Meet NPX 002 – Lane Leverett
- Name: Lane Leverett
- NPX Number: 002
- Employer: Nutanix
- Blog URL: N/A
- Twitter: @wolfbrthr
- Virtualisation background: I’ve been doing virtualization solutions since 2006 and ESX 2.5. Primarily focused around server virtualization and VDI solutions and designs with various VARs.
- Storage Background: Storage has been focused primarily to support virtualization requirements with solutions like EMC, NetApp, HP, IBM, and Dell. Both Fiber Channel and Ethernet based storage solutions.
- Hyper Converged Infrastructure background: I first started with Hyper Convergence with Nutanix back in 2011/2012 at a VAR to augment and support existing virtualized solutions. I could really see the value, especially for VDI based solutions where traditional storage was rigid, inflexible, and costly to a solution that needed none of those things.
- Future of HCI and other emerging technologies: Hyper Converged Infrastructure is really just the stepping stone to creating a truly software defined business model that will include, multi hypervisors, on premise, and off premise workloads (i.e. private and public cloud), and containerized solutions to allow for maximum flexibility and scale of workload. I think the area that will truly make this possible and cause the most disruption is with software defined networking based solutions. This will be the underpinning glue which will allow for true mobility, scale, and security no matter where the workload is running.
- Value of NPX: The NPX certification help to prepare enterprise architects to start facing the next set of challenges coming to the datacenter and help ensure they are raising the bar for themselves to not be just a master in a single domain, but to demonstrate true cross domain skills in multi hypervisors, emerging technologies and trends, and hybrid cloud scenarios.
- What made you go for NPX: I always want to make sure that I continue to sharpen my skills and stay relevant to where the industry is heading. I see a lot of change coming to the IT industry over the next several years and I want to be the one helping to set that direction and guide and mentor others who will follow.
- Advice to people looking into the NPX track: Make sure to come prepared and to closely follow the blueprint guide. Remember that simplicity is key to your design and bigger does not always mean better or higher quality. To quote Ernst F. Schumacher, “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.”
Back to the NPX section