Field notes by Rutger Blom
Cloud infrastructure.
Built. Tested. Explained.
Practical notes on private cloud, networking, Kubernetes, and automation. From architectural decisions to the details that only show up in the lab.
GitOps for VMs on VCF 9
VM manifests in Git. Argo CD on the Supervisor. Platform policy at the API server. A lab test of what holds, and what leaks, when VMs follow the GitOps loop.
Follow your curiosity.
Explore by topic
A few good starting points.
Selected reading
01
Think beyond deployment
Owning the Platform on VCF 9
The responsibilities and decisions that come with owning a private cloud platform.
02
Build a repeatable foundation
Building the Foundation for a VCF Automation All Apps Landing Zone with Terraform
A hands-on starting point for a VCF Automation landing zone with Terraform.
03
Follow the network
Testing the VCF 9.1 Distributed Connection Model with BGP EVPN and VXLAN
Explore the distributed connection model through a focused lab experiment.
Fresh from the lab.
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When AI Agents Design and Build Infrastructure
Read article ↗: When AI Agents Design and Build InfrastructureA VCF 9.1 lab experiment with separate AI architect and implementation agents, exploring how agentic workflows handle design, implementation, real infrastructure constraints, and feedback between roles.
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Multiple Connections or Multiple Transit Gateways in VCF Automation 9.1?
Read article ↗: Multiple Connections or Multiple Transit Gateways in VCF Automation 9.1?VCF Automation 9.1 supports both multiple external connections on a single Transit Gateway and multiple Transit Gateways within the same organization. This article explains when to…
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Working Around a Secret Store Image-Pull Failure on VKS in VCF 9.1.0
Read article ↗: Working Around a Secret Store Image-Pull Failure on VKS in VCF 9.1.0In my VCF 9.1.0 lab, a DNS failure prevented the injected Vault Agent image from being pulled into a VKS cluster. I worked around it by…
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Backing Up and Restoring the vSphere Supervisor Control Plane in VCF 9.1
Read article ↗: Backing Up and Restoring the vSphere Supervisor Control Plane in VCF 9.1I tested vSphere Supervisor backup and restore in my VCF 9.1 lab, including what happened after deleting a Namespace and adding a VKS node volume after…
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Testing the VCF 9.1 Distributed Connection Model with BGP EVPN and VXLAN
Read article ↗: Testing the VCF 9.1 Distributed Connection Model with BGP EVPN and VXLANA small lab using containerlab and FRR to test the VCF 9.1 distributed connection model with BGP EVPN over VXLAN, focusing on Route Controller peering and…
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Using Kasm as a Browser-Based Jump Point for a VCF 9 Lab
Read article ↗: Using Kasm as a Browser-Based Jump Point for a VCF 9 LabUsing Kasm as a browser-based access layer in front of a VCF lab turned out to be a useful pattern. With Keycloak providing authentication for both…