VCF 9.0 + Tanzu Platform for Cloud Foundry Deployment Guide

Complete step-by-step installation guide for deploying VCF 9.0 with single-host configuration and Tanzu Platform for Cloud Foundry on existing Intel NUCs.

Prerequisites

Hardware Requirements Met ✅

  • MS-A2 Host: 128GB RAM, 3x NVMe drives, dual 10G SFP+ ports
  • Intel NUCs: 3x nodes with 64GB RAM each, dual NICs
  • Network: 1GbE infrastructure with VLANs configured

Software Downloads Required

  • VMware ESXi 8.0 U3 ISO
  • VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Installer OVA
  • Tanzu Platform for Cloud Foundry installation bundle
  • Tanzu CLI tools

Phase 1: VCF 9.0 Management Domain Deployment

Step 1: ESXi Installation on MS-A2

  1. Create ESXi Installation Media

    # Download ESXi 8.0 U3 from VMware Customer Connect
# Create bootable USB with Rufus/dd/Ventoy
  2. Install ESXi on MS-A2
    • Boot from USB installer
    • Install to Samsung 980 Pro 500GB (Slot 1)
    • Set initial management IP: 192.168.10.100/24
    • Configure root password: VMware123!

  3. Post-Installation ESXi Configuration

    # SSH to ESXi host
ssh root@192.168.10.100
   
# Configure hostname
esxcli system hostname set --fqdn=esx-ms-a2-01.lab.local
   
# Configure NTP
esxcli system ntp set --server=pool.ntp.org
esxcli system ntp set --enabled=true
   
# Enable SSH and ESXi Shell (for troubleshooting)
vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_ssh
vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_esx_shell

Step 2: Network Configuration

  1. Create VLANs and Port Groups
    • Access vSphere Client: https://192.168.10.100
    • Navigate to Networking → Port groups

    Create these port groups:

    VCF-Management (VLAN 10) - VCF Management traffic
VCF-vMotion (VLAN 20)    - vMotion traffic  
VCF-vSAN (VLAN 30)       - vSAN storage traffic
VCF-NSX-TEP (VLAN 40)    - NSX tunnel endpoints
TKG-Management (VLAN 100) - TKG management
TKG-Workload (VLAN 110)   - TKG workload traffic

  2. Configure VMkernel Adapters

    vmk0: Management Network (VLAN 10) - 192.168.10.100/24
vmk1: vMotion (VLAN 20) - 192.168.20.100/24 
vmk2: vSAN (VLAN 30) - 192.168.30.100/24
vmk3: NSX-TEP (VLAN 40) - 192.168.40.100/24

Step 3: Storage Configuration

  1. Verify NVMe Drives

    # SSH to ESXi and verify drives
esxcli storage core device list | grep naa
   
# Expected output:
# naa.xxx (500GB) - ESXi boot
# naa.yyy (4TB) - Samsung 990 PRO for NVMe Tiering
# naa.zzz (4TB) - WD_BLACK SN850X for vSAN ESA

  2. Configure vSAN Storage

    • Access Storage → vSAN → Configure
    • Select vSAN ESA (Express Storage Architecture)
    • Use WD_BLACK 4TB for vSAN storage tier
    • Use Samsung 990 PRO 4TB for NVMe Tiering (cache)

Step 4: VCF 9.0 Installer Deployment

  1. Download and Deploy VCF Installer

    # Download VCF 9.0 Installer OVA from VMware Customer Connect
# Import to ESXi via vSphere Client

  2. Configure VCF Installer VM

    VM Name: vcf-installer
vCPUs: 4
Memory: 16GB  
Network: VCF-Management (VLAN 10)
IP: 192.168.10.10/24
Gateway: 192.168.10.1
DNS: 192.168.10.1

  3. Apply Single-Host Override

    # SSH to VCF Installer
ssh vcf@192.168.10.10
   
# Apply William Lam's single-host configuration
echo "feature.vcf.internal.single.host.domain=true" >> /home/vcf/feature.properties
   
# Restart VCF services
echo 'y' | /opt/vmware/vcf/operationsmanager/scripts/cli/sddcmanager_restart_services.sh

Step 5: VCF Management Domain JSON Configuration

  1. Create VCF Deployment JSON

    {
  "managementDomain": {
    "name": "mgmt01",
    "orgName": "homelab",
    "hosts": [
      {
        "hostname": "esx-ms-a2-01.lab.local",
        "ip": "192.168.10.100",
        "username": "root",
        "password": "VMware123!",
        "hostNetworkPoolName": "mgmt-pool"
      }
    ],
    "networkSpecs": {
      "dnsName": "lab.local",
      "subdomain": "mgmt",
      "domainName": "mgmt.lab.local",
      "management": {
        "subnet": "192.168.10.0/24",
        "gateway": "192.168.10.1",
        "vlanId": 10,
        "mtu": 1500,
        "portGroupName": "VCF-Management"
      },
      "vmotion": {
        "subnet": "192.168.20.0/24",
        "vlanId": 20,
        "mtu": 9000,
        "portGroupName": "VCF-vMotion"
      },
      "vsan": {
        "subnet": "192.168.30.0/24", 
        "vlanId": 30,
        "mtu": 9000,
        "portGroupName": "VCF-vSAN"
      },
      "nsxtOverlay": {
        "subnet": "192.168.40.0/24",
        "vlanId": 40,
        "mtu": 9000,
        "portGroupName": "VCF-NSX-TEP"
      }
    },
    "vcenterSpec": {
      "name": "mgmt-vc01",
      "datacentername": "mgmt-dc01",
      "vmSize": "medium",
      "storageSize": "lstorage",
      "rootPassword": "VMware123!"
    },
    "nsxSpec": {
      "nsxManagerSpecs": [
        {
          "name": "mgmt-nsx01",
          "vmSize": "medium"
        }
      ],
      "rootPassword": "VMware123!",
      "adminPassword": "VMware123!"
    },
    "vsanSpec": {
      "datastoreName": "mgmt-vsan-datastore",
      "licenseKey": "XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX",
      "esaConfig": {
        "enabled": true
      }
    },
    "dvsSpecs": [
      {
        "name": "mgmt-vds01",
        "mtu": 9000,
        "portGroupSpecs": [
          {
            "name": "VCF-Management",
            "vlanId": 10
          },
          {
            "name": "VCF-vMotion", 
            "vlanId": 20
          },
          {
            "name": "VCF-vSAN",
            "vlanId": 30
          },
          {
            "name": "VCF-NSX-TEP",
            "vlanId": 40
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "storageType": "VSAN_ESA"
  }
}

Step 6: Execute VCF Deployment

  1. Upload JSON Configuration
    • Access VCF Installer UI: https://192.168.10.10
    • Use JSON Upload method (bypasses 3-host UI validation)
    • Upload the management domain JSON file
  2. Validate and Deploy
    • Run pre-deployment validation
    • Address any validation failures
    • Execute deployment (estimated 2-4 hours)

  3. Monitor Deployment Progress

    # SSH to VCF Installer to monitor logs
tail -f /var/log/vmware/vcf/operationsmanager/operationsmanager.log

Phase 2: Intel NUC Workload Domain

Step 7: ESXi Installation on Intel NUCs

  1. Install ESXi 8.0 U3 on All 3 NUCs

    NUC-01: 192.168.200.101/24
NUC-02: 192.168.200.102/24  
NUC-03: 192.168.200.103/24
Gateway: 192.168.200.1

  2. Configure Each NUC

    # For each NUC, configure hostname and NTP
esxcli system hostname set --fqdn=esx-nuc-0X.lab.local
esxcli system ntp set --server=pool.ntp.org
esxcli system ntp set --enabled=true

Step 8: Create VCF Workload Domain

  1. Access SDDC Manager
    • URL: https://192.168.10.10 (VCF Installer becomes SDDC Manager)
    • Login with administrator@vsphere.local
  2. Add NUC Hosts to VCF
    • Navigate to Inventory → Hosts
    • Commission the 3 Intel NUC hosts
    • Create host pool: nuc-pool

  3. Create Workload Domain

    {
  "workloadDomain": {
    "name": "wld01",
    "orgName": "homelab",
    "hosts": [
      {
        "hostname": "esx-nuc-01.lab.local",
        "ip": "192.168.200.101"
      },
      {
        "hostname": "esx-nuc-02.lab.local", 
        "ip": "192.168.200.102"
      },
      {
        "hostname": "esx-nuc-03.lab.local",
        "ip": "192.168.200.103"
      }
    ],
    "vcenterSpec": {
      "name": "wld-vc01",
      "datacentername": "wld-dc01",
      "vmSize": "medium"
    },
    "computeSpec": {
      "clusterSpecs": [
        {
          "name": "wld-cluster01",
          "hostSpecs": [
            {"hostname": "esx-nuc-01.lab.local"},
            {"hostname": "esx-nuc-02.lab.local"},
            {"hostname": "esx-nuc-03.lab.local"}
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    "storageType": "NFS"
  }
}

Phase 3: Tanzu Platform for Cloud Foundry Deployment

Step 9: TKG Management Cluster

  1. Install Tanzu CLI

    # Download Tanzu CLI from VMware Customer Connect
# Install on jump box or local machine
   
# Verify installation
tanzu version
tanzu plugin list

  2. Deploy TKG Management Cluster

    # Create TKG management cluster configuration
tanzu management-cluster create --file mgmt-cluster-config.yaml

  3. Management Cluster Config (mgmt-cluster-config.yaml)

    CLUSTER_NAME: tkg-mgmt
CLUSTER_PLAN: dev
INFRASTRUCTURE_PROVIDER: vsphere
   
# vSphere Configuration
VSPHERE_SERVER: wld-vc01.lab.local
VSPHERE_USERNAME: administrator@vsphere.local
VSPHERE_PASSWORD: VMware123!
VSPHERE_DATACENTER: /wld-dc01
VSPHERE_RESOURCE_POOL: /wld-dc01/host/wld-cluster01/Resources
VSPHERE_DATASTORE: /wld-dc01/datastore/nfs-datastore
VSPHERE_FOLDER: /wld-dc01/vm/tkg
VSPHERE_NETWORK: TKG-Management
   
# Control Plane Configuration
CONTROL_PLANE_MACHINE_COUNT: 1
CONTROL_PLANE_DISK_GIB: 40
CONTROL_PLANE_MEM_MIB: 8192
CONTROL_PLANE_NUM_CPUS: 2
   
# Worker Node Configuration  
WORKER_MACHINE_COUNT: 2
WORKER_DISK_GIB: 40
WORKER_MEM_MIB: 8192
WORKER_NUM_CPUS: 2
   
# Kubernetes Configuration
KUBERNETES_VERSION: v1.28.8+vmware.1
CNI: antrea

Step 10: Tanzu Platform for Cloud Foundry Installation

  1. Create Workload Cluster for Cloud Foundry

    # Create workload cluster for CF
tanzu cluster create cf-workload --file cf-workload-config.yaml

  2. Workload Cluster Config (cf-workload-config.yaml)

    CLUSTER_NAME: cf-workload
CLUSTER_PLAN: prod
INFRASTRUCTURE_PROVIDER: vsphere
   
# vSphere Configuration
VSPHERE_SERVER: wld-vc01.lab.local
VSPHERE_USERNAME: administrator@vsphere.local
VSPHERE_PASSWORD: VMware123!
VSPHERE_DATACENTER: /wld-dc01
VSPHERE_RESOURCE_POOL: /wld-dc01/host/wld-cluster01/Resources
VSPHERE_DATASTORE: /wld-dc01/datastore/nfs-datastore
VSPHERE_FOLDER: /wld-dc01/vm/tkg
VSPHERE_NETWORK: TKG-Workload
   
# Control Plane Configuration
CONTROL_PLANE_MACHINE_COUNT: 3
CONTROL_PLANE_DISK_GIB: 40
CONTROL_PLANE_MEM_MIB: 8192
CONTROL_PLANE_NUM_CPUS: 2
   
# Worker Node Configuration
WORKER_MACHINE_COUNT: 3
WORKER_DISK_GIB: 80
WORKER_MEM_MIB: 16384
WORKER_NUM_CPUS: 4
   
# Kubernetes Configuration
KUBERNETES_VERSION: v1.28.8+vmware.1
CNI: antrea

  3. Install Cloud Foundry Components

    # Get cluster credentials
tanzu cluster kubeconfig get cf-workload --admin
   
# Switch to CF workload cluster context
kubectl config use-context cf-workload-admin@cf-workload
   
# Install CF Operator
kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cloudfoundry/cf-operator/main/deploy/cf-operator.yaml
   
# Install Cloud Foundry
kubectl apply -f cf-deployment.yaml

  4. Cloud Foundry Deployment Configuration (cf-deployment.yaml)

    apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: cf-system
---
apiVersion: quarks.cloudfoundry.org/v1alpha1
kind: BOSHDeployment
metadata:
  name: cf
  namespace: cf-system
spec:
  manifest:
    ref:
      name: cf-manifest
      type: configmap
  vars:
  - name: system_domain
    value: cf.lab.local
  - name: app_domains
    value: ["apps.cf.lab.local"]
  - name: cf_admin_password
    value: "admin"
  ops:
  - type: replace
    path: /instance_groups/name=router/networks/0/static_ips
    value: ["192.168.110.10"]

Step 11: Post-Installation Configuration

  1. Configure DNS Resolution

    # Add DNS entries to your DNS server or /etc/hosts
192.168.110.10  cf.lab.local
192.168.110.10  apps.cf.lab.local
192.168.110.10  api.cf.lab.local
192.168.110.10  login.cf.lab.local
192.168.110.10  uaa.cf.lab.local

  2. Install CF CLI

    # Download and install CF CLI
curl -L "https://packages.cloudfoundry.org/stable?release=linux64-binary&version=v8&source=github" | tar -zx
sudo mv cf8 /usr/local/bin/cf
   
# Verify installation
cf version

  3. Target and Login to Cloud Foundry

    # Target CF API
cf api https://api.cf.lab.local --skip-ssl-validation
   
# Login as admin
cf login -u admin -p admin
   
# Create organization and space
cf create-org homelab
cf create-space development -o homelab
cf target -o homelab -s development

Phase 4: Validation and Testing

Step 12: Component Verification

  1. VCF Management Domain Health

    # Access SDDC Manager
https://192.168.10.10
   
# Verify component status:
# - vCenter Server: Running
# - NSX Manager: Running  
# - vSAN Cluster: Healthy
# - ESXi Host: Connected

  2. TKG Cluster Health

    # Check management cluster
tanzu management-cluster get
   
# Check workload cluster
tanzu cluster list
tanzu cluster get cf-workload
   
# Verify Kubernetes nodes
kubectl get nodes
kubectl get pods --all-namespaces

  3. Cloud Foundry Validation

    # Check CF health
cf marketplace
cf orgs
cf spaces
   
# Deploy test application
cf push test-app -b staticfile_buildpack --random-route

Step 13: Performance Optimization

  1. vSAN Tuning for 1GbE

    # SSH to ESXi host
ssh root@192.168.10.100
   
# Optimize vSAN for network constraints
esxcli vsan cluster unicastinfo set -m multicast
esxcli vsan cluster unicastinfo set -a 224.2.3.4
  2. NSX Optimization
    • Reduce MTU to 1500 for 1GbE compatibility
    • Configure GENEVE overhead appropriately
    • Optimize tunnel endpoint placement
  3. TKG Resource Allocation
    • Monitor resource utilization on Intel NUCs
    • Adjust worker node sizing based on workload requirements
    • Implement pod resource limits and requests

Implementation Order Summary

Week 1: Foundation

  1. ✅ Rack MS-A2 in new cabinet
  2. ✅ Install ESXi on MS-A2
  3. ✅ Deploy VCF 9.0 Management Domain
  4. ✅ Validate VCF components

Week 2: Workload Infrastructure

  1. ✅ Install ESXi on Intel NUCs
  2. ✅ Create VCF Workload Domain
  3. ✅ Deploy TKG Management Cluster
  4. ✅ Validate TKG deployment

Week 3: Cloud Foundry

  1. ✅ Deploy TKG Workload Cluster
  2. ✅ Install Tanzu Platform for CF
  3. ✅ Configure DNS and networking
  4. ✅ Validate CF functionality

Week 4: Optimization & Production

  1. ✅ Performance tuning
  2. ✅ Backup configuration
  3. ✅ Monitoring setup
  4. ✅ Documentation completion

Troubleshooting Common Issues

VCF Deployment Issues

Single Host Validation Errors:

  • Ensure feature flag is properly set
  • Use JSON deployment method only
  • Verify network connectivity between components

Storage Configuration:

  • Confirm NVMe drives are properly detected
  • Verify vSAN ESA compatibility
  • Check disk space requirements (minimum 10GB free)

TKG Cluster Issues

Network Connectivity:

  • Verify VLAN configuration on switches
  • Test connectivity between management and workload VLANs
  • Confirm DNS resolution for vCenter

Resource Constraints:

  • Monitor memory usage on Intel NUCs
  • Adjust cluster sizing for available resources
  • Implement resource quotas and limits

Cloud Foundry Issues

Application Deployment:

  • Check buildpack availability
  • Verify application quotas
  • Monitor Diego cell health

Networking:

  • Confirm GoRouter configuration
  • Verify load balancer setup
  • Test application routing

This comprehensive guide provides a complete deployment roadmap for VCF 9.0 with single-host configuration and Tanzu Platform for Cloud Foundry, optimized for your current 1GbE infrastructure while preparing for future 10GbE upgrades.

This project is for educational and home lab purposes.