VCF 9: Deprecated / Redesigned / Replaced Features & Capabilites

Ravi Kumar S

vCenter Enhanced Linked Mode (ELM)

  • Deprecated.
  • While ELM is still supported for the specific purpose of upgrading existing environments, VCF 9.0 moves away from ELM for unified management.
  • VCF Operations now handles the “grouping” capability. It provides a unified view, centralized licensing, and global management across multiple vCenter instances without the complexity of linking SSO domains.

Reference link: https://community.broadcom.com/vmware-cloud-foundation/discussion/new-vcenter9-linking

vSphere Clustering Service (vCLS) VMs

  • Deprecated / Redesigned.
  • The requirement to run dedicated agent VMs (vCLS VMs) on every host to maintain cluster health (DRS/HA) has been removed.
  • Cluster services are now embedded directly into the ESXi hypervisor and vCenter, eliminating the clutter of extra system VMs and simplifying maintenance mode operations.

Reference link: https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/312147

vSphere Host Profiles

  • Deprecated.
  • The legacy method of attaching configuration profiles to hosts is being phased out.
  • vSphere Configuration Profiles. This new model is integrated into vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM), allowing you to manage configuration at the cluster level as code, ensuring better compliance and drift remediation.

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

  • Removed.
  • The classic “Update Manager” style of using baselines (attaching a list of patches to a host) is gone.
  • vLCM Images. You must now use a single cluster image (ESXi version + Drivers + Vendor Add-ons) to manage all hosts in a cluster. This ensures absolute consistency across the environment.

Reference link: https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/322186/managing-esxi-host-lifecycle-operations.html

Update Manager Download Service (UMDS) / Download Tool

  • Deprecated.
  • The standalone tool for downloading patches in secure/air-gapped sites is going away.
  • Integrated VCF Download Tool or vLCM depot management.

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)

  • Deprecated.
  • VMware is signaling a move away from storage array-based management (vVols). It will be fully removed in a future release.
  • vSAN or standard VMFS. This aligns with the VCF strategy of software-defined storage (HCI). Support for vVols in VCF 9.0 is limited to critical bug fixes only.

Reference link: https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article?articleId=401070

vSAN OSA Hybrid Mode

  • Deprecated.
  • Support for “Hybrid” vSAN (using spinning disks for capacity and SSD for cache) is ending.
  • All-Flash vSAN. Modern performance requirements necessitate all-flash architectures (OSA or ESA).

ESXi Host Cache (Swap to SSD)

  • Deprecated.
  • Memory Tiering with NVMe. Instead of using a manual SSD swap cache, VCF 9 supports transparent memory tiering where NVMe drives act as an extension of system RAM.

Reference link: https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vsphere/vsphere/9-0/vsphere-storage/using-flash-devices-with-esxi-hosts/configure-host-cache-with-vmfs-datastore-in-vsphere-environment.html

Integrated Windows Authentication (IWA)

  • Removed.
  • You can no longer join vCenter directly to an Active Directory domain using the IWA method.
  • Identity Federation (ADFS, Okta, Entra ID) or LDAP over SSL (LDAPS). This forces a more secure, modern authentication standard.

Reference link: https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/314324/removal-of-integrated-windows-authentica.html

Aria Suite Lifecycle (vRSLCM) / SDDC Manager UI, API

  • Replaced.
  • The separate “Aria Suite Lifecycle” product is being absorbed into the platform. SDDC Manager is now part of VCF Operations Fleet Management.
  • VCF Operations Fleet Management. This new capability is built directly into VCF Operations to handle the lifecycle of management components.

Deployment Parameter Worksheet (Excel) / Cloud Builder

  • Replaced.
  • The famous Excel spreadsheet used for Cloud Builder ingest is being retired.
  • VCF Installer UI. A new, guided web-based installer (or JSON input) replaces the spreadsheet for bringing up new domains.

Note on Renaming/Rebranding:

1. Aria Operations for Logs -> VCF Operations for Logs

2. Aria Operations for Networks -> VCF Operations for Networks

3. Aria Automation -> VCF Automation

4. Aria Operations -> VCF Operations (The central “mission control” for the VCF 9 modern private cloud)

5. ESXi -> ESX

6. NSX Security -> VMware vDefend

7. NSX Advanced Load Balancer -> VMware Avi Load Balancer

8. VMware PowerCLI -> VCF PowerCLI