Category: Tech Notes
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Consuming All Apps the Kubernetes-Native Way in VCF Automation: kubectl and YAML (VCF Automation 9 Series, Part 36)
The All Apps organization presents a Kubernetes-style API, so developers provision VMs, databases and clusters with kubectl and YAML. Here is the vcf-cli and token setup, the declarative flow, and when to use it over the portal or Terraform.
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Governing Private AI Consumption in VCF Automation: GPU Quotas, Policies and Roles (VCF Automation 9 Series, Part 35)
GPU is the most expensive resource you will ever put behind self-service. Here is how to govern Private AI consumption in VCF Automation 9.1 with namespace GPU quotas, consumption policies, roles and per-namespace activation, without touching the AI stack itself.
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Property Groups and Secrets in VCF Automation: Reusable Inputs, Not Copy-Paste (VCF Automation 9 Series, Part 34)
Inputs, property groups and secrets in VCF Automation 9 look interchangeable and are not. Where each value belongs, the scoping traps, the binding syntax, and how rotation actually works.
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How to Run Workloads in VCF Automation: VM Service, Container Service, Namespaces and VKS (VCF Automation 9 Series, Part 39)
VCF 9.1 gives a workload four ways to run: a VM, a container with no cluster, a Supervisor namespace, or a full VKS cluster. What each is, how the namespace is the unit you hand a tenant, when a namespace beats a cluster, and a clear verdict.
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Onboarding Plans in VCF Automation: Bringing Brownfield VMs Under Management (VCF Automation 9 Series, Part 33)
You do not have to rebuild the VMs you already run. Onboarding plans bring discovered machines under VCF Automation as deployments, and 9.1 adds a no-downtime VM Service import for All Apps. Here is how each works and which to use.
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Managing Deployments and Consumer Day-2 in VCF Automation (VCF Automation 9 Series, Part 38)
The Deployments page is where self-service actually lives day to day: cards vs list views, the day-2 action set, the lease trap that powers VMs off, utilization insights, and how to drive it all from the API.
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Migrating vRealize / Aria Automation 8.x to VCF Automation 9: The Import-and-Upgrade Path (VCF Automation 9 Series, Part 32)
There is no migration tool from Aria Automation 8.x to VCF Automation 9. There is an import-and-upgrade through VCF Operations Fleet Management that provisions a new cluster, migrates your data, and cuts over. Here is the path, the dependencies nobody plans for, and how to roll back.
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Database Self-Service in VCF Automation with Data Services Manager (VCF Automation 9 Series, Part 31)
How to turn a Postgres ticket into a self-service deployment in VCF Automation 9 using Data Services Manager: the architecture, the infrastructure-policy choice that decides VKS placement, the provider wiring, the tenant flow, and the licensing and engine-support traps.
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Troubleshooting, Hardening and the Verdict on VCF Automation (VCF Automation 9 Series, Part 30)
The finale: where to look when a VCF Automation deployment fails, the hardening that actually matters including the certificate-rotation trap, and an honest verdict after 30 parts on who the product is for and when it is overkill.
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Backup, DR and Upgrade of the VCF Automation Instance (VCF Automation 9 Series, Part 29)
An untested backup is a hope, not a recovery plan. Here is how to protect, recover and upgrade the VCF Automation instance in VCF 9: file-based backups through Fleet Management, the Identity Broker trap, the three recovery scenarios, and the upgrade order that actually matters.
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Cost, Pricing Cards and Showback in VCF Automation (VCF Automation 9 Series, Part 28)
Where cost actually lives in VCF 9, how rate-based and cost-based pricing cards differ, and how showback and chargeback turn consumption into a defensible bill against an organization or region quota.
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Self-Service Private AI and GPU Catalog Items in VCF Automation (VCF Automation 9 Series, Part 27)
VCF Automation can turn scarce GPUs into self-service catalog items: deep learning VMs, RAG workstations and GPU Kubernetes clusters. The Quickstart builds the blueprints in minutes. The real work is editing them and rationing the GPUs with policy.
Architect’s Toolkit
PJ’s Tools
VMware Cloud Foundation
- VCF Documentation
- VCF 9 Planning & Preparation Workbook
- VCF Bill of Materials (BoM)
- VMware Compatibility Guide
- VMware Interoperability Matrix
- VMware Configuration Maximums
- VMware Ports & Protocols
- VMware Hands-on Labs
- RVTools Download
Nutanix
AI & Cloud-Native Platform
- NVIDIA Build (Model Catalog)
- NVIDIA AI Enterprise Reference Architecture
- NVIDIA NIM Performance Benchmarking
- NVIDIA NGC Catalog
- NeMo Microservices Helm Chart
- Helm Charts Repository
- Hugging Face Models
Architecture & Design
About the Author
Dr Pranay Jha
Dr. Pranay Jha is a Cloud and AI Consultant with 18+ years of experience in hybrid cloud, virtualization, and enterprise infrastructure transformation. He specializes in VMware technologies, multi-cloud strategy, and Generative AI solutions. He holds a PhD in Computer Applications with research focused on Cloud and AI, has published multiple research papers, and has been a VMware vExpert since 2016 and a VMUG Community Leader.
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