Home Lab on Devyn Harrington

Building My VCF 9.1 Homelab: ESXi, NVMe Memory Tiering, vCenter, and VIS

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This is the third article in my VCF 9.1 home lab build. In the first article, I documented the architecture, hardware, and cost. In the second, I worked through the MS-A2 refusing to POST with 128 GB of DDR5 and got the complete kit recognized at 4800 MT/s.

That second article ended with a specific list of next steps: verify the NVMe devices, install the physical hypervisor, confirm that it recognized the hardware, configure NVMe Memory Tiering, connect the MikroTik management network, and start building the platform for nested VCF. This article picks up exactly there.

Getting 128GB DDR5 Working on the MINISFORUM MS-A2 9955HX

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

My first meaningful hardware hurdle in the nested VCF 9.1 home lab I am building was getting the full 128 GB of memory to work. I was assembling the barebones MINISFORUM MS-A2 with RAM and three Samsung 990 PRO NVMe drives when the system refused to reach the BIOS with both 64 GB DIMMs installed.

The fans spun and the machine stayed powered on, but there was no HDMI output. After troubleshooting the configuration, one BIOS change made the difference on my system: reducing Memory Target Speed from the default 5600 MT/s to 4800 MT/s before reinstalling the second DIMM.

My Nested VCF 9.1 Home Lab Plan

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I have always wanted a home lab that I could own, rebuild, and break without depending on a customer environment or shared corporate lab. I just could not justify pulling the trigger on an expense like this. Anyone with kids knows how quickly the home front competes with the home lab, and I have three of them.

Why Now?
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This time, the timing felt right. I had just been selected as a Broadcom VCF Knight, was promoted to Practice Manager and VCF Architect, and will continue supporting my Navy engagement in a new capacity as an architect. With VMware Explore only weeks away, the stars finally aligned, so I ordered the hardware today.

Home Lab on Devyn Harrington

Building My VCF 9.1 Homelab: ESXi, NVMe Memory Tiering, vCenter, and VIS

Getting 128GB DDR5 Working on the MINISFORUM MS-A2 9955HX

My Nested VCF 9.1 Home Lab Plan

Why Now? #

Why Now?
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