Upgrading VMware Cloud Foundation 5.2 to 9.0: The Top 10 Questions Answered

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0 provides a quick and easy way to deploy a private cloud. While the upgrade from VCF 5.x is designed to be streamlined, it introduces mandatory changes in management methodologies and requires careful, phased execution. 

I recently presented a packed webinar with Brent Douglas, diving deep into the VCF 5.2 to VCF 9.0 upgrade process. With hundreds of attendees and a flood of questions, it’s clear this transition is top-of-mind for many of you.

I’ve sifted through the noise, merging similar inquiries into single, comprehensive challenges. Below are the Top 10 “must-know” questions submitted by the audience, complete with the detailed answers you need to navigate your VCF 9.0 journey with confidence.

Question 1: How does VMware SDDC Manager handle upgrades? Are there major changes with upgrades in version 9.0?

There were several questions around SDDC Manager and upgrades. There are no major changes to the way upgrades are performed. If you are familiar with VCF 5.2 the asynchronous patching functionality is built into the console in the same way in the 9.0 release. This lets you schedule upgrades/patches as needed. The big difference is that the SDDC Manager interface has been incorporated into the VCF Operations console located under the fleet management section. Many of the workflows have transitioned as well, consolidating interfaces.

Question 2: Are there considerations for VMware vSAN Original Storage Architecture (OSA) clusters during the upgrade?

vSAN OSA is not “going away” or deprecated in VCF 9.0. The hardware requirements for the vSAN Express Storage Architecture (ESA) are significantly different and may not be compatible with existing hardware. vSAN OSA is a great way to continue to use the existing hardware efficiently without having to purchase all new hardware. For the upgrade itself, make sure to check hardware and firmware compatibility with 9.0. As long as they are supported, the upgrade will proceed in the same way as previous releases.

Question 3: How is the VMware NSX upgrade performed?

When upgrading VCF, the components, including NSX are upgraded sequentially. The typical upgrade process normally starts with VCF Operations components.  Once that is complete it then moves to the SDDC Manager workflows where SDDC Manager itself is upgraded followed by NSX, then VMware vCenter, and finally VMware ESX hosts.

Question 4: If I have VMware Aria Suite deployed in VCF aware mode in version 5.2, do I need to decouple Aria Suite from the deployment before upgrading?

No. You can perform the upgrade of Aria Suite components to VCF 9 and then proceed with upgrading the remaining components.

Question 5: Is it possible to upgrade from VCF 5.2 without LCM and Aria Suite configured?

Yes. You do not need to have any of the Aria Suite components installed prior to upgrading to VCF 9.0.  However, as a part of the upgrade Aria Lifecycle (VCF Fleet Management in v9.0) and VCF Operations will be deployed as they are mandatory in 9.0. 

Question 6: How many hosts are allowed in a consolidated design in VCF 9.0?

There are a minimum of four hosts recommended for a new consolidated design when deploying a new instance. When converging infrastructure and using vSAN, a minimum of three ESX hosts are required (four are recommended for redundancy). When using other external storage, a minimum of two hosts are required. As for maximums,  there are no documented limits other than those specific to VMware vSphere itself, which are 96 hosts per cluster and 2500 hosts per vCenter. It generally is recommended that you start to add additional workload domains or clusters as appropriate to logically divide up the environment for performance, availability and recoverability reasons.

Question 7: How can I transition from VMware Identity Manager (vIDM) to VCF Identity Broker (VIDB) in VCF 9?

There is no direct upgrade or migration path from vIDM to VIDB. A greenfield deployment of VIDB is required. This is most pronounced when VCF Automation is in place as a new deployment of VIDB is required.

Question 8: For VCF Operations do we need to download the binaries and where should they be placed?

This depends on the workflow being used.  In general, if you are performing an upgrade where no Aria components are currently installed, you will need to download and deploy the VCF Operations and VCF Operations Fleet Management VMs. Once deployed you will download the binaries to the depot in VCF Operations Fleet Management for deployment of additional components as required. If you are converging vSphere to VCF, any components not deployed already will be deployed by the VCF Installer and therefore must be downloaded to the installer.

Question 9: Is there a regression / rollback pathway if I have an error in my upgrade?

Holistically, there is no “easy button” rollback for all of VCF if there is a failure in the upgrade. That being said, I personally treat every upgrade that is serially performed as a checkpoint. For example, if I am performing an upgrade of SDDC Manager from 5.2 to 9.0, I will backup SDDC Manager first. If I see a failure during the upgrade, I can simply revert back to before that failure occurred so that further troubleshooting can be done. This is the same for any of the other components. If I have a failure of NSX, vCenter or ESX hosts during an upgrade I assess and rollback, or contact support if we are running out of time during the maintenance window and have to get the environment back up and running. This is also why planning is of utmost importance when performing any VCF upgrade.

Question 10: Is there any path for VMware Cloud Director (VCD) to VCF Automation Migrations?

At this time VCD is not supported with VCF 9.0, and there are no official migration paths available. Contact your Account Director if you have questions on this.

On-Demand Replay

If you missed the webinar, you can read the highlights or watch the replay below. Discussion and demo timestamps are provided if you would like to jump directly to specific sections.

Need Help?

Upgrading VCF 5.x to VCF 9.0 requires careful planning and execution for a successful transition. If you need assistance with your upgrade, VCF Professional Services can help. Contact your account director for more information.