.
This episode includes also discussion of the following:
- Bob Plankers‘ initial impressions of the product
- Ethan Banks‘ reaction to a long-distance replication configuration (is this an affordable alternative to EMC V-Plex?)
- Jason Boche notes the “21st century” management interface that, as Howard Marks notes, reduces the need for expensive training classes
- Howard also points out that licenses can be carried forward as the system is upgraded
- Craig Stewart is impressed but questions Compellent’s presence in the European market
Introduction to Nimble Storage at Tech Field Day Seattle
Event: Tech Field Day 3
Appearance: Nimble Storage Presents at Tech Field Day 3
Company: Nimble Storage
Video Links:
- Vimeo: Introduction to Nimble Storage at Tech Field Day Seattle
- YouTube: Introduction to Nimble Storage at Tech Field Day Seattle
Personnel: Dan Leary
Dan Leary of Nimble Storage gives a quick introduction to the company and its products with Stephen Foskett at Gestalt IT Tech Field Day Seattle.
At Tech Field Day Seattle, Dan Leary shares the official launch of Nimble Storage, marking a significant moment as the company emerges from stealth mode. Speaking with Stephen Foskett, Leary expresses excitement about presenting at such a prominent industry event and describes the company’s mission and innovations in the storage landscape. The presentation signals Nimble Storage’s first public introduction and a strategic opportunity to communicate directly with technology influencers and early adopters.
Leary explains that Nimble Storage is pioneering a new type of storage architecture that unifies several previously separate technologies into a single solution. Specifically, their system integrates high-performance iSCSI primary storage with capacity-optimized secondary storage and disaster recovery capabilities. This convergence is designed to simplify data management and deliver both speed and efficiency, eliminating the need for multiple disparate storage systems. By doing so, Nimble aims to meet the performance and capacity needs of modern data centers in one streamlined platform.
To learn more about the company and its innovative approach, Leary directs viewers to Nimble Storage’s newly launched website at www.nimblestorage.com. He also encourages tech enthusiasts to follow ongoing dialogue and coverage via gestaltit.com and the Tech Field Day social media channels. The interview provides a concise yet insightful glimpse into Nimble Storage’s vision and sets the stage for further interest in its products and growth in the industry.
Zilla welcomes #techfieldday to EMC
Event: Tech Field Day 2
Appearance: EMC Presents at Tech Field Day 2
Company: EMC
Video Links:
Personnel: Mark Twomey
HP Roundtable from Gestalt IT Tech Field Day 2
Event:
Appearance: HP/Ibrix Presents at Tech Field Day 2
Company: HP
Video Links:
Personnel: Milan Shetti Sr, Patrick Osborne, Tom Joyce
This Tech Field Day roundtable discussion focuses on the presentation given by HP at our Boston event. This presentation included a strategic overview from Tom Joyce, HP’s new VP of StorageWorks Marketing, Milan Shetti Sr., Director of NAS Engineering, as well as an introduction to the X9000 NAS (former IBRIX) product from Patrick Osborne, NAS Business Development Manager.
The Field Day delegates were keen on discussing the overall HP strategy, returning time and again to HP’s complete end-to-end product lineup. They were concerned that they had not yet seen HP’s cohesive strategy, but many felt that they could see it emerging as management and product changes are being made. The scale-out NAS concept impressed the delegate crew, and they praised its feature set and the logic of integrating this technology in the company’s newly-unified hardware stack.
VKernel Tech Field Day 2 Roundtable
Event: Tech Field Day 2
Appearance: VKernel Presents at Tech Field Day 2
Company: VKernel
Video Links:
Personnel: Baas Rayman, Carlo Costanzo, Davang Panchigar, David Davis, Edward Haletky, Greg Ferro, Greg Knieriemen, Jason Boche, Matt Simmons, Robin Harris, Scott D. Lowe, Simon Seagrave
The delegates discuss their first impressions of VKernel’s product and the results it produces when run. They delve into the product’s positioning, and whether it has “legs” as VMware adds management features to the core product. Finally, the guest VKernel customer discusses his use of the product and the money he has saved by deploying it.
During Tech Field Day 2, several industry experts and practitioners shared their firsthand experiences with VKernel’s offering, particularly the capacity analysis tool. The feedback was largely positive, highlighting the tool’s speed, ease of deployment, and immediate insights into virtual environment inefficiencies such as over-provisioned VMs. Users appreciated that the VKernel appliance could be installed quickly and begin generating actionable data within minutes—making it an ideal solution for both small and large environments. Some panelists noted they were able to discover optimization opportunities that had previously gone unnoticed due to time or resource constraints, thereby validating the solution’s practical value.
Discussion then moved into product scalability, potential gaps, and the roadmap VKernel has to address them. Several delegates emphasized the importance of future developments, especially for larger data centers with thousands of virtual machines. Some pointed out that while the tool is currently suitable for smaller implementations, it would need federated appliance capability and better scalability to be competitive in large enterprise environments. Others noted that while advanced users could obtain similar insights through scripts, VKernel’s user-friendly interface and appliance-based deployment made it more accessible to a broader range of administrators. The tool’s ability to work in heterogeneous environments—including those running both VMware and Hyper-V—was also seen as a key benefit, adding to its utility in mixed-infrastructure settings.
Finally, a customer testimonial underscored the financial impact of using VKernel’s tools. The customer reported savings of over $3.7 million in server and storage costs by using the capacity analyzer to reallocate and right-size resources—delaying hardware purchases and justifying new investments with data-driven insights. The consensus was that while VKernel faces challenges, especially as VMware integrates more native management capabilities, its current offerings fill important gaps in capacity planning and optimization. With the appropriate focus on innovation and scalability, VKernel’s tools hold both short-term utility and potential long-term relevance in the virtualization ecosystem.
Drobo Tech Field Day 2 Roundtable
Event: Tech Field Day 2
Appearance: Drobo Presents at Tech Field Day 2
Company: Drobo
Video Links:
Personnel: Bas Raayman, Carlo Costanzo, Davang Panchigar, David Davis, Edward Haletky, Greg Ferro, Greg Knieriemen, Jason Boche, Matt Simmons, Robin Harris, Scott D. Lowe, Simon Seagrave
At the Drobo roundtable during Tech Field Day 2, a panel of IT professionals and influencers discussed their impressions of Drobo’s products and offerings, sharing feedback based on the company’s positioning, feature set, and future potentials. The conversation centered around Drobo’s target markets, product capabilities, and integration limitations, as well as their vision for the company’s evolution in the enterprise and prosumer storage space.
The discussion revealed that the Drobo product line is currently better suited for small offices, workgroups, and prosumer environments rather than large enterprises. While the group acknowledged Drobo’s redundancy features and simplicity, they noted that the devices lack advanced functionalities typically expected in enterprise settings, such as native Active Directory (AD) integration, dual power supplies, and multiple network interfaces. Despite having rack-mount options and competitive pricing, the consensus was that Drobo’s current offerings are more compatible with temporary or light-duty setups rather than mission-critical infrastructure. Attendees recognized that the simplicity of setup and use makes Drobo appealing for smaller teams without dedicated IT staff, but they also flagged the absence of central authentication and scalability as major barriers to broader enterprise adoption.
Much of the conversation focused on the role and potential of Drobo Apps, highlighting both their promise and limitations. While some panelists saw value in Drobo offering an extensible platform through apps, others expressed concerns about reliability, maintenance, update compatibility, and security of third-party applications. The lack of a centralized, vetted app marketplace akin to the Apple App Store or Microsoft Store was seen as a drawback that could affect the business viability of depending on Drobo Apps for core functionality. Instead, participants proposed further product evolution including a more robust Drobo appliance with a controlled, enterprise-ready feature set—one that actively supports networked identity management, app stability, and enterprise-grade performance. Ultimately, they envisioned a scalable, hybrid solution capable of starting as a small office setup and growing into a more full-featured enterprise storage platform.
Drobo Configuration by a 12 Year Old
Event: Tech Field Day 1
Appearance: Drobo Presents at Tech Field Day 1
Company: Drobo
Video Links:
Personnel: Rodney Haywood
New DroboElite and Drobo S Released
Event: Tech Field Day 1
Appearance: Drobo Presents at Tech Field Day 1
Company: Drobo
Video Links:
Personnel: Brad Meyer, Jim Sherhart
Stephen Foskett unveils the DroboElite and Drobo S
Event: Tech Field Day 1
Appearance: Drobo Presents at Tech Field Day 1
Company: Drobo
Video Links:
Personnel: Stephen Foskett
SolarWinds APM Introduction at TFD4
Event: SolarWinds APM Introduction at TFD4
Appearance: SolarWinds Presents at Tech Field Day 4
Company: SolarWinds
Video Links:
Personnel: Joe Sirianni
SolarWinds presented their Application Performance Monitor (APM) product as part of their Orion product line at Tech Field Day 4. The focus was on new features that enhance virtualization and application management capabilities.
At Tech Field Day 4, Joe Sirianni, Senior Director of Product Strategy at SolarWinds, introduced the company’s enhanced Application Performance Monitor under the Orion suite. He highlighted recent updates focused on improved visibility into virtual environments, allowing users to manage virtual infrastructure in coordination with the applications running within it. One of the key functionalities discussed was the ability to build application groups, which helps visualize interdependencies and provides a holistic overview of ESX infrastructure tied directly to application performance.
The enhancements to SolarWinds APM stood out due to their emphasis on bridging the gap between infrastructure monitoring and real-time application insights. Sirianni noted that users can now monitor their complete virtual environments more effectively, thanks to the added context provided around applications. This level of integration supports more proactive and precise management of IT resources, positioning the product well for organizations managing complex hybrid infrastructures.
Attendee feedback at the event was strongly positive. Tech bloggers Derek Schallen and Bill from Virtual Bill’s Blog both expressed excitement about the capabilities presented. They emphasized that SolarWinds’ APM captures extensive data across networks and applications, and the new virtualization updates in particular were seen as highly valuable. The consensus among participants was that these advancements make the platform accessible and useful for a wide range of IT professionals, with more to look forward to in future releases.