Bits, Bytes, & Radio Waves

A Journey Through Discovery

  • The Frugal Administrator: A Minimal Nested VMware VCF Lab

    Overview I have other posts on my site here for more built out installations of VMware VCF. However, while I was researching a build script for a recent nested installation I was building, I came across a post on William Lam’s website about a single host VMware VCF install. This surely piqued my interest and…

  • Nested VMware NSX

    Disclaimer: While I worked for VMware from March 2019 and up until the Broadcom acquisition in November 2023, and continued on with Broadcom, this post (and website as a whole) is solely for my purposes and in no way represents VMware or Broadcom’s views or best practices. Heck, for all I know, this is accidentally…

  • Nested VCF Lab: Virtual Machines

    Overview There are a few necessary services that need to be running for a Nested VCF lab. These services include Domain Name System (DNS) and Network Time Protocol (NTP). A few additional services, while not necessary, are very helpful. These services include a file server and a management virtual machine.

  • Nested VCF Lab: Networking

    Overview The networking component for the nested VCF lab is very important. There are certain things that must be configured for a successful deployment. These settings do not apply in a production scenario where the physical hosts are connected to Top-of-Rack Switches. Doing so could open up a serious security situation.

  • Configuring Smart Card | Common Access Card (CAC) | Personal Identity Verification (PIV) in VMware vSphere and VMware Horizon

    Overview I use a YubiKey 5Ci (by Yubico) in my lab. This allows me to log in with a smart card interface. If you are looking for information on how to configure smart card access in your lab, please reference the following post: MyLab: Smart Card Authentication

  • VMware Horizon Best Practices

    Overview There are a few things that should be configured to ensure the best possible user experience when it comes to a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). After all, if the users cannot use it or are logging endless incidents, then we have failed our customer.

This is how it all started…

I started this site with the intent to aggregate as much information as possible in one place. I use this to record lessons learned or frustrating configurations I have experienced on the job or just tinkering (learning) and just couldn’t find a better resource available. I have tried to be as thorough and accurate as possible, but technology is rapidly evolving and every environment is different. I may miss things along the way and my setup most likely differs compared to yours.

I hope you find this site has some value to you.

Welcome to Bits, Bytes, and Radio Waves! 

If you have any questions or comments (or just want to give me a shout-out), please feel free to contact me!

Aaron Rombaut

Writer & Technologist