Plan IP Subnets for a VCF Homelab
Plan a VCF homelab IP address layout with separate networking, nested and physical infrastructure segments, introducing the detailed subnet guides.
Overview
My VCF homelab IP address plan separates physical infrastructure, nested environments and networking services. This post introduces those three address spaces and the reasoning behind keeping their roles separate before working through the detailed subnet plans.
I keep physical infrastructure, nested environments and networking services in separate address blocks while retaining a similar segment layout for the physical and nested hosts. In CIDR notation, the /16 prefix expresses the address-block size previously described here using classful terminology; its subnet mask is 255.255.0.0. Each block can contain smaller subnets for individual services. Grouping Ubiquiti and NSX networking addresses within one block does not require placing every component on one VLAN.
The three address spaces
The plan reserves three separate /16 address blocks:
- Networking services
- Nested infrastructure
- Physical infrastructure
The specific network addresses and child-subnet sizes belong in the detailed plans linked below. For private IPv4 addressing, RFC 1918 reserves 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12 and 192.168.0.0/16. The 172.16.0.0/12 allocation contains sixteen /16 blocks; it does not make every 172.x address private. Check for overlap with existing networks and VPN routes before assigning any block.
Continue the subnet design
The following guides develop the networking, nested and physical infrastructure plans in more detail. Each segment needs its own network address and prefix length, selected for VCF requirements and the separation between components.