Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Welcome Explorers! As you likely know, the Content Catalog for VMware Explore 2026 went live on June 23rd. This is when the hype starts to gain traction, because attendees are provided with the full offering of breakout sessions, tutorials, quick talks, and more. This is the perfect opportunity to review the catalog at your own pace, since session registration via the Scheduling Tool is not yet available. I highly recommend spending time to read through each session abstract and making note of the ones that interest you most. Explore isn’t just about attending sessions – check out my last post for additional insight into the breadth of engaging opportunities that await!
At the time of this article, there are approximately 250 different opportunities offered in the Content Catalog. This is a “living” catalog, and additional sessions are likely to be published in the coming weeks leading up to the event. Below are my ten must-see picks across three session types: Breakout Sessions, Quick Talks, and Tutorials. This isn’t to say that alternative selections are less meaningful; these selections are based on my own interests and perceived opportunities for growth. Use them as a baseline for navigating the Content Catalog and discovering favorites of your own!
Pro Tip
There are so many sessions to consider! Sign in to your Event Portal account to save your favorite sessions for later. This doesn’t enroll you in a session, but it significantly helps narrow down selections later when it’s time to build your schedule. Once signed in, just click on the heart-shaped icon, located at the top-right corner of the session card. You’ll be glad you did!
Breakout Sessions
Breakout Sessions are standard lectures and demonstrations offered by Broadcom Employees, Customers, Partners, and Enthusiasts (sometimes a combination). Each session is approximately 45 minutes in length, presented in a ballroom at the conference venue.
A Complete Guide to Protecting and Recovering Your VMware Cloud Foundation Deployments [CLOB1763LV]
Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity are gaining traction in modern organizations. Is your organization prepared? Have you considered scenarios outside of a network services interruption or power loss? This session is led by Emad Younis, a Senior Manager within Broadcom’s Technology Product Management division. I have attended several of Emad’s sessions in previous years and found his insight to be meaningful. This session is expected to discuss multiple failure scenarios and how to leverage tools and features within VCF to quickly restore critical business operations and meet compliance goals.
A Deep Dive: What’s New for VMware vSphere in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 [CLOB1082LV]
This session speaks to all VCF practitioners. VCF is a full private cloud platform with many facets to understand. Just as we started wrapping our heads around VCF 9.0, Broadcom delivered VCF 9.1, full of product improvements and updates. There is much to learn and consider – and while you can (and should) read through the lengthy Release Notes – why not gain insights from a couple of Broadcom’s top experts? Dave Morera and Bob Plankers will deliver this session, full of demonstrations, technical depth, and engaging discourse.
Security Reference Design for VMware Cloud Foundation [SECB1630LV]
Security is everyone’s responsibility. This is especially true for the core pillars of VCF: Compute, Network, and Storage. Your hypervisors – dare I say your Cloud Platform – are the “holy grail” to malicious actors. This session is expected to present a security reference design for VCF and demonstrate how to build a resilient VCF private cloud. Even if you are only able to apply a portion of the recommendations presented, you will walk away with an expanded understanding of what is possible and how to get there.
Conquer the 2026 Hardware Crisis: VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 Optimization Strategies [CLOB1266LV]
This session is especially timely, given the state of the global supply chain for technology. I have spoken with several practitioners in my network who feel the pinch and need to find ways to optimize and extend the life of existing hardware. The presenters are expected to discuss memory tiering, optimization, and actionable strategies to increase VM density on existing hardware. I expect this will be a popular session, so make note!
Quick Talk Sessions
Quick Talk Sessions are akin to the “Code Theater” sessions from previous events. These sessions are historically open-theatre formats offered within The Hub. This content is commonly more hands-on and technical, frequently offering code snippets and deep technical demonstrations isolated to a specific subject. Quick Talk sessions are usually about 30 minutes in length. Many of these sessions are interactive, although the presenter has prepared a full presentation and will commonly have time at the end for questions.
Converging and Upgrading to VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 [CLOM1094LV]
Many Broadcom customers are still operating traditional vSphere Hosts and Clusters, with vSphere 8.0 Update 3 reaching End of General Support in October of 2027. The same customers are undoubtedly wondering how they should approach VCF 9 with minimal disruption to their organization. This session, delivered by Broadcom Master Architect Jonathan McDonald, promises to discuss greenfield and in-place upgrades alike, with a unique opportunity to ask your questions directly throughout the session. You will also find value in hearing questions asked by other practitioners and exchanging ideas to address unique challenges.
Advanced Management Pack Strategies for VMware Cloud Foundation Operations [CODEQT1201LV]
Anyone who uses VCF Operations (formerly Aria Operations or vRealize Operations) respects the power and value provided by Management Packs. This session, delivered by Broadcom VCF Solutions Architect and author of the vCROCS blog, Dale Hassinger, will demonstrate practical use cases for custom management packs to integrate external data into beautiful and insightful Operations dashboards. Dale is a highly regarded Operations SME – this session will fill up quickly!
Best Practices for Tagging and Groups for VMware vDefend Distributed Firewall [SECM1748LV]
vDefend is a powerful security add-on for VCF which leverages tagging – based on environment, data classification, and other factors defined by the practitioner – to define and enforce Zero Trust in the target organization. Although powerful, tagging can quickly become difficult to manage at scale. This session promises to discuss best practices for defining and managing tags within vDefend to effectively protect your environment.
Tutorials
Tutorial sessions are exactly what they sound like: a designated expert in their field will provide a thorough walkthrough of a given technology and use case, commonly answering questions along the way. These sessions are more “hands on keyboard” oriented, showcasing the finer details of how attendees may actually perform a given task in their own environments.
Design & Architect: Private Cloud Deployment and Best Practices for VMware Cloud Foundation 9 [CLOT1100LV]
VCF adoption is top of mind for many practitioners, some with implementations already underway or just starting. This session, co-presented by Broadcom Distinguished Engineer William Lam, is expected to discuss key design considerations, best practices, and deployment options you should focus on when deploying your VCF private cloud. This session will fill up quickly!
End-to-End VMware Cloud Foundation Automation Provider, Organization, and Consumption Setup and Configuration [CLOT1063LV]
VCF Automation (formerly Aria Automation or vRealize Automation) remains one of the lesser-known gems in the VCF stack. Those of us who have deployed or managed Automation in the past have observed first-hand how the solution has rapidly evolved, now supporting the concept of Providers and Kubernetes clusters. Let’s face it, there is a lot to unpack! This tutorial is sure to be eye-opening and insightful for even some of the most seasoned Automation practitioners.
What’s New in VMware Cloud Foundation Operations [CLOT1139LV]
VCF Operations is no longer a monitoring-centric solution. Since the rise of VCF 9, Operations is rapidly evolving into the central management platform for your entire VCF private cloud. Broadcom’s investment into Operations has been stunning — and will become more critical to your workflows in short order. This tutorial is expected to discuss and demonstrate how Operations is leveraged to build, operate, manage, and protect your VCF private cloud. Keep this one on your radar!
Wait, there’s more!
This is just a taste of what Explore 2026 has to offer! Per usual, Hands-On Labs, Hackathon, and other community experiences will be offered, which always receive high praise. Keep an eye on the Content Catalog and event homepage for updates! You can stay informed using any of the official links below.
