VMware doesn’t do public betas that often, they did one with the initial release of VSAN and now they are doing one with the next release of vSphere. In my opinion public betas are a good thing as it helps ensure an overall better GA release as more people are offering feedback, constructive criticism and helping to uncover any bugs that may exist in the beta code. As a reward to the people who participate in the public beta you get to be part of the secret club and get an early preview of all the cool stuff coming in the next vSphere release. So if you are interested in participating VMware has a form you can fill out for consideration to be one of the chosen ones.
Be realistic when considering to sign-up for the beta, if you know you won’t have the time that is expected to participate and offer feedback then don’t sign-up. VMware is looking for your assistance, those who just want to see what’s new in the beta are really not of any value to VMware. The target audience are customers who have deployed vSphere 5.5 and 6.0 in a portion of their environment. Participants are expected to:
- Online acceptance of the Master Software Beta Test Agreement will be required prior to visiting the Private Beta Community
- Install beta software within 3 days of receiving access to the beta product
- Provide feedback within the first 4 weeks of the beta program
- Submit Support Requests for bugs, issues and feature requests
- Complete surveys and beta test assignments
- Participate in the private beta discussion forum and conference calls
vSphere Beta Program Overview
We are excited to announce the upcoming VMware vSphere Beta Program. This program enables participants to help define the direction of the most widely adopted industry-leading virtualization platform. Folks who want to participate in the program can now indicate their interest by filling out this simple form. The vSphere team will grant access to the program to selected candidates in stages. This vSphere Beta Program leverages a private Beta community to download software and share information. We will provide discussion forums, webinars, and service requests to enable you to share your feedback with us.
You can expect to download, install, and test vSphere Beta software in your environment or get invited to try new features in a VMware hosted environment. All testing is free-form and we encourage you to use our software in ways that interest you. This will provide us with valuable insight into how you use vSphere in real-world conditions and with real-world test cases, enabling us to better align our product with your business needs.
Some of the many reasons to participate in this beta opportunity:
- Receive early access to the vSphere Beta products
- Interact with the vSphere Beta team consisting of Product Managers, Engineers, Technical Support, and Technical Writers
- Provide direct input on product functionality, configurability, usability, and performance
- Provide feedback influencing future products, training, documentation, and services
- Collaborate with other participants, learn about their use cases, and share advice and learnings
