Gabbs' Random Thoughts – Finding a Way To Fill The Web

Virtual Updates 2026-03-02

What does it take to run VCF 9?
How do you get started?…
Let’s start the planning, as well as purchase 4 new vSAN ReadyNodes.
Why?
This long post by me covers the it, and the math behind it.
Want to dive deeper?…reach out, be happy to!

VCF – Ownership of Fleet, Instance, & Domains
I’ve created a standard folder structure to house the VMs that make up VCF.
I’ve separated out the different components of Fleet Management (Automation, Operations, Ops for Logs, Ops for Networks, SSO) from the Domain components (vCenter Server, NSX, Ops for HCX, LiveRecovery).
Why….to provide logical separations visible to any VCF admin looking at the VM Folder structure.
This 6-part post covers a lot of my thoughts in great detail.
Paul Bryant Blog post is here.

vSphere Configuration Profiles – APIs, PowerCLI, & Python
Configuration Profiles are similar to Host Profiles.
As host Profiles will not work with Image Based clusters…
Configuration Profiles fill that void.
Get a walkthrough on how this can be automated.
VMware Blog post is here.

Sizing your VM’s vCPU and vNUMA
Mark Achtemichuk had written about this topic in 2017, and it is still very relevant, and a discussion I still have with people.
You NEED to rightsize your VMs, and understand vNUMA on large VMs.
Since vSphere 8 and VMX-21, vNUMA at VM power on has happened automatically….but for all the other VMs? read on…
VMware Blog post is here.

VKS 3.6 released
vSphere Kubernetes Service 3.6 just got released.
Built on K8s 1.35, with a promise to easier updates.
VMware Blog post is here.

VMware Workstation & Fusion 25h2u1 released
Remember, these are now free to all users!
Looks like once you apply this update, auto-check for updates works again.
VMware Workstation Release Notes are here.
VMware Fusion Release Notes are here.

ESXi and self-signed certificates
Most of us understand that when you deploy an ESXi host, it generates a self-signed certificate during that process.
Most of us just added those ESXi hosts to our vCenter (6.x+) Servers, and since vCenter was acting as a Certificate Authority, vCenter replaced the certificates on the ESXi host for us, as the ESXi server was being added to vCenter.
Fast forward to the manner in which things are now done in VCF 9….
You ESXi server must match the hostname it has before you can “add it”.
This blog post covers the details very nicely….just enough to cover it.

El Paso Airport Shutdown vs your datacenter
What would you do if you were told your building was being powered off for 10 days?
Well, many would just use their DR plan to failover, and then fail back 10 days later.
Others would use their Metro Clusters to move workloads to the 2nd site.
While still others would be caught between a rock and a hard place.
The FAA planned on shutting down the El Paso airport for 10 days, with 1 hours notice. They have since reopened the airport (the same day they announced the shutdown)…what would YOU have done?
NBC News post is here.

AsBuiltReports – don’t forget about them!
A set of PowerShell scripts/modules that documents your IT Infrastructure.
VMware, Nutanix, Veeam, Rubrik, Microsoft Active Directory, Pure Storage, Dell/EMC, NetApp, Aruba, Fortinet (to name a few).
AsBuiltReports home page is here.

Intel CPUs vs AMD….and ARM…and GPUs in the datacenter
A lengthy article that discusses demand for these resources in our datacenter.
Also has a lengthy history of the why/how of CPUs as far back as Mainframes….
Blog post is here.

Gmail ending Gmailify & POP access
This happens now for new Gmail Users.
This happens “…late in 2026 for existing users“
For Gmailify…”You won’t be able to get specific features in Gmail applied to your third-party account…“
For POP….”Gmail will no longer support checking emails from third-party accounts through POP. The option to “Check mail from other accounts” will no longer be available in Gmail on your computer.“
If this is one way you handle email…get things updated!!!
Google Support post about the changes is here.

Nutanix NC2 – build a “cleanroom” in AWS
Nice article!
You can even swap Nutanix for other words…..
Investment? Minimal
When you need to use it? Priceless.
Nutanix Blog post is here.

Free Learning – GitHub Repo
AWS Workshops
KodeKloud
Nutanix University
Nutanix .NEXT 2026 – April 7-9, Chicago, IL
PluralSight
vBrownBag
VMware Hands On Labs
VMware Explore 2026 – August 31 – September 3, Las Vegas, NV
VMware Explore 2025 Sessions (William Lam’s easier to search list version)

Virtual Updates 2026-02-02

VCF 9.0.2 released
Every component gets a new release.
Deployments are still the same.
Upgrades?….well, first version most folks will have to upgrade to.
(it went smooth for me in the lab).
VCF 9.0.2 Release Notes are here.

VCF 9 – doing your fist upgrade?
VCF 9.0.2 just released.
Looking to update your VCF to the current rev?
This post covers the high level steps you need to take in sequence.
Guess what….vCenter and ESXi hosts are the last thing to worry about…
….and don’t forget, you will do most of this in VCF Operations.
Tommy Grot’s Blog post is here.

Memory Tiering Resource Hub
Yes, I’ve gone on and on about NVMe Memory tiering (in vSphere 8 and VCF 9)
…and there is currently a part 7 to this
Now, VMware has the new page dedicated to it.
There is no way you should be buying new hardware without exploiting this capability….RAM is just too expensive….
VMware Memory Tiering Resource Hub Blog Post is here.

United Airlines – planned outage
Traveling on Wed, Feb 4 via United?
Keep an eye out on your flights….
…well, when the site goes back online.
Blog post is here. (not easy find on the United web site).
I get that some upgrades are disruptive (like this one).
Heck, I do plan some disruptive upgrades as well.
Just thinking through what the rollback plan is if things don’t go well here…
What will happen to travelers if the site doesn’t come back as scheduled (or if the upgrade/migration goes bad)?

Containers…bare metal or in VMs?
I agree, on VMs, not bare metal.
Forget all the reasons here….my 1st thought?
The abstraction virtualization provides the VMs running containers
VMware 2-minute YouTube video is here.

NKP – Integrated Networking Provides Consistent Operations
While the blog post is all about why NKP with Nutanix, I get more out of the considerations given in the FAQs included into the post.
Making ongoing operations simple is key to any solution.
Nutanix Blog post is here.

NUS 5.3 adds new capabilities
NUS (Nutanix Unified Storage) is up to 5.3.
Lots of new capabilities, enhancements, and/or features.
It is a good 5 minute read, but worth it.
Lots of availability, architecture, and DR discussions….
Plus Data Lens on-prem….
Nutanix Blog post is here.

Virtual Updates 2026-01-19

NVMe Memory Tiering ….continued.
So noticed the price of RAM went up….
In late November, the price for a 64-GB DIMM was X.
In mid January, the price for a 64-GB DIMM is now 2.2X.
The price of a 3.2-TB NVMe drive ready for Tiering was 1.2X
Let that sink in….
You need to be considering doing this.
Works in vSphere 8 & vSphere 9 (vSphere 9 is only in VCF or VVF).
Part 5 of the NVMe Memory Tiering Blog Post series is here.
Part 6 of the NVMe Memory Tiering Blog Post series is here.
Greenfield, brownfield, and even Nested are discussed (though nested is primarily to verify processes, rather than gain a useful benefit).
Here’s a post from a peer, Danny Alvarez, who beautifully lays outs your 3 options to deal with rising memory prices….

HA is not DR
Have this conversation all the time, for the past 23 years….
Ever since my first DR project in 2004 using ESXi 2 & P2V to recover….
Saying you have a stretched cluster for DR is not correct.
Saying you have a stretched cluster for HA, in case of a datacenter outage, is.
You still need a DR plan.
If your stretched cluster get ransomwared… what then?
Like this post, using VCF as the example….

VCF 9 – Automation if All Apps mode
This is the new way of using VCF Automation.
If you are familiar with any older iteration of VCF Automation, you are familiar with the “legacy” mode that still exists, which is VM centric.
All Apps mode requires VKS, NSX, and VPCs…all which require setup before we can get started with VCF Automation “All Apps” mode.
Daniel Kreiger’s post covers the full deployment (with links to the NSX VPC deployment) or better stated, configuration of VCF Automation from that point.

Building Azure Virtual Desktop Images
Jon Towles spent some time working on AVD (Azure Virtual Desktops) and more importantly the images you use to do the deploy of AVD desktops, and shared his experiences (and scripts!).
Want some help build your AVD images? Just let us know!
Jon’s post is here.

Virtual Mobile Devices (a “nested” phone within a phone)
VMworld in 2011 had discussions focused on “Dual Identity Smartphone”.
This post revisits these thoughts, not from a technical “…can I do this…” but more from a security/political “concerns” that exist in today’s era.
When I went abroad, I took a burner device that I destroyed after my travels.
Funny how that’s exactly the example here as well.
….and of course, it revisits the importance of VDI (for controlling your data).
Tony Foster’s post revisits the need for this in today’s day & age.

(Un)official VMware Stencils for 2026
VirtualG.uk post to the rescue again.
You’d think that VMware could have created Visio stencils in the past 25 years….

Windows Sandbox – VM like capability already on your Windows OS?
I’ve always just fired up a VM in Workstation/Fusion if I ever had this need.
I can see that my team at work does the same thing….
as they were just as surprised when they presented me this post.
HowToGeek post about Windows Sandbox, how to enable, and how to use.
Note that this does require Windows Pro or Enterprise (sorry Home Edition users).
Also worth noting, I did not see this on my Windows 11 ARM running on VMware Fusion with Mac silicone…..guessing there is no Intel-VT on Mac Silicone.

Let’s Encrypt – Certificate for IPs, and 6 day certificate expiry
Well, no secret that certificate lifetimes are shortening .
Especially since we are moving to certificates with a lifespan of
no more than 47 days (by March 2029 – Digicert post is here)
But what surprised me was certificates for IP addresses.
I’m sure there’s a use case out there, beyond the example of homelabs (though I’d figure any homelab needing certificates would use FQND).
Let’s Encrypt post about Certs for IPs and 6 day expiry is here.

Virtual Updates 2026-01-05

Happy New Year!!!

NVMe Memory Tiering – revisiting again
Now, part 4 of the blog post, with first 3 posts linked.
Why keep harping on this?
Memory is expensive, and one of the most constrained items in the system.

vSphere 8 Update 3h released
Still looks like the latest downloads are 8.0 U3c on Broadcom’s site.
That just means patch after deployment.
There are auto-renewals for vCenter certificates that are nearing the expiration date, but please read the release notes for clarity!
vCenter Release Notes are here.
ESXi Release Notes are here.

Windows Secure Boot UEFI Certificate Expiring
So there are Microsoft Certificates expiring in June 2026.
These certificates are what backs Secure Boot.
This post has PowerShell scripts to check your UEFI status, and how to handle performing the required updates.
This will ensure you are being proactive, if you want the benefits of Secure Boot.
Yes…..VMs need this too (if using Secure Boot).
Blog post is here.
More on the topic from Microsoft Tech community.
Jon Towles has a fully orchestrated answer here.

Omnissa Horizon 2512 released
next iteration of Horizon 8.
now with Nutanix AHV support (more on that below)
Omnissa post is here.
Horizon 8 Release Notes are here.

VCDX – more info on the updated cert
Covers exams required (not all are available yet).
…and of course, ….the Defense….The panel based review/defense.
Blog post is here.

Playstation Network – Creative Hack
Even with MFA and/or a Passkey, you can still get your PSN account stolen.
Not sure who would be at fault in this one, but yea,….don’t share info you don’t need to share online.
Blog Post is here.

Omnissa Horizon on Nutanix AHV
Finally, full GA!
Windows Server operating systems in VDI pools.
Nutanix Post is here.

Prism Central 7.5 released
…as well as 7.5.0.1, so we’ll just skip 7.5.0.0…..
New features including Windows Guest Customization (that actually works).
NKP is finally available in the Prism Central Admin Center –> Marketplace.
Prism Central Release Notes are here.

Nutanix Guest Customization Profiles for Windows VMs – FINALLY HERE!
Requires Prism Central 7.5.
WORKS GREAT!
Even handles NGT enabled for the Windows VM Guest OS
(just wait for LCM to make Prism Central 7.5 available to patch with).
This is something I have complained about to Nutanix for a long time now.
now, build a Windows VM, and don’t sysprep it (you can, but why bother?).
I also worked a bit with them to get this released.
Blog post highlighting the workflow.

Nutanix Flow Network Security 7.5 released
Alongside the AOS & Prism Central 7.5 releases….
Starting to change how it can be deployed (don’t pay attention just yet to the recommended deployment….to resource heavy right now).
But micro segmentation just became easier…using….categories.
(anyone who’s heard me talk Nutanix knows I believe categories need to be mastered).
Blog post is here.

Virtual Updates 2025-12-15

IT Silos Prevent “Private Cloud” models
….I would hedge my bets that this is because of 1 word….change.
No one likes change, myself included.
But, as technology changes frequently, you have to be willing & able to change.
True for VCF, true for Nutanix, true for “fill-in-the-blank-with-what-you-use”
VMware News post is here.

Fidelity sues Broadcom over contract dispute
Heard this before…wonder what the outcome will be….
What is going on with Broadcom here….
Reuters post is here.

VCF – vSAN planning for Network Switches
…but I already have switches.
Yes, you do, but are they up to the task?
It is not just the speed of the port, but the overall performance of your switch.
VMware Blog post is here.

vSAN Erasure Encoding explained
Using comparisons to traditional SAN arrays, this post covers the technical details of how vSAN does Erasure Coding.
VMware Blog post is here.

VCF Automation – Networking Deep Dive
Too many options in VCF 9 networking for you?
Well, Tomas covers some important concepts when using VCF Automation, and the underlying requirements from the NSX side of the world in a lengthy post.
Remember, in VCF Automation, you probably want/need “All Apps” organization, which needs the vSphere Supervisor, over “All VMs”.
But this means you need to get your NSX layer right first….
Tomas Fojta blog post is here.

VCF NSX Security Hardening
Want to use the VCF Operations builtin NSX Hardening Guide?
Here’s a quick walkthrough….
Blog post is here.

vDefend – Intro, deploy/config, onboarding
A series of blog posts, describing the vDefend (add-on License) for VCF.
Start with the overview, see how it deploys & gets configured, and how you start integrating it.
vstellar Blog post part 5 (which links to the first 4) is here.

NVMe Memory Tiering
Yes, I keep posting on this topic….
Anyone notice RAM prices keep going up (astronomically)?
How to size post, around this topic.
Personally, it seems easy & cheap enough to throw a 4-TB NVMe drive at this…
VMware Blog post is here.

Veeam with Universal CDP
It creates replicas, then keeps the replicas up to date.
Veeam Documentation is here.

Verify vCenter before VCF Workload Domain import
William Lam again….
Want to do the recheck with useful output?
Perhaps this script is for your (rather than trying to import, getting the same errors, but not getting easy access to the fix).
William Lam’s post is here.

Proxmox Datacenter Manager 1.0 released
For those who are considering Proxmox, the Datacenter Manager release is out.
Release notes are here.

vExpert 2026 – Applications accepted starting today!
Don’t just sit by the sidelines.
You probably take notes….
A great blog post, talking about what it takes to become a vExpert.
Or a word from Corey Romero, who runs the vExpert program…
It’s not as difficult as many perceive….

VMUG Members – VCF Licensing for Homelab
A friend of mine captured how to get your VCF licensing nicely.
Great for homelab use, with 128-cores of licensing.
you do need to pass a VCF exam, and you’ll get a 50% off voucher.
Licensing is handled a bit differently than your production licensing…
Of course it is linked in this post.
Tommy Grot’s post is here.

Nutanix with Pure FlashArray now GA!
Pure customers are happy now that this is GA.
In the works for a while, this is finally available to use in production.
I was concerned when Nutanix started discussing external storage, as it varied from the HCI that made Nutanix great.
But, the previews I’ve gotten over ahead of time impressed me.
They kept it super simple to work with.
Nutanix Blog post is here.

Nutanix ending SSH access
…a repeated post, but worth noting….
They have been mentioning this for the past year, and I’ve had discussions with folks on the topic…split 50/50 on whether this is good or bad.
Well, I believe it is good, and aligns with Nutanix’s security first approach.
Does that mean we have some work to do (updating our SSH workflows)?
Sure, but they are giving options, & there is still 6 months left to plan…
Blog Post, highlighting your options, is here.
Nutanix Statement post is here.

Nutanix FNS 7.5 – follow me anywhere security
Ok, not ANYWHERE, but anywhere Nutanix AHV is running.
Security Policy migration between Prism Central….or another way to put it…
Security Policy will travel with the VM.
Nutanix Post is here.

Nutanix NC2 – from i3.metal to i7i.metal
A step by step on how to replace your i3.metal with i7i.metal.
Seems WAY too easy here….
Nutanix Tech Center post is here.

Virtual Updates 2025-12-01

VCF 9 CPU – Deprecation & Discontinuance
Depreciation means this is the last version of VCF for the CPU.
Discontinuance means you can not install VCF with this CPU.
Just be aware of this, as you plan your next upgrade….
Broadcom Article ID: 318697 link is here.

IBM Cloud – no new VMware Cloud offerings
“Effective 31 October 2025, IBM Cloud will no longer sell VMware on IBM Cloud offerings to customers who do not have at least one active VMware Workload running on IBM Cloud before that date.”
The Register post is here.

vDefend – Zero Trust Micro-segmentation is a just weeks
Nice post, as it covers the high-level steps over a 1-month time.
Remember, it IS an add-on to VCF (not VVF, as no NSX is included).
VMware Blog post is here.

VCF Operations – vCommunity Management Pack – continued
…added Post 3
A community created set of dashboards, views, reports, and super metrics.
…well, led by OnurYuzseven (Broadcom TAM)….
Covers how to install, as well as how to consume.
Brock Peterson’s Blog post is here.
Brock Peterson’s part 2 post is here.
Brock Peterson’s part 3 post is here.

NVMe Tiering – revisited
I keep harping on this topic.
RAM is one of the more expensive components for a server, especially as the desnisty of each DIMM goes up.
Being able to double that with a 2nd tier of memory (NVMe Memory Tiering) will be worth the effort for many workloads.
VMware Blog Post is here.

VCF 9 – configuring an offline depot
Another post that covers (step-by-step) how to build the offline depot.
Start with an Ubuntu (or other) VM, and goes into the step-by-step on how to configure everything you need.
Blog post is here.

vSphere Supervisor via Terraform
Subject is self explanatory….
Blog post is here…

Harbor – Configure your internal private registry
Didn’t realize the history here mentioned in the post….
VMware started Harbor, then gave it to the community….
Why your own private registry?
Control over what is published & how (plus avoiding limitations from other registry providers.
Anyway, this post covers standing up your own Harbor Registry.
VMware Blog post is here.

AVD (Azure Virtual Desktop – now on-prem!
Wow….never thought this would happen…..
AVD can run on your Nutanix or VMware environments.
caveat? …..full desktops only. Requires Microsoft Arc enabled servers.
VMs will function as session hosts.
Microsoft TechCommunity post is here.

Omnissa Horizon 8 on VCF – Reference Architecture
While it reads like a marketing document, it does cover the use cases, technical capabilities, and takes security into account.
The reference architecture document is linked in the post.
VMware Blog post is here.

1password – manage your .env files
I thought this was cool, as I have been using 1Password for a while now.
There are a couple of password managers that do this.
Way better management for .env files….even though this is a beta release…
1password post is here, & it walks you through this (and has a video demo too).

Microsoft AI Agents – can access your files?
Want your Windows 11 AI to skim through your files?
Awesome feature or privacy invasion? …up to you….
PCGamer post is here.

Microsoft Open Sources Zork
The text based games from the 80s? Yup!
Slashdot post is here.

AWS Workshops – free training
Just came across this.
Quite a few offerings listed….
AWS Workshops are here.

Nutanix ending SSH access
They have been mentioning this for the past year, and I’ve had discussions with folks on the topic…split 50/50 on whether this is good or bad.
Well, I believe it is good, and aligns with Nutanix’s security first approach.
Does that mean we have some work to do (updating our SSH workflows)?
Sure, but they are giving options, & there is still 6 months left to plan…
Blog Post, highlighting your options, is here.
Nutanix Statement post is here.

NKP (Nutanix Kuberenetes Platform) 2.16.1 released
Tons of improvements starting with Kubernetes 1.33 support.
Too much to just post here, the post has a long list of what’s new.
Nutanix Blog post is here.

Prism Central – Planning your backup
Part of backing up Prism Central, is planning how to backup AND recover.
Prism Central has 2 x types of backups it can perform.
Can you back it up via traditional means (VM based backup)?
Sure, but that is not a supported way to do backups (more importantly, restores).
Don’t underestimate the planning step…..
Mike Dent wrote up a great post about it.

Virtual Updates 2025-11-17

VCF 9 – Principal Storage meaning changed?
Came across Broadcom Article ID 416270, Supporting all Principal Storage Options in VCF 9.
iSCSI, NFS v4.1, and NVMe over Fabrics (FC or TCP) have been know as supplemental storage, but here, they are referred to as Principal.
Either way, this shows how to use Supplemental Storage to stand up a VCF Domain (either Management or Workload).
Not sure about this nuance in Principal vs Supplemental….
VMware Blog post is here.

vSAN ESA ReadyNode Hardware Guidance
Found in the VMware Hardware Compatibility Guide, this calls out some of the details when selecting drives to use with vSAN ESA.
There is a reason for these guides…..
vSAN ESA ReadyNode Hardware Guidance link is here.

vSAN Data Protection – sample use cases
Rapid recovery, cloning, and of course, replication with/without DR.
VMware Blog post is here.

VCF 9 Memory Tiering – How to configure
Take advantage of this capability!
Double the RAM in your system via an NVMe drive!
…don’t forget that the NVMe drive must be dedicated to tiering…
Blog post is here.

VCF Operations – vCommunity Management Pack
A community created set of dashboards, views, reports, and super metrics.
…well, led by OnurYuzseven (Broadcom TAM)….
Covers how to install, as well as how to consume.
Brock Peterson’s Blog post is here.
Brock Peterson’s part 2 post is here.

VCF 9 Advanced Exams – 1st batch released
VCAPs are taking a turn in the new Broadcom Era…..
VCAPs are now considered “specialties”.
Right now, 3 VCAP exams cover:
Automation, Operations, or VKS (vSphere Kubernetes Service.
More VCAPs are coming soon….
I’m taking the VCF 9 Operations exam this week, so we’ll see how that goes…
VMware Certifications Page is here.

VCDX – now VMware Certified Distinguished Expert
Looking forward to seeing the details….
Did get a preview of things at the Broadcom Knights event at VMware Explore, but can’t share till the proper details are released officially.
VMware Blog post is here.

VCF 9.0.1 Homelab & vSAN ESA HCL
I missed this post originally, and William Lam pointed it out.
With VCF 9.0.1, you can run your Nested ESXi hosts with vSAN ESA.
Just follow this post, make some changes on the VCF Installer.
If you are going to be doing a Workload Domain….
Further down the post are the changes needed on t he SDDC-Manager.

Palo Alto & Arista Partnership
Arista’s AI for networking expertise using AVA (Autonomous Virtual Assist) with Palo Alto Networks NGFW (Next Generation Firewalls) and the Strata Network Security platform.
Arista Blog post is here.

Nutanix NKP – deploying in a Dark Site
A nice walkthrough on how to deploy in a site with no internet access.
Nutanix Dev post is here.

Nutanix Flow – building a basic VPC
An example with “No NAT” configured.
Blog post is here.

Free Learning – GitHub Repo
KodeKloud
Nutanix University
Nutanix .NEXT 2026 – April 7-9, Chicago, IL
PluralSight
vBrownBag
VMware Hands On Labs
VMware Explore 2026 – August 31 – September 3, Las Vegas, NV
VMware Explore 2025 Sessions (William Lam’s easier to search list version)