VCF 9.1 Command Line
I thought I would write a quick post on the setup of the VCF tool for supervisors and VKS clusters. The setup is quite different and was confusing at first. I hope this helps others in their initial configuration and…
VCF 9.1 Two Node Build
This article will run through a VCF 9.1 build with 2 x Minis forum MS-A2 nodes; the spec is laid out here. I’m going to focus on the differences found so far from the prior 9.0.2 single-node build I wrote…
Home Lab Upgrades
I finally bit the bullet and ordered an additional node to allow more thorough setups with VMware Cloud Foundation 9 and other technologies, such as Red Hat OpenShift. With the advent of VMware VCF 9.1 and a hungrier Kubernetes management…
How to build a VCF 9.1 Offline Depot
This article will explain the steps required to build an offline depot for VCF 9.1 on Photon OS. The new version has some significant changes to be able to access the download binaries. In prior versions, a download token was…
OpenShift with NSX BGP Pattern and GitOps
This article explores an OpenShift networking pattern introduced in 4.19 that enables a deployment model closely aligned with common VMware NSX designs. Users of NSX are very likely using core feature sets such as: The main objective of this article…
Upgrading vSphere Supervisor on VCF 9.0.2
Since writing my prior articles, Broadcom has released some patch versions of vSphere Supervisor, VKS services and Kubernetes releases. I thought I’d write a quick article on how to apply them. Introduction First off, Broadcom is no longer updating the…
Deactivating Supervisor on VCF 9.0.2
This is a quick post to inform VCF users about a repetitive issue I experience when deactivating the supervisor. I’m rebuilding things quite often to try new things, whether that is components inside VCF or the entire stack itself. When…
Argo CD and Avi Multi-Cluster GSLB
This article follows on from the previous one on AKO with Cert-Manager and External DNS. In which we built a single-region VKS Kubernetes environment with AVI DNS service and enterprise-ready CNAME aliasing. This is a foundation for multi-region global server…
AVI Kubernetes Operator with Cert-Manager and External DNS
In this article, I will unpack the use of AVI Kubernetes Operator (AKO) alongside Certificate Manager and External DNS. We will deploy an application that will allow us to leverage Ingress and Gateway API. Everything will be automatically plumbed in…
Tanzu with AVI Load Balancer Part #2 – NSX VPC Networking
In this second of a two-part series, we will explore deploying Tanzu with AVI Load Balancer with NSX VPC networking. In part #1, we deployed AVI with NSX integrated load balancer. Tanzu built in this way is arguably the most…
How to build a VCF9 offline depot
This article will explain the steps required to build an offline depot for VCF9 on Photon OS. This process can be better automated, for example, using Ansible or Cloud-init; however, for now, I will show all the steps manually. Downloads…
Tanzu with AVI Load Balancer Part #1 – NSX Classic Networking
In the first of a two-part series, we will explore deploying Tanzu with AVI Load Balancer. In this article we will explore integration with NSX Classic networking. In part #2, we will explore AVI with NSX VPC networking. Tanzu built…
VMware Tanzu Fundamentals
There are a number of concepts to think through before we get into deploying Tanzu. Below outlines design guidelines and contextual thinking for the various patterns you will see within Tanzu and Kubernetes generally. If you’re new to this, concepts…
Tanzu with NSX Classic Networking
In this article, we will be exploring deploying Tanzu on VCF9 with NSX classic networking, also using NSX load balancer (not AVI). Introduction This follows on neatly from my VCF9 with NSX Classic Networking post; in a way, the post…
VCF9 with NSX Classic Networking
In this article, we will be deploying VCF9 with NSX classic networking. This is the way it’s done for all non-VCF deployments, for example, in vSphere 8.0 U3. Broadcom is committed to VPC networking. I don’t know how much longer…
Tanzu with VPC Networking and NSX Load Balancer
This article will guide you through deploying and configuring the supervisor using VPC networking with an NSX-integrated load balancer. We will then explore three ways to deploy vSphere Kubernetes Service within VPC networking. Pre-requirements In order to deploy the supervisor…
VCF9 with VPC Networking
Virtual Private Networking (VPC) has been around since VCF 5.2.1. The latest 9.0 release brings additional features such as transit gateways, consumption via vSphere, VCF automation integration, Tanzu supervisor support, VPC ready workload domains and DHCP enhancements. For the setup…
Perfect PKI Series Part #4 – How to replace an existing PKI hierarchy
If you’ve been following along, this is the fourth part in the “Perfect PKI” series. In this article we will be exploring how we replace an existing PKI hierarchy with a fresh one. Usually, this is done when the old…
Perfect PKI Series Part #3 – How to upgrade the CA Operating Systems
If you’ve been following along, this is the third part in the “Perfect PKI” series. In this article we will be exploring how we upgrade the Windows operating system which Certificate Services runs on, without doing a complete rebuild. We…
Red Hat OpenShift on VCF9
In this article, we will be exploring deploying Red Hat OpenShift container platform on VMware Cloud Foundation 9. Introduction I have been running various Red Hat OpenShift environments on Bare Metal Cisco UCS B200 for a while now. You can…
Beyond VMware Series Part #4
In the next part of the series, I’m exploring Red Hat OpenShift as an alternative to VMware. OpenShift is a very capable “cloud-like” platform which is focused on delivering Microservices and Virtual Machines in a single converged platform. You can…
Perfect PKI Series Part #2 – How to safely renew root certificates
Here is a topic which comes up time and time again with my clients. It’s usually phrased as “How can I safely renew the root certificates?” – Hopefully, this question isn’t coming with only a few weeks before the current…
Perfect PKI Series Part #1 – Deploying and Understanding PKI
Ok, so nothing is perfect, right? I tend to think one of the best qualities in human beings is to appreciate imperfection. For technology, we need standards and so-called “best practices” so that things are coherent and function well with…
Beyond VMware Series Part #3
In the next part of the series I explore KVM alternatives Proxmox and HPe VME. Both are realistic alternatives, and have their own strengths and weaknesses, I show demos of how these products compare. Areas covered are:
VCF9 Single Host Home Lab
This article will guide you through how to build a VMware Cloud Foundation solution in a single super tiny system. Intro and thanks Although I currently work as the lead for a consulting practice in Alcester, I am, in the…
Beyond VMware Series Part #2
In the next part of the series I’m exploring Hyper-V as an alternative to VMware. Hyper-V has a bit of a dodgy reputation in the industry, I explain why I think this is, and put forward reasons as to why…
Beyond VMware Series Part #1
As part of a series of public webinars for Simplify IT customers, I have been presenting technical demos of alternatives to VMware products. Unfortunately, since the Broadcom acquisition many companies cannot afford renewals, 400% or above price increases are pretty…