Setting Up an NSX Lab Environment at Home on a Budget | NSX Home Lab Part 1

[@syedshah9836]

Excellent work Keith, always look forward to your videos.

[@KeithBarker]

Thanks 👍

[@juanrebella2589]

This is just what I needed, you're a lifesaver Keith, Kudos to you!!❤

[@KeithBarker]

Happy to do it, thanks for the feedback @juanrebella2589.

[@tamiratmulunesh2911]

Keith Barker you are amazing and thanks for all the videos.

[@n19ence]

Keith = The G.O.A.T for IT with respect to others ....😉

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you @n19ence!

[@flomax_actual]

Great introduction video Keith. Looking forward to hopefully a new series on VMware. - Kyle

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you @flomax_actual! Will be releasing at least 1 new video each week till they are all published. I am in the edit process for the balance of the videos right now. Cheers!

[@wally19]

Awesome Keith as usual!

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you @wally19!

[@arsalanershadi7305]

Greate content keith and Love Your Nails.

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you @arsalanershadi7305!

[@Ivan-mq5zk]

you are my hero, Sir 🫡

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you @Ivan-mq5zk!

[@zaksoja43]

Keith!! My man ! That's awesome you're doing a VMware homelab series, interestingly im preparing for the VCP-DCV v8 and planned to build a homelab to pass it this summer. Even tho this is more network related im going to follow this 😎 !

[@KeithBarker]

@zaksoja43, Thank you for your comment! The first 8 to 10 videos will guide you through the process of deploying vCenter and ESXi in both the parent/physical host and the nested lab environment. These videos will be extremely helpful for you to build your own lab. Once the vSphere lab is set up, you can move on to the NSX videos at your own pace. Happy labbing! Thank you for your interest.

[@7onysWorld]

Looking forward for the NSX series

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you, @7onysWorld! I have recorded nearly everything already and will be editing and publishing the videos in the next several weeks. There will be approximately 20 videos covering the installation of ESXi and vCenter (twice - once in the parent/physical environment and again for the nested vSphere lab), as well as the NSX manager. In addition, I will be demonstrating the functionality of the lab, including overlay segments, T0 and T1 gateways, NAT, and connectivity from the NSX-routed network out to the physical network and toward the Internet. Thanks for your feedback!!!

[@7onysWorld]

@@KeithBarker o wow this is just amazing news. I am all pumped and ready to watch them all. 🥳

[@allenperez4019]

I bought an R630 to hopefully learn about networking etc.... Is their a free version or another software I can use to do VM's. Sorry if that question is vague the VMVG license is a little out of my budget.

[@KeithBarker]

Recently, VMware removed the free option for a single ESXi host. If you want to set up NSX, you will need the ESXi hypervisors. If you want VMs in general, other options include: Proxmox Virtual Environment (VE) XCP-ng VMware Workstation Player Hyper-V (Windows) KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine)

[@JM-fe4go]

please provide a link where you got your Dell 630 on Ebay

[@KeithBarker]

Unfortunately, I don't have a specific link to the Ebay listing.

[@johnharrison712]

I don't anyone is going to be doing VMware at home anymore due to Broadcom issues, I know VMUG is still around but for how long and will it actually stay at $200 USD

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you, @johnharrison712. I understand that the VMUG and VMUG Advantage options will remain available, at least for now.

[@PawanKumar-gp5yp]

@Keith Barker I have a 128GB Ram Desktop and 64GB ram laptop. Can I build a home lab using either or both? Thank you for a great video!

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question @PawanKumar-gp5yp. You can use both, with the common network used between them (your home network) for both management and vMotion.

[@kwangje]

This is a great. How could you buy the cheapest server of that price (300$)? It's awesome.

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question @kwangje. In the US, I got it on eBAY. There are lots of them.

[@bnebula1]

Superb!

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you @bnebula1!

[@jackl7285]

Hey Keith. Need to know if it's possible to install VMWare ESXi 8 on E5-2660V3 CPUs? it's a bit fuzzy

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question @jackl7285. I would check the compatibility matrix, and then worse case if not listed or not sure, just give it a try!

[@androiddoctor4897]

Hope! All contents will be covered in yt itself 😅

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you, @androiddoctor4897! My focus for this 20+ video series is to build and validate a home lab. May not be doing extremely deep dives into every aspect of NSX, but will do enough to test and verify the nested lab, including: vSphere and ESXi install NSX Manager install T0 and T1 Gateways Distributed Routers and Distributed Firewalls NAT and Routing Connectivity from NSX routed the network out to the physical network. For more profound and thorough training regarding NSX, you or others may want to check out our upcoming course at CBT Nuggets. If just looking to build and verify a nested NSX lab, the YT vids in this series will focus on that. Cheers, and thanks for the comments.

[@salat]

VMWare is dead as Broadcom focuses on the top 250 companies to milk..

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you, @salat. It looks like some changes are coming up, but based on the reports, the VMUG and VMUG Adv. eval license option will still be available, which is great news for those who want to build labs and have the necessary license options to do it.

[@AyYoDimeloLoco]

The VMUG is fantastic and thank goodness it’s safe for now. To training we go!