VCF 9 Certified Engineer

Michael Hayes

VCF 9 Infrastructure Engineer | VMware Cloud Foundation Specialist

Building and operating enterprise private cloud infrastructure

Scroll

About

VCF 9 certified infrastructure engineer specializing in VMware Cloud Foundation deployment, operations, and troubleshooting.

With 25 years of hands-on vSphere experience and full-stack VCF expertise from bare metal to monitoring, I build, configure, operate, and troubleshoot production-grade private cloud infrastructure across the entire VMware Cloud Foundation stack.

As founder of Virtual Control LLC, I bring a deep commitment to understanding every layer of the VCF platform — not just theory, but real-world implementation and problem-solving in fully functional lab environments.

9.0
VCF Version
25+
Years vSphere Experience
End-to-End
Deploy • Operate • Troubleshoot

Certifications

VCF 9 Certified

Broadcom

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 deployment, operations, and lifecycle management

VCP 3.0 – 6.5

VMware

VMware Certified Professional across vSphere versions 3.0 through 6.5

Technical Skills

Core Platform

  • VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0
  • SDDC Manager
  • vCenter Server 9.0
  • ESXi 9.0
  • NSX 4.x / NSX+

Operations & Monitoring

  • VCF Operations (formerly vRealize Operations / Aria Operations)
  • VCF Operations for Logs (formerly vRealize Log Insight / Aria Operations for Logs)
  • Dashboard Design & KPI Monitoring
  • Alert Configuration & Notification Workflows

Deployment & Automation

  • OVA/OVF Deployment (ovftool, vSphere Client)
  • vCenter REST API & Guest Operations API
  • Python Automation for vSphere
  • Offline Depot Management & HTTPS Repository Configuration
  • Lifecycle Management via SDDC Manager Fleet

Infrastructure

  • Compute, Storage, Networking (vSAN, vDS, NSX Overlay/VLAN)
  • High Availability & Cluster Design
  • Certificate Management
  • Syslog Forwarding & Log Integration

Hands-On VCF 9 Lab Environment

Full production-grade VCF 9 environment built from the ground up for testing, certification prep, and real-world operational experience.

Management Plane
SDDC Manager 9.0 Lifecycle & Fleet Management
vCenter Server 9.0 Infrastructure Management
NSX Manager Network Virtualization
Compute Hosts
ESXi 9.0 Host 1 Nested Hypervisor
ESXi 9.0 Host 2 Nested Hypervisor
ESXi 9.0 Host 3 Nested Hypervisor
Operations & Services
VCF Operations 9.0 Analytics Cluster
VCF Operations for Logs 9.0.1 Centralized Logging
Offline VCF Depot HTTPS Repository
Windows AD / DNS / NTP Directory & Infrastructure Services

What I Can Do

Proven capabilities across the full VCF lifecycle

Deploy VCF 9 environments end-to-end SDDC Manager → ESXi → vCenter → NSX → Operations

Configure and troubleshoot VCF Operations dashboards, alerts, and integrations

Deploy and integrate VCF Operations for Logs with syslog forwarding and content packs

Automate infrastructure tasks using vCenter REST API and Python

Build offline depots and HTTPS repositories for air-gapped deployments

Create professional technical documentation and runbooks

Troubleshoot complex appliance issues Service failures, OOM, Cassandra, bootstrap

Troubleshooting Reports

Real-world root cause analysis and recovery documentation from live lab incidents

NSX Manager 9.0.1 Cold Start Service Failure

Complete RCA documenting NSX Manager service chain failure after cold start, manual service recovery in dependency order, and VCF Operations adapter re-integration.

View Report →

VCF Environment Health Check Report

Comprehensive environment health assessment covering cluster status, resource utilization, compliance validation, and remediation recommendations.

View Report →

NSX Health Check Handbook

Complete NSX Manager health check procedures covering cluster status, transport nodes, logical switching, routing, firewall rules, and certificate validation.

View Report →

vCenter Health Check Handbook

Comprehensive vCenter Server health validation including services, database, SSO, certificates, inventory, and performance assessment.

View Report →

ESXi Health Check Handbook

ESXi host health validation covering hardware status, storage, networking, services, patches, and configuration compliance.

View Report →

vSAN Health Check Handbook

vSAN cluster health assessment including disk groups, resync status, capacity, performance, network configuration, and data integrity checks.

View Report →

VCF Operations for Logs Health Check Handbook

VCF Operations for Logs health validation covering cluster status, ingestion rates, storage capacity, forwarders, content packs, and alerting configuration.

View Report →

Fleet / SDDC Manager Health Check Handbook

SDDC Manager and Fleet Management health checks covering lifecycle operations, bundle management, credential rotation, and workload domain validation.

View Report →

VCF 9 Professional Handbook

Comprehensive professional reference covering VCF 9 architecture, deployment workflows, operational procedures, and advanced troubleshooting techniques.

View Report →

VCF Operations Health Check Handbook

VCF Operations analytics cluster health validation covering node status, adapters, collection, certificates, Cassandra, alert engine, and remote collectors.

View Report →

Documentation

Professional technical documentation produced from hands-on lab work

VCF Undocumented Issues Reference

Real-world undocumented issues, edge cases, and workarounds discovered through hands-on VCF operations not found in official documentation.

View Document →

VCF Operations Configuration Handbook

Comprehensive guide covering deployment, dashboard design, alerting, and integration configuration for VCF Operations 9.0.

View Document →

VCF Operations for Logs Troubleshooting Report

Detailed troubleshooting documentation including service recovery, Cassandra repair, memory tuning, and bootstrap procedures.

View Document →

VCF Troubleshooting Handbook

End-to-end troubleshooting procedures for VCF components including SDDC Manager, vCenter, ESXi, and NSX.

View Document →

VCF Operations 30-Day Mastery

Structured 30-day learning path for mastering VCF Operations with daily objectives, hands-on exercises, and progression milestones.

View Document →

VCF Offline Depot Handbook

Step-by-step guide to building and configuring HTTPS offline depots for air-gapped VCF deployments.

View Document →

SDDC Manager API Handbook

Complete API reference for SDDC Manager including authentication, lifecycle operations, and automation workflows.

View Document →

VCF 9 Master Bible

The definitive 294-page reference covering every aspect of VCF 9 architecture, deployment, operations, and advanced configurations.

View Document →

VCF Operations Complete Handbook

Comprehensive 180-page handbook covering VCF Operations and Operations for Logs deployment, configuration, and management.

View Document →

VCF Command Reference

Quick-reference guide to essential CLI commands for VCF component management, troubleshooting, and daily operations.

View Document →

Diagnostic Scripts Cheatsheet

Quick-reference cheatsheet of diagnostic scripts and one-liners for rapid VCF component troubleshooting and health validation.

View Document →