We are preparing to implement our first VCF solution and VMware have suggested the best approach would be to run the via VM on an ESXi management host rather than use a laptop for stand up.
Looking at the VCF documentation the requirements for this type of deployment seem very specific in terms of having an ESXi host configured with a vmk0 address of 10.1.0.200 and also a private physical switch connected from this ESXi host to the management switch for VCF.
My question is could an existing ESXi host be used to run the VIA VM rather than a dedicated one to avoid this overhead? If so, is there a way to change the need for this specific IP address requirement on vmk0?
The other point I’m looking for clarification on is the need for the dedicated private switch. If i choose to deploy the solution using a laptop i connect directly to my management switch and run the deployment but when i use an ESXi host to run via it adds this additional physical switch to the solution.
Please can someone help me understand the above.
many thanks