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Global Support’s VMware Cloud Foundation 9 – Paths to Adoption

Broadcom Global Support has created this essential guide for customers adopting VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9. It aims to offer critical insights into the complete requirements, considerations, and pathways for planning an adoption or upgrade to VCF 9.0. This resource addresses some of the most frequent and crucial questions gathered before the 9 release, throughout the BETA program, and from direct engagements at events such as Explore.

Why VCF 9

VCF 9 is a unified platform that supports all application types – traditional, modern, and AI. It provides consistent operations, governance, and controls throughout the private cloud environment.

Why upgrade/ adopt now

Adoption Path

VCF 9 provides several deployment pathways to modernize your infrastructure:

  • Deploy a new VCF Instance.
  • Expand an existing VCF Fleet.
  • Convert an existing vCenter deployment to VCF.
  • Import a vCenter deployment into VCF.


Reference: Deployment Pathways for VMware Cloud Foundation 9

  • Existing Environments
  • New deployment

Getting Starting with VCF 9

Private Cloud Maturity Model

Broadcom has developed the Private Cloud Maturity Model, this framework provides for an analysis of the environment and results in a prescriptive collection of actionable guidance to achieve your desired private cloud vision.

What’s New / Core functionality specific information. 

Licensing

The licensing model in VCF 9 introduces a simplified and more flexible approach to capacity management:

  • New Default License Structure: Starting with VCF 9.0, each purchased product is issued a single, default license.
  • Capacity Splitting and Management: The core feature allows you to break down this default license into multiple ‘split’ licenses provided you stay within your total purchased capacity.
  • Dynamic Capacity Reclamation: Freed-up capacity is automatically returned and added back to the pool of the default license, ensuring centralized and efficient resource management.
  • Resource Guide: For a step-by-step guide on managing your licenses, refer to: Managing Licenses in the VCF Business Services console

VCF Operations

Operational improvements focus on deployment flexibility and automation, especially in environments without direct internet access: Air-Gapped Environments

VCF 9 provides robust support and documented procedures for air-gapped deployments:

VMware vSphere / vCenter

Networking

Storage

VCF Automation

  • Accelerate service delivery by leveraging VCF’s built-in automation capabilities:

VMware vSphere Kubernetes Services (VKS)

Private AI Foundation (PAIF)

Gaining Practical Experience with VCF 9

  • Explore 2025 Hands-On Labs (HOL): Evaluate VCF 9 features without necessitating dedicated infrastructure deployment. The labs are continuously updated to reflect the latest use cases and capabilities.
  • The Ultimate Lab Resource for VCF 9: A detailed, authoritative technical guidance for individuals committed to establishing a permanent, dedicated VCF 9 laboratory environment.
  • VMware Holodeck: This robust, open-source toolset assists technical professionals in the automated and reproducible deployment and experimentation with complex VMware solutions, including VCF.

Engaging Broadcom Support Services

When technical challenges arise, proper engagement with Broadcom Support is critical for timely resolution.

  • Creating and Managing Broadcom Support Cases: Guidance for initiating a new support request, monitoring its status, and providing essential diagnostic information.
    • Guidance: Engaging Broadcom
    • Case Submission Protocol: It is imperative to categorize support requests accurately. For matters that do not pertain to technical, hardware, or deployment issues—such as licensing inquiries, contractual matters, renewals, or general administrative topics—the Non Technical category must be selected. This action significantly accelerates routing to the specialized Customer Care or Licensing departments.

Achieving VCF Professional Certification

Certification serves as an objective validation of expertise, enhancing professional credibility and confirming the necessary foundational knowledge for the competent deployment, management, and operation of a VCF environment.

  • VCF Certification Updates: The provided link contains the most current information regarding the certification journey.

Advanced Troubleshooting and Best Practices

Proactive adherence to best practices and advanced troubleshooting capabilities are fundamental requirements for maintaining the health and operational stability of your VCF environment.

Key Resources and the VCF Community

  • VCF Blog: Get the latest announcements, technical articles, feature highlights, and roadmap insights directly from the VCF product management and engineering teams.
  • VCF 9 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Questions and answers covering features, architecture, deployment, and day-to-day operations.

FAQ Document: VCF 9 Frequently Asked Questions

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Co-authored with Daniel Quirke (Global Support)

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