During VMware Explore, I had a request from an attendee who was interested in my physical networking and how it is all connected for my VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0 Lab setup. The network diagram below is based on the following VCF 9.0 Hardware BOM (Build-of-Material) and using the following network configuration with additional commentary on each connection in the write-up below.
Note: All green lines in the diagram above represent 10GbE network connectivity and all blue lines in the diagram above represent 2.5GbE network connectivity.
Port References:
- MikroTik (left to right): Port 1-5
- Sodola (left to right): Port 1-6
Port Connections:
- Port 1 on the MikroTik is connected to an Internet uplink
- This will be required if you need outbound connectivity for installing/pulling packages into your environment
- Port 2-4 on the MikroTik is connected to 3 x MS-A2 via the first 10GbE SFP+ port
- ESXi will detect the first SFP+ port at vmnic1
- Port 5 on the MikroTik is connected to Port 6 (10GbE SFP+) on the Sodola Switch
- This is configured as a Trunked VLAN (802.1Q) that will carry all VLANs that have been defined from the MikroTik
- Port 1 on the Sodola is connected to my iMac desktop
- This is configured as untagged VLAN and specifically the Management network so that I can access all systems
- Port 5 on the Sodola is connected to Synology NAS (This is an optional system, but I just happen to have one for hosting my VCF Offline Depot)
- This is configured as Tagged VLAN for accessing VCF Offline Depot
- Port 2-4 on the Sodola is not in use and for me, it would be available for additional system expansion
I would pass on the sodola. I went through of them over a couple of months. No support and buggy software. There tech solution was to return and get an new one, 3 times.
I have been trying to find a way to install a lab of 3 nodes on a flat network with a 10g switch that does not support vLANs. Is this possible? I tried to configure all the networks within a /23 CIDR and I can't get past the validation. I tried adding the following to my deployment JSON file and follow the upload JSON installation method:
"skipGatewayPingValidation": true
"skipDualNetworkValidation": true
I still get the following in the first step during validation:
-Gateway 192.168.16.1 is duplicated across networks. This gateway is already being used by VM_MANAGEMENT network. It can be used only by one network
Remediation: Modify the input specification to utilize gateway 192.168.16.1 in a single network only
-Subnet 192.168.16.0/23 is duplicated across networks. This subnet is already being used by VM_MANAGEMENT network. It can be used only by one network
Remediation: Modify the input specification to utilize subnet 192.168.16.0/23 in a single network only
Is there a way to install VCF 9 with a flat network configuration?
No