iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 16/07/2026

Year 9 in the MVP program! 🛠️ Started deep in Storage Spaces Direct when hybrid barely existed. Now it's Azure Local & Arc, but I still love getting under the hood of Windows Server/Azure. Thanks to the Microsoft PGs & Azure Local Slack crew. Cheers to year 10! #MVPBuzz

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 01/04/2026

TUIs are back—Claude, nmtui, etc. Could terminal UIs be the next big thing for #VBR? Imagine opening your console, running a command, and keyboard-navigating your backup dashboard to inspect runs or repo storage. Reality? Or a bad April Fools joke? #Veeam100 #Keeah #Veeam

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 23/03/2026

Monday morning at the Microsoft MVP Summit and the shuttle lines are already massive. It is just the pre-day! I am going to need a lot more coffee to get through this week. ☕ #MVPBuzz Microsoft #MVPSummit

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 28/01/2026

Veeam Data Cloud finally has dark mode. My eyes can finally stop burning during late-night config sessions. It is tucked under the appearance menu in the top right. 🌙 #VeeamCommunity #Sysadmin #DarkMode

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 23/01/2026

It’s the little things that win me over. In #Veeam v13, the #VBR console finally handles its own updates. No more digging for ISOs or manual installs after patching the server. Just connect, click update, and you're back in. Huge time saver for the lab. #VeeamCommunity #MVPBuzz

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 22/01/2026

Just knocked out a full #VBR appliance patch before my coffee even got cold. ☕️ Under 10 minutes to hit v13.0.1.1071. No RDP, no mounting ISOs, and zero Windows Update drama. It’s hard to justify sticking with the Windows install for the lab after seeing this. #VeeamCommunity #MVPBuzz #VSA #Veeam

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 02/11/2025

Quickly building a VM back in my homelab in NZ for a demo as Im on a train from Florence to Pisa 😂😂😂

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 20/08/2025

Kicking things off at the #VeeamOn Tour in Perth! The agenda looks solid, and honestly, I'm also here for the swag. Looking forward to catching up with everyone. Say hi if you're around! #VeeamCommunity #Veeam #Perth

A close-up of several printed VeeamOn Tour agendas fanned out on a glossy black table. The agenda lists session times and topics for the event, with a white vase in the background.

A tall, black VeeamOn Tour 2025 pull-up banner standing in a modern building lobby. The banner reads "Unwavering protection. Unparalleled recovery. Unlimited potential." and shows a map of Australia and New Zealand.

An event attendee stands at the VeeamOn Tour "Swag" station, which is decorated with colorful geometric patterns. Veeam-branded tote bags and beanies are visible on the counter.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 13/08/2025

The room is filling up and we're ready to go! Great to be at #VeeamOnTour Melbourne this morning. Looking forward to a packed day of backup and recovery talk. If you see me, come and say hi! What's the one feature or update you're hoping to hear about from Veeam this year?

A wide shot of a modern conference hall during the VeeamOn Tour event in Melbourne. The room is filled with attendees seated in rows facing a stage, which has a large screen that reads "VeeamOn Tour". The room is lit with colorful pink and green architectural lighting.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 11/08/2025

Early flight this morning. On my way to Melbourne for the VeeamON Tour! Looking forward to catching up with the ANZ tech community. Who am I going to see there? #VeeamCommunity #VeeamOn

A view from an airplane seat looking forward at the in-flight entertainment screen. The dark cabin is illuminated by purple mood lighting.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 10/07/2025

Happy to share I've been renewed as a Microsoft MVP for Hyper-V & Azure Hybrid & Migration. My drive is always solving problems & sharing insights. This is a cool recognition of that work, and I appreciate it! #MVPBuzz #MicrosoftMVP

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 26/06/2025

Finally! The @veeam.bsky.social User Group is back in Christchurch, NZ! First meetup in a while. Jason and I are kicking things off with "Beer for Engineer". Come hang out, talk tech, and grab a cold one. #VeeamVanguard #VeeamCommunity #Christchurch

A promotional banner for "Veeam User Group New Zealand" stands next to a fireplace with a TV displaying "Beer for Engineer By Jason & Ben".

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 23/06/2025

My internet felt slow tonight. Turns out I was just maxing it out pushing backups to Veeam Data Cloud Vault! 😂 Always fun when you're the bottleneck. Anyone else ever do this? #VeeamVanguard #VeeamCommunity #Networking #homelab #Veeam100

Three graphs show real-time internet usage. Top left: Inbound bandwidth peaking at 300 Mbps, currently 13.67 Mbps. Top right: Outbound bandwidth frequently over 400 Mbps, currently 482.30 Mbps. Bottom: Session rate showing fluctuations, currently 33/s. Displays high network traffic.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 23/06/2025

Quick reminder for Christchurch! This Thursday, June 26th, is our "Beers with Engineers" event. I'll be there talking Veeam, and yes, we'll have some cool Veeam NZ User Group stickers for attendees! Don't miss out. Register: buff.ly/Xho2F5L #VeeamVanguard #VeeamCommunity #Christchurch #VUG #Veeam100

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 25/04/2025

Post-#VeeamON airport wait. What else to do but deploy the new #Veeam Software Appliance v13 to the homelab? Excited for this! #VeeamVanguard #Veeam100 #VeeamCommunity #HomeLab #ITPro

Screenshot of a virtual machine console displaying the Veeam Backup & Replication 13.0.0.126 installation progress screen, showing "Preparing to install". The screen includes the Rocky Linux and Veeam logos.

Screenshot of a virtual machine console showing the GRUB boot menu for Veeam Backup & Replication version 13.0.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 23/04/2025

Getting ready for the last session with @rickatron.bsky.social and Hannes on Veeam Hardened Repo updates! #VeeamOn #VeeamVanguard #Veeam100 #VeeamCommunity

Two speakers are on a stage at a conference, presenting in front of a screen that displays "VeeamON: Veeam Hardened Repository Updates and Deeper Dives" and their names and titles. An audience is visible in the foreground.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 23/04/2025

Great to see @rickatron.bsky.social using Hyper-v in the Veeam Data Platform v13 Deep Dive session! 😁 #VeeamVanguard #Veeam100 #VeeamCommunity #VeeamOn

A projector displays the Veeam Backup & Replication console with a Host Configuration Wizard open, showing settings for time synchronization including current time and NTP servers.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 22/04/2025

Veeam knows that any good conference needs an afternoon sugar hit to keep up with all the content 😂 #VeeamVanguard #Veeam100 #VeeamCommunity #VeeamOn

A table is filled with plates of desserts, including chocolate brownies with white sprinkles and stacks of cookies, with serving tongs on the plates.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 22/04/2025

After an awesome keynote at #VeeamOn, now off to the partner exclusive kick off! Can't wait to hear what's next for the partner community! #VeeamVanguard #Veeam100

A screen displays "veeamon Welcome to Partner Kickoff" with colorful abstract shapes in the background.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 22/04/2025

Anton announcing timelines for the new #VBR V13 release, including the new software appliance! #VeeamVanguard #Veeam100 #VeeamCommunity #VeeamOn

A speaker on stage at a conference points to a large screen displaying "V13: What This Means for You" and details about software availability and "OPPORTUNITY". An audience is visible in the foreground.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 19/04/2025

Enjoying a flat white before starting the trip to #VeeamOn in San Diego while my accent doesn't prevent people spelling Ben correctly 🤣 Looking forward to catching up with all the other #Veeam100 attending!

A close-up of a flat white coffee with latte art, sitting on a table next to a label showing the name Ben and details of the coffee order.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 04/04/2025

Great to catch up with friends and make new connections at #MVPSummit last week! From insightful chats to fun events like minigolf at Flatstick and even a slightly controversial Whirlyball tourney (thanks CloudAssert!), the community is what makes it special. #MVPBuzz

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 25/03/2025

MVP Summit is underway! Yesterday's pre-day was awesome, reconnecting with friends & learning. Ready for the keynote & deep dives today. #MVPSummit #MVPBuzz

A person at a conference smiling and holding a badge and a sign that says "Badge Pickup and Information" at the MVP Summit.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 24/03/2025

In the line to collect my badge and have the essentials with me! #MVPSummit #MVPBuzz

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 22/03/2025

Like many others, I'm starting my journey to Seattle for the #MVPSummit! Only 24 hours till I touch down 😂😂 safe travels to everyone! First stop, Auckland! #MVPBuzz

Overhead view of an Air New Zealand plane at a gate, attached to a jet bridge, with another plane visible in the distance on the tarmac. Christchurch Airport, New Zealand.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 17/03/2025

I needed an image for a blog post and AI delivered 😂😂

Cartoon of a stressed, old-fashioned hard drive being chased by a strong, modern SSD

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 13/03/2025

Great ANZ Veeam 100 & Friends call! 🎉 Big congrats to Ashley Watson on Veeam Legend status & fab to see Rhys Hammond join! AI chat, Ben Harmer's Veeam-decoy blog, Healthchecks, VeeamOn hype - all covered! Awesome community vibe as always. #VeeamCommunity #Veeam100 #VeeamVanguard

Nine people in a grid-style video call. Participants include Ben Thomas, Andre Atkinson, Ashley Watson, Justin Farrugia, Ben Harmer, Anthony Spiteri, Keiran Shelden, and Rhys Hammond. Veeam and Redd logos are visible. This is a call of the ANZ Veeam 100 & Friends community.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 10/03/2025

Awesome weekend news: I'm back as a Veeam Vanguard for 2025 🎉 Seriously stoked to be recognized and to be part of such a great community. #VeeamVanguard #VeeamCommunity #Veeam100

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 24/02/2025

Someone is hopeful for an early dinner if they hangout at my desk

Cat laying on the carpet looking back at the camera

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 13/02/2025

The ANZ #Veeam100 Community call was in full swing today! We discussed super secret yellow and red content from an earlier call, covered off some recent issues with M365 backup permission from Microsoft Graph changes, designing #Veeam for Azure Vmware Solution and using Veeam Recovery Orchestrator!

Five people on a teams call, looking relaxed

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 11/02/2025

Been playing with tuning models in #frigate_nvr and pretty pleased how quickly it's detecting the cat these days as she approaches her cat flap

Image from frigate nvr CCTV system showing cat about to enter through cat flap. Green box highlights the cat to show the nvr recognised it.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 08/02/2025

Nice view of Lyttleton Port and the bays from the time ball, perfect spot for some fish and chips

Tall ship mast on grassy hill overlooking a harbor with docks, ships, and surrounding hills under a clear blue sky.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 30/01/2025

Awesome to catch up with some of the ANZ Veeam Community today! Had fun discussing things like homelabs, hypervisors, YouTube subscribers and cyber resiliency! OK. Maybe a like BBQ chat as well🍖 #VeeamVanguard #Veeam100 #VeeamCommunity

Veeam 100 ANZ team virtual meeting featuring seven participants in a video call. The team members appear engaged, with some smiling and others in discussion. The Veeam-branded background is visible in one participant's frame, reinforcing the team's affiliation. This image highlights collaboration among Veeam's Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) community.

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 20/01/2025

Been messing around with @grafana.bsky.social dashboards today while testing out my new #homelab kit, basing it off the #VMFleet Watch-FleetCluster command. Check it out yourself! snapshots.raintank.io/dashboard/sn... #MVPBuzz #S2D #WS2025

Dashboard displaying VMFleet performance metrics in a table format in Grafana. Includes VMs per host gauge visuals for three nodes (GCNH1, GCNH2, GCNH3) and detailed performance metrics such as IOPS, read/write bandwidth, latencies, queue averages, and throughput for CSV FS, SSB Cache, and SBL sections. Metrics are shown with numerical values and colored bars for visual representation.

Dashboard showing VMFleet performance metrics in Grafana. Includes multiple graphs for IOPS, bandwidth (BW), read and write latencies, and queue averages across three nodes (GCNH1, GCNH2, GCNH3) and total values. Graphs display data trends over time

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 19/01/2025

Plenty to tidy up in my #homelab rack still, but the new servers are in and being tested! Yes they say #netapp, but they're solidfire HCI nodes so really they're just #QCT servers the same as any other. What will they run? Hopefully #AzureLocal soon! #MVPBuzz #VeeamVanguard

Network Rack with 3 Servers showing NetApp badges on them

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 19/01/2025

#homelab upgrades underway, love that OCP standards enable me to swap out the 1GbE default on board NIC with a Mellanox ConnectX-4 LX card!

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 11/01/2025

First of my 2025 homelab upgrade has arrived 😍 Yes these are NetApps, but they're my new hosts 😁

Pair of NetApp servers on a carpeted floor

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 07/01/2025

First of my Dell Optiplex 7050 Micros has been upgraded to have 2.5Gbps thanks to a handy Intel I225V adapter that fits in the WLAN port #Homelab

The back of a Dell Optiplex Micro on a desk, highlighting an additional NIC above the original NIC and USB ports

A top down shot of a Dell Optiplex without the cover on, highlighting the new Network Card installed in the Wireless Adapter slot and port.

Screenshot of the new network adapter showing up in the VMware ESXi Host UI, with a red box highlighting the fielding showing 2500 Mbps

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 26/12/2024

Back at the family home for a few days, and the cats here know how to relax

A light colored tabby cat sleeps on the wooden deck in the sunshine

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 04/12/2024

My poor old Dell R730xd showing its age as I try to run VMFleet on a #WS2025 Single Node cluster. I guess I need to look at upgrading from the old SATA SSDs and HDDs to something more modern.... #MVPBuzz

Screenshot of the command line showing Microsoft VMFleet Benchmarking tool on a Windows Server 2025 host. Multiple lines of text show a running task writing data at 0.49 gigabytes per second

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Ben Thomas (@NZ_BenThomas) @ben.hybridby.design · 20/11/2024

Want to stay on top of the latest updates and advancements in Veeam software? #Veeam education services regularly update their courses to ensure you have the latest knowledge and expertise. Find out more buff.ly/40Qf75g #VeeamCommunity #vmce #VeeamVanguard #Veeam100 @veeam.bsky.social

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