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Quick Tip - NSX Edge fails DNS pre-check as part of VCF 9.0.2 Upgrade

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As I continue my VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0.2 upgrade journey, I have now reached the core SDDC components, including vCenter, NSX, and ESX.


NSX Manager and NSX Edges was up first and before the upgrade begins, a pre-check is performed. I was not expecting any issues but to my surprise, I ran into the following validation error:

DNS is not configured on edge 83ea6662-41b2-48aa-a8d0-22039d3230c0. Edge will not be able to resolve the fqdn to download the upgrade bundle from NSX manager. Kindly configure a valid DNS on edge.. Other components that failed with the same error: edge01b, edge01a


We all know how important DNS is and ensuring it is configured correctly, both forward and reverse lookups.

However, I like to think that I am pretty good about ensuring everything in my lab is setup with DNS and this honestly was a surprising error, that BOTH NSX Edges do NOT have DNS configured!?! 🤔

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Quick Tip - No space left on device when upgrading VCF Operations using VCF Operations Fleet Manager to VCF 9.0.2

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Yesterday, I began upgrading my VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) environment from version 9.0.1 to the latest 9.0.2 release. After successfully upgrading VCF Operations Fleet Manager, I then proceeded to upgrade VCF Operations, which includes running a pre-validation to ensure everything was okay before we can proceed.


As you can see from the screenshot above, I ran into the following error: "No space left on device" which was pretty vague, but I figured it had to do with my VCF Operations instance, since I was attempting to upgrade it ...

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Every Mini PC & SFF Hardware Announced at CES 2026

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I always look forward to the annual announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), with a specific eye toward new hardware platforms and innovations well suited for running VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) in a lab environment. This year is no exception, although acquiring affordable memory may require a few sacrifices given the skyrocketing prices driven by the insatiable demands of AI.

At CES 2026, Intel and AMD introduced their next generation consumer processors, Intel Core Ultra Series 3 (Panther Lake) and AMD Ryzen AI 400 Series (Gorgon Point), which will power many of the newly announced hardware platforms.

Most of the hardware vendors seem to have prioritized LPDDR5 (soldered memory), which offers higher bandwidth for AI workloads but it comes at a premium on top of the exploding prices. I was also hoping to see some announcements for systems supporting the new LPCAMM2 or SOCAMM2 memory standard, which could enable configurations with up to 256GB of memory. I suspect due to the supply chain constraint and overall costs, such platforms may only be reserved for AI focused systems in the future.

Whether you are refreshing a home lab, looking for an ideal AI platform for exploration, new gaming rig or general curiosity, I have compiled a comprehensive list of all the new Mini PCs and Small Form Factor (SFF) systems that should be arriving in 2026.

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