What's New in VCF Operations HCX 9.0

Key Points:

Expanded Migration Capabilities: Broader support for modern network constructs, including VMware Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), vSphere Supervisor Clusters, NSX Global Segments, and NSX-VLAN Segments.
Unified Management Experience: This release introduces a single, unified HCX Manager appliance for simplified deployment and management, along with deep integration into VCF 9.0 for shared licensing and Single Sign-On (SSO) authorization for a unified operational experience across the VCF platform.
Integrated Migration Planning: HCX 9.0 brings together VCF Operations for Networks and HCX, enabling Migration Planning to begin directly in VCF Operations for Networks and then automatically sync to HCX Manager for execution.

The launch of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0 brings a host of new features and capabilities across the platform, and a key component is VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Operations HCX 9.0. This new version streamlines workload migration & mobility and day-2 operations, further solidifying VCF’s position as a robust private cloud platform. Release focuses on several key themes: tight VCF integration for licensing and authentication, support for new network destinations like VMware VPC, workload migration into VCF Supervisor Clusters, integrated migration planning w/ VCF Operations for Networks, and a dramatically simplified deployment model.

Let’s explore the new features in detail…

Expanding Migration Horizons:

HCX 9.0 broadens its support for modern network constructs, enabling more flexible and secure migration pathways within VCF private cloud.

VMware Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Support:

**Fig 1. Migrate workloads into VPCs with L2 Network Extension**

HCX now fully supports migration and Layer 2 Network Extension for NSX VPC environments. You can migrate workloads from, to, and between different VPCs, enabling non-disruptive workload mobility into this new networking model. All migration types and extension features are supported, except for Mobility Optimized Networking (MON).

vSphere Supervisor Cluster Migration:

**Fig 2. Migrate workloads into Supervisor Cluster**

You can now migrate workloads directly into vSphere Supervisor clusters. This “Supervisor Onboarding” capability is designed for migration-only workflows and supports bulk migration types for multi-NIC VMs.

NSX Federated Environments:

**Fig 3. Migrate workloads into NSX Federated Environment**

For large-scale, multi-site deployments, HCX now supports migration to NSX Global Segments. This allows for workloads to be easily migrated into NSX Federated environments, supports both Global and Local Segments.

NSX-VLAN Segment Support:

**Fig 4. Workloads Migration support for NSX-vLAN with L2 Network Extension**

Migration and Network Extension are now supported for workloads running on NSX-VLAN segments. This provides greater flexibility and even automates the creation of the NSX-VLAN segment at the destination site.

Automated Migration Planning and Execution

VCF Operations HCX 9.0 introduces a seamless workflow that integrates planning and execution, bringing the two core components on VCF Operations together, VCF Operations for Networks and HCX.

Integrated Planning: The migration process can now begin in VCF Operations for Networks, where you can discover application dependencies, define the scope of your migration, and group workloads into migration waves.
Automated Execution: These migration plans can be automatically synced directly to HCX Manager. HCX processes the imported data to automatically create the necessary Mobility Groups and networks, and executes the migration process.

Simplified Deployment and Operations

This release introduces fundamental changes to simplify the HCX deployment and management experience.

The HCX Unified Manager: Gone are the days of separate HCX Cloud and Connector appliances. HCX 9.0 introduces a single, unified manager appliance that is deployed at both the source and destination sites. The manager’s role is automatically determined based on the site-pairing direction, and it fully supports upgrades from previous versions. This dramatically simplifies deployment and management.

Deep Integration with VCF 9.0

HCX is now an integral part of the VCF platform, sharing common licensing and authentication for a unified operational experience.

VCF Licensing:

HCX 9.0 is licensed exclusively using a VCF 9.0 license key, which is managed within VCF Operations.
An evaluation mode is available until the license is assigned (align with VCF 9.0 timeline).
If a license expires, HCX enters a grace period before transitioning to a read-only mode (align with VCF 9.0 timeline).

VCF Single Sign-On (SSO) Authorization:

HCX 9.0 introduces VCF SSO login option.
Users authenticated through VCF can access the HCX Manager UI without needing to re-authenticate. This cross-component SSO works for all integrated VCF services.
Please note, this new VCF SSO capability is not supported on the HCX Appliance Management Portal (Port 9443).

Deprecated Features

As part of the effort to streamline the product, several features have been removed in HCX 9.0. These pre-announced removals include:

WAN Optimization and its associated appliance.
NSX V2T Migrations.
HCX Disaster Recovery capabilities.
The HCX plugin from the vCenter client.

These updates make VCF Operations HCX 9.0 a more powerful, flexible, and deeply integrated platform for workload mobility, establishing it as a core pillar of the modern VCF private cloud.