Video: Scenes From VMworld 2012

Vendors stepped up the action and came up with new and creative ways of grabbing people's attention. V3 Systems had a half-pipe on their booth where skateboarders showed off their skills. Trend Micro offered back massages. Hitachi Data Systems gave away sumo foam figurines, and Coraid had iPads and a sketch artist on hand drawing digital caricatures for show attendees.

Attendees with pent-up anger could whale away at a punching bag at FalconStor's booth, and F5 let people relive childhood disappointments with its Big Claw Challenge, a game that no one ever seems to win.

Of course, cloud symbolism was everywhere on the expo floor, and Avaya even cloaked its 7-foot-high "Collaborative Pod" with cotton to further the meme. And, no trade show would ever be complete without the de rigueur sports cars and motorcycles parked in booths, for reasons no one has ever been able to figure out.

Follow CRN as it tours the VMworld 2012 show floor and attempts to identify the most lasting images from the event.

PUBLISHED SEPT. 4, 2012