Lab on Virtualization Gurushttp://mohamedamrrabiee.github.io/virtualizationgurus/tags/lab/Recent content in Lab on Virtualization GurusHugoen-us2026 All rights reserved.Wed, 04 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000VCF Installer in a Lab: Appliance Placement, Offline Depot and a Spec from the Planning Workbookhttp://mohamedamrrabiee.github.io/virtualizationgurus/posts/lab-vcf-installer-depot-spec/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000http://mohamedamrrabiee.github.io/virtualizationgurus/posts/lab-vcf-installer-depot-spec/Where to run the VCF Installer when the management hosts have no datastore yet, how to connect an offline depot and pick the right 9.1.1 binaries, and how to generate a deployment JSON from the planning workbook with PowerShell on Linux.Preparing Nested ESX Hosts: Certificates and Thumbprints Done Righthttp://mohamedamrrabiee.github.io/virtualizationgurus/posts/lab-esx-certificates-thumbprints/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000http://mohamedamrrabiee.github.io/virtualizationgurus/posts/lab-esx-certificates-thumbprints/How ESX host certificates and SHA-256 thumbprints decide whether VCF Installer validation, vCenter deployment and host commissioning succeed, with two real failures from a VCF 9.1.1 lab and the order of operations that avoids both.Designing a Nested VCF 9.1.1 Lab: Names, VLANs and Decisionshttp://mohamedamrrabiee.github.io/virtualizationgurus/posts/lab-designing-nested-vcf-lab/Wed, 21 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000http://mohamedamrrabiee.github.io/virtualizationgurus/posts/lab-designing-nested-vcf-lab/The design behind a hands-on VCF 9.1.1 lab built end to end: naming convention, VLAN and subnet plan, host sizing, and the decisions that shaped the management and workload domains before a single appliance was deployed.