Virtualization Gurus

Private AI Workload Domain: GPU Nodes, AI Kubernetes, and Private AI Services

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Running AI on your own infrastructure sounds like one project. With VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA it is really three different ways to use your GPUs, plus a licensing model that spans two vendors, and the choices you make early shape everything you build and buy.

DR & Ransomware Recovery: Isolated Recovery, Protection and Recovery, and VPC Isolation

Sat, 03 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Cyber recovery and operational DR get planned as one discipline in most VCF conversations. Broadcom builds them as two, with different assumptions, different tooling, and a dedicated Isolated Recovery Environment that exists for exactly one purpose.

Day-2 Operations: Lifecycle, Patching, and Compliance via VCF Operations

Sat, 26 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

VCF 9.1 doesn't patch the whole stack the same way, it matches the mechanism to each layer's disruption profile. And staying patched isn't the same as staying compliant, VCF Operations treats them as two separate, continuous jobs.

Bundle Management: Online vs Offline/Air-Gapped

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

VCF 9.1 didn't just add an offline option to bundle management, it formalized three distinct software depot connection modes. What Connected, Offline Depot, and Disconnected actually mean, and why conflating the last two causes real prechecks to fail.

VCF 9 Identity Broker: Retiring VMware Identity Manager for Unified Fleet Authentication

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A technical breakdown of the VCF 9 Identity Broker, validated against official Broadcom documentation: how it replaces VMware Identity Manager, its two deployment modes, and the migration path from vIDM.

VCF 9 Security and Compliance: DFW, VPC Isolation, and Hardened Operations

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A comprehensive guide to VCF 9 security architecture, covering NSX Distributed Firewall design, VPC-level isolation, Gateway Firewall best practices, and VCF Operations security compliance capabilities.

vSAN ESA vs OSA: Storage Architecture Decisions

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Comparing vSAN Express Storage Architecture (ESA) and Original Storage Architecture (OSA) in VCF 9.1 -- hardware requirements, cluster types, and how to choose.

NSX Edge Cluster Deep Dive: Tier-0/Tier-1 Gateways, VPN, and North-South Firewall Design

Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A deep dive into NSX Edge cluster architecture in VCF 9.1 -- Tier-0 and Tier-1 gateway roles, HA modes, VPN connectivity, and north-south firewall design with vDefend.

VI Workload Domains: Shared vs Dedicated NSX

Sun, 02 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How to choose between a shared and a dedicated NSX Manager instance for each VI workload domain in VCF 9.1, and what that decision costs you in footprint, availability, and lifecycle.

Workload Domain Creation: Greenfield vs Import Existing vCenter

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Two ways to add a workload domain to a VCF instance -- build it fresh through the wizard, or import an existing vCenter as-is. What each path requires, what it changes on day one, and how to choose.

Physical Network Design: VDS Separation, ToR Switches, and BGP Uplinks

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How VCF 9.1 expects the physical fabric to look before you ever build a workload domain -- rack-level fault tolerance, ToR trunk and MTU requirements, vSphere Distributed Switch traffic separation profiles, and BGP uplinks from NSX Edge to the physical network.

VCF 9 Management Domain Anatomy: What Actually Runs Inside

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A technical breakdown of the VCF 9 management domain, validated against official Broadcom documentation: its required components, how the first management domain differs from additional ones, and the shared-vs-dedicated NSX decision.

VCF 9 Instance Model: Designing HQ, DR, and Edge/Sovereign Topologies

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A technical breakdown of the VCF 9 Instance and Fleet constructs, validated against official Broadcom documentation: how single-site, multi-site, and disaster-recovery topologies map onto the four VCF Fleet deployment designs.

VCF 9 Lifecycle Management with VCF Operations: Unified Upgrades and Fleet Management

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A deep dive into VCF 9 lifecycle management using VCF Operations, covering the unified upgrade workflow for ESX, vCenter, NSX, and vSAN, the new licensing model, fleet-level health monitoring, and automation through the VCF SDK.

VCF 9 vSAN ESA Deep Dive: Architecture, Performance, and New Features

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A comprehensive deep dive into vSAN Express Storage Architecture (ESA) in VCF 9, covering architecture design decisions, performance characteristics, VCF 9.1's Auto-RAID capability, and best practices for storage policy design.

VCF 9 NSX VPC Deep Dive: Cloud-Native Networking for Your Private Cloud

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

An in-depth exploration of the VCF 9 Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) networking model in NSX 9.0, covering Transit Gateways, VPC design, EDP Standard, and practical workload networking patterns.

VCF 9 Workload Domain Planning and Deployment

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A practical guide to planning, designing, and deploying VCF 9 workload domains using VCF Operations, validated against official Broadcom documentation, including deployment options, storage choices, and VPC-ready networking.

VCF 9 Fleet Management Layer: One Control Plane for Every Instance

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A technical breakdown of the VCF 9 Fleet management layer, validated against official Broadcom documentation: how VCF Installer, VCF Operations, and VCF Automation combine into a single control plane across VCF Instances.

VCF 9 Deployment Flow: From Planning to a Running Management Domain

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Step-by-step walkthrough of the VCF 9 deployment process, covering prerequisites, the VCF Installer virtual appliance workflow, and initial management domain bringup.

VCF 9 Architecture Deep Dive: What Changed and Why It Matters

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A comprehensive look at the architectural changes in VMware Cloud Foundation 9, including the new management domain design, NSX 9.0 updates, vSAN ESA improvements, and the new VCF Operations management plane.

About Virtualization Gurus

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

About This Blog

Virtualization Gurus is a technical blog focused on enterprise virtualization, VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), and modern data center technologies. Our content is written by practitioners with hands-on experience designing, deploying, and operating VCF environments at scale.

What We Cover

Our primary focus areas include:

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF): Architecture, deployment, operations, and lifecycle management
vSphere & vSAN: Deep dives into the core compute and storage stack
NSX: Network virtualization, microsegmentation, and NSX Advanced Load Balancer
Aria Suite: Operations, Automation, and Log Insight
Multi-cloud: VCF on-premises connecting to public cloud environments

Content Philosophy

Every post on this blog is based on real-world experience. We avoid generic overviews in favor of actionable technical content: the kind of detail you need when you are actually building or troubleshooting a VCF environment.

VCF 9 Series

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A 21-part deep-dive series on VMware Cloud Foundation 9, architecture, networking, storage, lifecycle, and security, verified against official Broadcom documentation.