Blog Date: December 2025

Below is the basic network Topology and vlan config for my new VMware Cloud Foundation home lab. For my home network, I had replaced my off the shelf consumer wifi router a few years ago, and purchased a Ubiquity EdgeRouter 12 so that I could have vlans for my VMware Home lab, that lasted me from vSphere 6 to vSphere 8.

On this router, I have defined and hung the vlans off from the built in virtual switch (192.168.X.1).

vlan (10.0.X.1)	Description
20	iscsi storage straffic
30	Management
40	vmotion
50	vsan
60	ESX TEP
70	NSX Edge T0 Uplink01
71	NSX Edge T0 Uplink02
80	Replication

As detailed in my VCF 9 Home lab BOM, I chose to go with the QNAP (QSW-M3216R-8S8T-US) Layer 2 for my TOR switch. This Layer 2 managed switch supports 10G on the standard ethernet ports and on the SFP+ ports, giving me lots of options for connectivity.

I can also mount two of them side by side in a standard 19 inch width rack offering more space save opportunities for future home lab expansion.

I have the same vlans tagged to the TOR switch