Most VCF upgrade problems aren’t technical failures — they’re planning gaps. Wrong sequence, missed prerequisite, a latency assumption that didn’t hold. These three resources close most of those gaps before you touch a single appliance. 1. Planning and Preparation https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vcf/vcf-9-0-and-later/9-1/planning-and-preparation.html VCF Planning and Preparation Workbook — an Excel file that gathers every input required to […]
Upgrade Existing VMware Cloud Foundation Upgrade an existing VMware Cloud Foundation environment (VCF 5.x or VCF 9.0.x) directly to VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1. Upgrade Workflow Upgrade VMware Cloud Foundation OperationsDeploy the new VMware Cloud Foundation License ApplianceUpgrade Management DomainUpgrade Workload DomainsUpgrade remaining infrastructure components Ideal For Existing VMware Cloud Foundation customersOrganizations requiring minimal operational disruption […]
Deploy a New VMware Cloud Foundation Instance Deploy a brand-new VMware Cloud Foundation environment from scratch using the VMware Cloud Foundation Installer. Infrastructure Requirements New physical hostsvSAN or supported external storageFresh network configurationComplete VMware Cloud Foundation software stack Ideal For Greenfield deploymentsNew data center builds Customers designing a modern private cloud Screenshot from the VCF […]
Import Existing vSphere into VMware Cloud Foundation Import an existing standalone vSphere environment into an existing VMware Cloud Foundation deployment as an additional VI Workload Domain. Key Characteristics Managed directly through VMware Cloud Foundation OperationsNo VMware Cloud Foundation Installer requiredExisting workloads remain operationalCentralized lifecycle and infrastructure management Ideal For Existing VCF deploymentsOrganizations managing multiple vSphere […]
Convergence to VMware Cloud Foundation Transform an existing standalone vSphere environment into a VMware Cloud Foundation Management Domain using the VCF Installer, while reusing existing VMware components. Existing Components Reused VMware vCenter | VMware ESXVMware NSX (optional)VMware Cloud Foundation Operations (optional)VMware Cloud Foundation Automation (optional) Mandatory Components VMware vCenter | VMware ESX (Existing)Cloud proxy | […]
vSphere Foundation (VCF Installer New Deployment / Converge) Deploy vSphere Foundation 9.1 using the VCF Installer deployment wizard. In addition to the core vSphere platform, this path deploys VCF Management Services — a containerized services layer that provides centralized lifecycle management, an internal binary repository, and fleet-level orchestration. Mandatory Components VMware vCenter Server | VMware […]
vSphere (Standalone Deployment/Upgrade) Deploy or upgrade to vSphere 9.1 without implementing the full VMware Cloud Foundation stack. This provides a modern virtualization platform while allowing customers to adopt additional VCF capabilities later. Mandatory Components VMware vCenter Server | VMware ESX (Existing or New)VMware Cloud Foundation Operations (Existing or New)VMware Cloud Foundation License Appliance (New) Ideal […]
Broadcom has significantly streamlined the VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) portfolio in 2025. While both versions share the same unified VCF 9 software stack, they are distinguished by their scale, licensing floor, and deployment footprint. Key Comparison Feature VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9 VCF 9 Edge (VCFE) Ideal Use Case Core Data Center / Private Cloud […]
vCenter Enhanced Linked Mode (ELM) Reference link: https://community.broadcom.com/vmware-cloud-foundation/discussion/new-vcenter9-linking vSphere Clustering Service (vCLS) VMs Reference link: https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/312147 vSphere Host Profiles Reference link: https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vsphere/vsphere/6-7/vc-upgrade-from-6-7-to-7-0-7-0-to-8-0-host-profiles.html vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) Baselines Reference link: https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/322186/managing-esxi-host-lifecycle-operations.html Update Manager Download Service (UMDS) / Download Tool Reference link: https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vcf/vcf-9-0-and-later/9-0/release-notes/vmware-cloud-foundation-90-release-notes/platform-product-support-notes.html vSphere Virtual Volumes (vVols) Reference link: https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article?articleId=401070 vSAN OSA Hybrid Mode ESXi Host Cache […]
vSAN 9.0 has received two transformative upgrades that fundamentally change how we think about data efficiency and cyber-resilience: Global Deduplication and vSAN-to-vSAN Replication with Deep Snapshots. Feature Legacy vSAN vSAN 9.0 (ESA) Deduplication Scope Disk Group Global (Cluster-Wide) Block Size 8KB 4KB (More efficient) Snapshot Impact High (over time) Near-Zero (Deep Snapshots) Replication External/Appliance Native […]
