Live Patching in VMware Cloud Foundation 9 – A Major Leap in Zero-Downtime Lifecycle Management

 With VMware Cloud Foundation 9, Live Patching has evolved from a promising feature into a truly powerful capability that transforms how infrastructure teams manage ESXi hosts at scale. In previous releases, Live Patch was mainly limited to the VM execution layer. But with VCF 9, the technology has matured significantly — expanding the scope of what can be patched without downtime and delivering deeper integration with the SDDC Manager lifecycle workflows.

This is a major step toward a future where critical infrastructure stays continuously available while staying continuously updated.

What’s New With Live Patching in VCF 9

VCF 9 introduces enhanced Live Patch capabilities across the ESXi host stack, making patching even more seamless:

1. Expanded Patch Coverage

Earlier releases focused primarily on the VMX/Virtual Machine execution component.
In VCF 9, Live Patch now supports updating:

• Key vmkernel components
• Select user-space daemons
• Additional management agents
• Newer security and stability modules

This means more patches can be applied without rebooting the host or impacting workloads.

2. Deep Integration With SDDC Manager

Lifecycle Manager in VCF 9 automatically identifies whether a patch is live-patchable or requires a traditional reboot workflow.
Admins now get:

• Automated compatibility checks
• Integrated “Live Patch Eligible” flag in LCM workflows
• No need to manually track which patches need downtime

This tight integration helps ensure that clusters stay compliant without manual planning or human error.

3. Improved Fast-Suspend-Resume (FSR) Reliability

Live Patch still uses VMware’s Fast-Suspend-Resume mechanism, but VCF 9 includes:

• Faster switchover to patched components
• Better support for larger clusters
• Reduced risk of VM interruptions
• Improved handling of parallel patching operations

The result is even lower operational impact during patch transitions.

Why Live Patching in VCF 9 Is a Game-Changer

Zero Downtime for More Patch Types

With a much broader set of components eligible for Live Patch, maintenance windows become rare.
Most security fixes — even those in core components — can now be applied live.

Stronger Security Posture

Organizations can respond to vulnerabilities immediately. No delays. No dependency on host evacuations or cluster capacity.

Perfect for Large, High-Density Environments

In large VCF workload domains, draining hosts or performing rolling reboots is time-consuming and sometimes impractical.
Live Patching keeps workloads steady and reduces cluster churn.

 Automated & Consistent Lifecycle Management

SDDC Manager orchestrates the entire live patching process, eliminating guesswork and ensuring compliance across all hosts in a domain.

 Significant Operational Savings

Less downtime planning.
Fewer after-hours changes.
Lower admin overhead.
Higher SLA compliance.

Considerations in VCF 9

Even with expanded coverage, Live Patch is not universal:

• Certain driver updates, hardware-dependent modules, storage controllers, and NIC firmware still require reboots.
• VMs using FT, DirectPath I/O, or unsupported workloads may not participate in FSR.
• All hosts in the domain must meet the required ESXi baseline before enabling Live Patch cycles.

VCF 9 clearly labels these cases and routes them through a traditional maintenance mode workflow.

Where Customers Benefit Most

Live Patching in VCF 9 is ideal for:

• Mission-critical workloads with strict uptime requirements
• Customers running large clusters or multiple workload domains
• Cloud providers and MSPs managing hundreds of hosts
• Financial, telecom, and healthcare environments
• AI/ML and GPU-heavy workloads where host evacuations are costly

Live Patching in VCF 9 represents the next level of VMware’s commitment to continuous, resilient, and automated infrastructure operations. By expanding live-patchable components and integrating the feature seamlessly into SDDC Manager, VMware has made it possible for organizations to stay secure and compliant without sacrificing uptime.

This is not just an enhancement — it is a redefinition of how lifecycle management should work in modern datacenters.

Live Patching in VMware Cloud Foundation 9 – A Major Leap in Zero-Downtime Lifecycle Management

 

With VMware Cloud Foundation 9, Live Patching has evolved from a promising feature into a truly powerful capability that transforms how infrastructure teams manage ESXi hosts at scale. In previous releases, Live Patch was mainly limited to the VM execution layer. But with VCF 9, the technology has matured significantly — expanding the scope of what can be patched without downtime and delivering deeper integration with the SDDC Manager lifecycle workflows.

This is a major step toward a future where critical infrastructure stays continuously available while staying continuously updated.

What’s New With Live Patching in VCF 9

VCF 9 introduces enhanced Live Patch capabilities across the ESXi host stack, making patching even more seamless:

1. Expanded Patch Coverage

Earlier releases focused primarily on the VMX/Virtual Machine execution component.
In VCF 9, Live Patch now supports updating:

• Key vmkernel components
• Select user-space daemons
• Additional management agents
• Newer security and stability modules

This means more patches can be applied without rebooting the host or impacting workloads.

2. Deep Integration With SDDC Manager

Lifecycle Manager in VCF 9 automatically identifies whether a patch is live-patchable or requires a traditional reboot workflow.
Admins now get:

• Automated compatibility checks
• Integrated “Live Patch Eligible” flag in LCM workflows
• No need to manually track which patches need downtime

This tight integration helps ensure that clusters stay compliant without manual planning or human error.

3. Improved Fast-Suspend-Resume (FSR) Reliability

Live Patch still uses VMware’s Fast-Suspend-Resume mechanism, but VCF 9 includes:

• Faster switchover to patched components
• Better support for larger clusters
• Reduced risk of VM interruptions
• Improved handling of parallel patching operations

The result is even lower operational impact during patch transitions.

Why Live Patching in VCF 9 Is a Game-Changer

Zero Downtime for More Patch Types

With a much broader set of components eligible for Live Patch, maintenance windows become rare.
Most security fixes — even those in core components — can now be applied live.

Stronger Security Posture

Organizations can respond to vulnerabilities immediately. No delays. No dependency on host evacuations or cluster capacity.

Perfect for Large, High-Density Environments

In large VCF workload domains, draining hosts or performing rolling reboots is time-consuming and sometimes impractical.
Live Patching keeps workloads steady and reduces cluster churn.

 Automated & Consistent Lifecycle Management

SDDC Manager orchestrates the entire live patching process, eliminating guesswork and ensuring compliance across all hosts in a domain.

 Significant Operational Savings

Less downtime planning.
Fewer after-hours changes.
Lower admin overhead.
Higher SLA compliance.

Considerations in VCF 9

Even with expanded coverage, Live Patch is not universal:

• Certain driver updates, hardware-dependent modules, storage controllers, and NIC firmware still require reboots.
• VMs using FT, DirectPath I/O, or unsupported workloads may not participate in FSR.
• All hosts in the domain must meet the required ESXi baseline before enabling Live Patch cycles.

VCF 9 clearly labels these cases and routes them through a traditional maintenance mode workflow.

Where Customers Benefit Most

Live Patching in VCF 9 is ideal for:

• Mission-critical workloads with strict uptime requirements
• Customers running large clusters or multiple workload domains
• Cloud providers and MSPs managing hundreds of hosts
• Financial, telecom, and healthcare environments
• AI/ML and GPU-heavy workloads where host evacuations are costly

Live Patching in VCF 9 represents the next level of VMware’s commitment to continuous, resilient, and automated infrastructure operations. By expanding live-patchable components and integrating the feature seamlessly into SDDC Manager, VMware has made it possible for organizations to stay secure and compliant without sacrificing uptime.

This is not just an enhancement — it is a redefinition of how lifecycle management should work in modern datacentres.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upgrading a vSphere 8.x Environment to VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 – Real-World Journey

The release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0 marks a major shift in how modern private cloud platforms are engineered and managed. For organizations operating a vSphere 8.x environment, the path to VCF 9.0 introduces a more modular architecture, improved lifecycle management, stronger security baselines, and support for next-generation workloads.

This guide provides a deep, end-to-end walkthrough of the upgrade journey—from preparation and compatibility validation through the actual upgrade sequencing and post-upgrade verification. The goal is to help architects and administrators execute this transition confidently, with clarity on each critical step.

Why Move From vSphere 8.x to VCF 9.0

Although the vSphere 8.x setup was stable and well-structured—with multiple clusters operating reliably across compute-only hosts, vSAN-based nodes, and some NSX-integrated workloads—it still carried several limitations typical of a growing data centre. The environment functioned well day to day, but the underlying operational challenges signaled the need for a more unified and automated cloud platform.

• Lifecycle management tasks were still manual and time-consuming
• Host upgrades required extended maintenance windows
• Network configuration consistency differed across clusters
• Governance and policy enforcement weren’t unified
• Operational tooling was fragmented across different systems

At the same time, there was a clear goal to achieve:

• A private cloud experience aligned with hyperscaler standards
• Automated, streamlined operations
• Centralized lifecycle management for the entire stack
• A foundation ready for Kubernetes and modern application platforms

VCF 9.0 delivered exactly the kind of integrated, automated, and future-ready platform needed to address these requirements.

The First Step: Understanding What We’re Actually Changing

VCF 9.0 is not like “upgrading vCenter from 8.0 to 8.0U3.”
It’s a platform-level transformation.

When you transition from vanilla vSphere to VCF, three things change dramatically:

1. Your infrastructure becomes governed by a Fleet (VCF Fleet Management)

Everything — ESXi hosts, vCenter, NSX, vSAN, certificates, operations — begins to live under a unified lifecycle management engine.

2. Your management architecture gets an entire redesign

VCF 9 introduces Fleet, Operations, and Automation components that work together. This simplifies operations but changes how things are deployed and updated.

3. Your cluster upgrade model becomes image-based only

No more baselines.
No more VUM.
This was a big shift for the customer.

Understanding these changes helped set the right expectations before touching anything.

 

Pre-Upgrade Checklist: What I Checked (and Double-Checked)

I’ve done enough upgrades to know: 70% of failures happen due to missing prerequisites.

So here’s what I validated before even thinking of VCF:

 Hardware compatibility (HCL)

• CPU family supported for ESXi 9.x
• NIC/FW/HBA firmware compatibility
• vSAN ESA readiness (for their vSAN-enabled clusters)

Networking: MTU, VLANs, TEP readiness

VCF 9 doesn’t enforce NSX overlay for every cluster, but if you want it, you need MTU 1600+.

Even if you don’t want overlay now — plan for it.

DNS, NTP, Certificates

VCF is extremely sensitive to:

• forward/reverse lookups,
• certificate mismatches,
• expired PSC/SSO certs.

Backup of all management components

Rule: If it boots, back it up.
vCenter, NSX Manager, Aria components — everything.

Operations tools version readiness

If the customer had older versions of:

• Aria Operations,
• Aria Operations for Logs,
• Aria Automation,

…they must be upgraded before joining the VCF 9 Fleet.

 Licensing

A surprisingly common delay.
We pre-validated VCF licenses before starting.

 

My Upgrade Strategy: Breaking It into Logical Phases

Instead of treating this as one giant upgrade, I approached it in four major phases:

Phase 1 — Stabilize and Upgrade the Existing vSphere 8.x Environment

This includes:

• Upgrading vCenter to a version supported by VCF Installer
• Making sure ESXi hosts are healthy
• Ensuring NSX Managers (if present) are compatible

For vCenter, I chose the “reduced downtime” upgrade path.
It creates a new appliance and copies over config — safer and cleaner.

For ESXi hosts, I started preparing the shift from baseline to image-based lifecycle, because VCF will enforce image compliance later anyway.

This phase established the foundation

Phase 2 — Upgrade or Deploy VCF Operations

This was the first moment where I really saw the shift from “vSphere admin” to “cloud admin.”

We had two options:

Option A: Upgrade existing Aria Suite to versions supported by VCF

or

Option B: Deploy VCF Operations fresh

I chose Option A because the I had existing dashboards and compliance packs I  wanted to retain.

A few notes from this phase:

• Operations upgrade pre-checks are extremely strict
• Old credentials stored in Aria can break registration workflows
• Time sync (NTP) must be perfect between all appliances

Once Aria was upgraded, we registered it properly with SDDC Manager.

 

Phase 3 — Deploy VCF Installer (The New Heart of Everything)

VCF 9 doesn’t use Cloud Builder. Instead, everything begins with the VCF Installer.

This step felt like “building a new control tower” while the airport is still active.

Steps I took:

1. Deployed the VCF Installer OVA

Simple enough, but ensure:

• DNS resolution is perfect
• IP addresses are reserved
• FQDN matches forward/reverse

2. Configured online/offline bundle access

I  had strict firewall restrictions, so we used:

• Offline bundle depot,
• Hosted on an internal web server.

This avoided internet dependency.

3. Connected Installer to the existing vSphere 8 environment

Here, I selected:

• Using the existing vCenter
• Using existing ESXi hosts
• Using upgraded Aria components

4. Performed pre-checks

VCF pre-checks are extensive.
They will catch:

• DNS mismatches
• MTU inconsistencies
• NTP drift
• Host hardware issues
• Missing drivers
• Certificate chain trust problems

I spent the most time here.

But honestly — fixing issues before deploying Fleet saved us hours later.

Phase 4 — Converging Into a VCF 9 Fleet

This was the most exciting part.

VCF Fleet Management discovers your environment and begins standardizing it.

The Installer automatically:

• creates the Fleet database,
• sets up SDDC Manager,
• registers Aria Operations & Logging,
• connects to vCenter,
• establishes governance,
• and prepares workload domains.

After this, the environment officially becomes VCF 9. It felt like everything clicked into place.

 

Post-Upgrade Work: What I Did to Finalize Everything

Upgrading isn't over until the environment is stable and integrated.

I focused on:

1. Verifying Fleet inventory

Checking that:

• hosts,
• clusters,
• vCenter,
• NSX Managers,
• Aria tools were all correctly discovered.

2. Validating image compliance

VCF now enforces image-based lifecycle. I created cluster images and remediated any drift.

3. Running operational sanity checks

• vMotion
• DRS behaviour
• vSAN health
• Host remediation testing
• Backup tool integration
• Logging ingestion

4. Re-validating integrations

• AD/LDAP
• Certificate authority
• Syslog
• Monitoring tools
• Backup vendors

5. Documenting everything

Always, always document:

• build versions
• IP/FQDN mapping
• upgrade decisions
• rollback plan
• cluster design
• lifecycle policy

This helps you as future admins.

What I Learned From This Upgrade

1. VCF 9 is not “just an upgrade” — it’s a platform transition

It changes how you operate your data center.

2. Lifecycle management becomes dramatically easier

Once Fleet is in place, upgrades feel like cloud updates.

3. Pre-checks decide your success

If pre-checks are green, the rest of the journey becomes smooth.

4. DNS, MTU, and certificates are the silent killers

Almost every deployment issue traces back to one of these.

6. Documentation gaps matter

I documented every decision, so the next person doesn’t struggle.

Upgrading from vSphere 8.x to VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 is one of the most meaningful modernization steps you can take in a private cloud environment. It brings consistency, automation, lifecycle uniformity, and long-term stability.

But it’s not a “click next” upgrade.
It requires thoughtful planning, clear understanding, and methodical execution.

If you understand the journey, prepare thoroughly, and respect the dependencies, the upgrade becomes smooth — and honestly, rewarding.

I hope sharing it helps someone preparing for theirs.

Upgrading Your vSphere Environment to VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0

 

Modern IT organizations are increasingly looking to move from traditional vSphere deployments to a fully integrated private cloud model. VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0 brings a simplified architecture, improved governance, and support for modern workloads—including AI and ML—while reducing operational complexity.

If you’re running an existing vSphere environment, upgrading to VCF 9.0 is a natural next step. This blog walks you through the high-level upgrade process, supported by a flowchart to visualize the journey.

High-Level Upgrade Steps to VCF 9.0

1. Design Consideration for VCF 9.0

Before you start, assess your current environment and plan for the target VCF 9.0 architecture.
Key actions:

• Validate hardware compatibility against the VCF 9.0 HCL.
• Review licensing needs—VCF 9.0 introduces simplified licensing.
• Identify which workloads will move first.
• Define network, storage, and security policies for the new foundation.

2. Complete All Prerequisites

Prepare your vSphere environment so it’s fully aligned for the upgrade:

• Upgrade supporting components (vSAN, NSX if applicable).
• Take full backups of vCenter, ESXi, and critical configs.
• Validate DNS, NTP, and network reachability.
• Ensure compliance with the minimum vSphere versions required by VCF 9.0.

3. Upgrade vCenter Server

The vCenter Server must be upgraded first since it is the central management plane.

• Upgrade to vCenter 9.0.
• Validate API and plugin compatibility.
• Test connectivity with ESXi hosts post-upgrade.

4. Upgrade ESXi Hosts

Once vCenter is running at the target version:

• Place hosts into maintenance mode (use vMotion to evacuate workloads).
• Upgrade ESXi to version 9.0.
• Validate host profiles, storage adapters, and networking after upgrade.

5. Deploy VCF Installer

The VCF installer orchestrates the private cloud buildout.

• Deploy it into the upgraded vSphere environment.
• Connect it to your management network.
• Validate access to the depot for downloading bundles.

6. Configure Depot and Download Bundle

The installer needs the VCF software bundle:

• Configure connectivity to the VCF depot (online or offline mode).
• Download the VCF 9.0 bundle.
• Ensure checksum validation before proceeding.

7. Deploy VCF 9.0 Using vCenter 9.0

With the installer ready:

• Deploy VCF 9.0 on top of your existing vCenter 9.0.
• This integrates your vSphere environment into a fully managed VCF framework.
• Deploy the Management Domain as the foundation for workload domains.

8. Configure Licensing in VCF Operations

VCF 9.0 introduces unified licensing:

• Apply the single license file in VCF Operations.
• Validate license compliance across vCenter, ESXi, and NSX.

9. Import Workload Domains (Optional)

If you have existing workload clusters/domains:

• Use the Import functionality to bring them under VCF governance.
• Align policies with the management domain.

Why Upgrade to VCF 9.0?

• Unified Operations → Manage vSphere, vSAN, and NSX under a single cloud operating model.
• Modern Workload Support → Run VMs, containers, and AI workloads natively.
• Simplified Licensing → Single license file for the entire platform.
• Fleet Management → Manage multiple VCF instances at scale.

This upgrade path ensures a structured transition from vSphere to VCF 9.0, allowing you to modernize operations while protecting existing workloads.

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF 9) Fleet Deployment Options – A Deep Dive

 

As enterprises modernize their private cloud environments with VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF 9), managing multiple deployments at scale becomes a challenge. Different business units, regions, or even departments may run their own VCF instances, each with unique lifecycle, governance, and compliance requirements.

This is exactly where VCF 9 Fleet comes in. It acts as a single pane of glass for governance and policy enforcement across multiple VCF instances—whether they are within a single datacenter, spread across multiple sites in one region, or deployed globally.

Based on my understanding of VCF 9, I’ve analyzed multiple Fleet deployment approaches and their impact across different environments. What I realized is that the deployment model really matters—it must align with the organization’s scale, resilience goals, and compliance posture.

In this blog, I’ll walk you through the five primary VCF Fleet deployment options, with detailed insights, architectural context, and real-world examples.

1. VCF Fleet in a Single Site with Minimal Footprint

This is the most basic and lightweight Fleet deployment option. Think of it as the entry point into Fleet, typically chosen by organizations who want to explore its capabilities without committing to a large footprint.

Architecture Characteristics:

• Single VCF instance deployed in one datacenter.
• Fleet Manager co-located with the management domain.
• Minimal overhead; only the essential Fleet components are deployed.

When to Choose:

• Proof of Concept (PoC) environments.
• Smaller IT shops where one VCF instance is enough.
• Edge locations where resources are constrained.

Benefits:

• Extremely easy to deploy and manage.
• Gives IT teams a starting point to learn Fleet’s capabilities.
• Governance and compliance can still be applied, even at small scale.

Limitations:

• No support for multiple sites.
• Not designed for resiliency or large-scale environments.

Customer scenario: A retail chain rolling out a new regional warehouse IT setup—small scale today, but planning to scale into multiple DCs tomorrow. They start with minimal footprint Fleet to learn and prepare for future expansion.

2. VCF Fleet in a Single Site (Standard Deployment)

The next step up from minimal is a standard single-site Fleet deployment. While still operating in a single datacenter, this option gives you the full set of governance, lifecycle, and compliance features Fleet offers.

Architecture Characteristics:

• Single VCF instance in one site, but Fleet runs in full deployment mode.
• Complete management capabilities: governance, compliance checks, lifecycle operations.
• Can manage multiple workload domains under the same VCF instance.

When to Choose:

• Medium to large enterprises running workloads from a single datacenter.
• Organizations with compliance-heavy workloads that require governance.
• Customers who want to standardize operations in a single location.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive management in a single site.
• Suitable for long-term operations if growth is limited to one DC.
• Provides full lifecycle automation and consistency.

Limitations:

• Tied to one physical location.
• Not resilient against regional disruptions.

Customer scenario: A healthcare provider with a single large hospital datacenter. Fleet ensures all workloads—from patient applications to imaging—are governed under strict compliance policies.

 

3. VCF Fleet with Multiple Sites in a Single Region

Now we move into multi-site governance. Here, Fleet manages multiple VCF instances deployed across different datacenters within the same region. This is often the first step for enterprises looking to add resilience and DR within a geography.

Architecture Characteristics:

• Multiple datacenters within one region (say, Mumbai or California).
• Each site runs a VCF instance.
• Fleet Manager enforces governance and compliance across all sites.

When to Choose:

• Enterprises requiring regional disaster recovery setups.
• Banks and financial institutions with primary + DR datacenters.
• Any organization that needs resiliency within one metro/region.

Benefits:

• Unified governance and compliance across sites.
• Simplifies lifecycle and operations across all datacenters in a region.
• Supports cross-site workload mobility and DR testing.

Limitations:

• Bound to one region; doesn’t extend to global coverage.
• Requires strong regional network connectivity.

Customer scenario: A banking customer I worked with had three datacenters in one region—primary, DR, and test. Fleet gave them one governance model across all three, drastically reducing operational overhead.

 

4. VCF Fleet with Multiple Sites Across Multiple Regions

This is where things scale to a global level. Fleet spans multiple regions—each with their own sites—and provides centralized management and governance.

Architecture Characteristics:

• Regions defined geographically (e.g., APAC, EMEA, North America).
• Each region may contain one or more sites.
• Fleet overlays them all to provide global policy, compliance, and visibility.

When to Choose:

• Large multinational corporations with datacenters worldwide.
• Organizations needing global compliance enforcement.
• Industries like finance, telecom, or manufacturing with global operations.

Benefits:

• Single governance model across continents.
• Standardization of operations globally.
• Easier to meet global compliance regulations.

Limitations:

• Requires advanced networking and identity federation.
• Higher operational complexity.

 Customer scenario: A telecom company with DCs in Singapore, Frankfurt, and Virginia needed one global compliance posture. Fleet made it possible to apply consistent governance policies worldwide.

 

5. VCF Fleet with Multiple Sites in a Single Region Plus Additional Regions

Finally, the hybrid model. This is the most advanced Fleet deployment scenario, where an enterprise combines regional multi-site resiliency with global governance.

Architecture Characteristics:

• A core region with multiple datacenters (for regional resilience).
• Additional regions (APAC, EMEA, Americas) also running sites.
• Fleet oversees all, enforcing both regional DR governance and global policies.

When to Choose:

• Enterprises with both regional resilience needs and global consistency requirements.
• Multinationals with tiered governance (local policies + global oversight).

Benefits:

• Best of both worlds: local DR + global consistency.
• Highly resilient, highly standardized.
• Meets even the toughest compliance and SLA requirements.

Limitations:

• Complex design and operations.
• Requires careful planning of networking, compliance, and identity.

 Customer scenario: A global manufacturing giant with 3 European sites for DR, plus datacenters in APAC and North America. Fleet allowed them to keep regional DR intact while applying global governance rules.

The power of VCF Fleet lies in its flexibility. Whether you’re running a single datacenter, a regional cluster of sites, or a global network of private clouds, Fleet adapts to your needs.

The key is to choose the deployment model that aligns with your business goals, compliance posture, and resilience requirements. Start small if you need to, but design with the future in mind—because the way you structure your Fleet today will define how scalable and consistent your private cloud operations become tomorrow.

VCF Fleet isn’t just about technology—it’s about building a governed, resilient, and globally consistent private cloud that grows with your business.

Mastering VCF 9.0 Automation: Deep Dive into All App, VM App, and Provider App Organizations

 

Introduction

With the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, VMware has continued to enhance its approach to delivering private cloud infrastructure that is secure, scalable, and easier to manage. One of the most significant changes in VCF 9.0 is the introduction of a new automation model designed to support multi-tenancy, better resource governance, and clearer separation between provider and tenant responsibilities. This new model is centered around three core organizational constructs: All App Organization, VM App Organization, and Provider App Organization. In this blog, we explore each of these in detail, understand their role in the overall architecture, and provide best practices for implementation.

Understanding the VCF 9.0 Automation Framework

VCF 9.0 introduces an evolved automation framework that builds on VMware Aria Automation (formerly vRealize Automation). Rather than treating automation as a one-size-fits-all component, VCF 9.0 allows infrastructure providers and tenants to operate in well-defined, segregated environments. This segregation ensures better governance, scalability, and alignment with enterprise and service provider use cases.

The automation experience in VCF 9.0 is delivered through three automation apps:

1. All App Organization
2. VM App Organization
3. Provider App Organization

Each organization type has distinct responsibilities and capabilities, and together they help build a secure and scalable private cloud ecosystem.

1. All App Organization

The All App Org is the default or root organizational entity in the VCF 9.0 automation framework. It is typically managed by the infrastructure provider or cloud admin and is responsible for managing shared infrastructure and global services.

Key Functions:

• Manage and onboard cloud accounts (such as vCenter, NSX, storage).
• Define global content such as blueprints, templates, and policies.
• Create and manage infrastructure projects across all tenants.
• Set up tagging strategies and resource placement policies.
• Maintain centralized governance and access control.

Typical Use Case: A platform team managing a single or multi-tenant private cloud infrastructure, where global templates and catalogs are created once and shared across tenant organizations.

Important Limitation: You cannot add the same vCenter Server to multiple organizations (All App Org, VM App Org, or Provider App Org) simultaneously. vCenter can only be onboarded to one organization due to resource ownership and inventory synchronization limitations. Attempting to do so may lead to duplication errors, inventory sync issues, and policy enforcement conflicts.

2. VM App Organization

The VM App Org is designed for tenant teams or business units within an enterprise that require self-service provisioning, resource control, and automation tailored to their specific use case.

Key Functions:

• Allows tenants to manage their own infrastructure projects.
• Users can deploy workloads using scoped catalog items.
• Provides isolation through dedicated projects, roles, and permissions.
• Enables granular control over resource usage and deployment behavior.

Typical Use Case: A large enterprise with separate Dev, QA, and Production teams using VCF to deploy and manage their workloads independently. Each team is given its own VM App Org with access to tailored templates and policies.

Best Practices:

• Use separate folders, clusters, and tags to isolate tenant environments.
• Implement quota and lease policies to control resource usage.
• Define tenant-specific cloud templates that inherit from All App Org catalog items.

3. Provider App Organization

The Provider App Org serves cloud providers or MSPs who are managing multiple tenants and want centralized visibility and control without exposing the underlying infrastructure directly to the tenants.

Key Functions:

• Provides a control plane for service providers.
• Allows onboarding and management of multiple VM App Orgs.
• Supports service brokering, billing integration, and centralized policy enforcement.
• Delegated administration without giving full infrastructure access.

Typical Use Case: A managed service provider hosting multiple customer environments on a single VCF instance, offering self-service capabilities while maintaining control over the infrastructure.

Key Advantages:

• Simplifies tenant lifecycle management.
• Enhances compliance by isolating responsibilities.
• Facilitates cross-tenant visibility for operational insights.

Architectural Considerations

When planning a VCF 9.0 deployment, careful thought must be given to how vCenter, NSX, and other infrastructure components are mapped to organizations. Below are some considerations:

• A single vCenter can be onboarded to only one automation organization.
• NSX segments and transport zones must be scoped to appropriate domains and orgs.
• Projects act as logical containers within orgs and can further segment workloads.
• Content sharing between orgs must be explicitly configured and governed.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid:

• Attempting to onboard a single vCenter into both All App Org and VM App Org.
• Using global tags without a naming convention, leading to conflicts.
• Over-provisioning access rights across orgs.

Conclusion

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 significantly improves automation capabilities by introducing a well-structured, multi-org framework that supports both enterprise and service provider use cases. By understanding and effectively utilizing the All App, VM App, and Provider App organizations, customers can achieve better resource control, enhanced security, and operational scalability. As always, planning the organization structure, access model, and resource boundaries in advance is critical for a successful VCF automation deployment.

Stay tuned for a follow-up blog where we'll walk through a real-world deployment scenario using all three organization types in VCF 9.0.

Unlocking the Future of Private Cloud with VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0

 

The private cloud journey is evolving fast—and VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0 brings a major leap forward. Having worked with customers across industries, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges of scaling, automating, and securing private infrastructure. VCF 9.0 addresses those challenges head-on.

Let’s break down the innovations in this release and how they empower organizations to build a cloud-smart foundation for the future

 Simplified Deployment and Day-0 Experience

One of the standout improvements is the new streamlined installer. Day-0 operations—once complex and time-consuming—are now wizard-driven and policy-based. What used to take weeks can now be done in a matter of hours. This is a game-changer for IT teams looking to deploy new environments quickly and efficiently.

For customers starting fresh or expanding their environments, the simplified workload domain creation is intuitive, reducing risk and manual configuration errors.

Unified Operations with the New VCF Operations Console

Operations are now centralized like never before. The all-new VCF Operations Console provides:

• A single pane of glass for monitoring fleet-wide health
• Lifecycle management of clusters and components
• Built-in diagnostics and log correlation
• Certificate and key rotation with zero downtime

This means IT teams no longer need multiple tools for patching, monitoring, and securing the platform. Everything is built-in and integrated, saving time while improving reliability.

Smarter Storage and Memory Optimization

VCF 9.0 introduces NVMe-based memory tiering, which extends DRAM using high-speed NVMe storage. This allows organizations to run more workloads per host without the cost of adding physical RAM.

Another major advancement is global deduplication across vSAN clusters. This reduces flash storage consumption dramatically, especially in environments with similar workloads, clones, and templates. The result: higher efficiency and lower hardware TCO.

Enhanced Data Path and Performance Tuning

To meet the demands of modern applications—especially AI, ML, and large-scale microservices—VCF 9.0 includes significant data path optimizations. Lower East-West latency, improved kernel tuning, and optional DPU offloads mean faster communication within clusters, which directly impacts app responsiveness and throughput.

This is ideal for environments that need real-time data processing or fast I/O, such as financial services, healthcare, or AI model training.

Built-in Security and Compliance Automation

Security is no longer optional—it’s foundational. VCF 9.0 includes:

• A dedicated SecOps Dashboard that visualizes vulnerabilities, threat posture, and compliance status in real time.
• Live compliance checks for standards like CIS, NIST, and custom baselines.
• Automated remediation and patching for faster response.
• Federated identity integration and seamless certificate management.

Together, these features reduce the operational burden of audits and enhance platform trust across multi-tenant and multi-region environments.

Cost Awareness and Policy Control

A standout in this release is the focus on cost visibility and governance. Built-in tools now allow teams to:

• View tenant-level usage and costs
• Enable chargeback/showback models
• Set up policy-based access, placement, and data locality (geo-fencing)

This bridges the traditional gap between IT and finance. It’s easier than ever to track ROI, optimize spending, and enforce compliance at scale.

Designed for Modern Cloud-Ready Workloads

Whether you’re deploying VMs, containers, or hybrid workloads, VCF 9.0 supports:

• Integrated Kubernetes clusters with GitOps and ArgoCD
• Unified API support (REST, Terraform, blueprints)
• Self-service infrastructure with guardrails
• Automated deployment pipelines

This empowers DevOps and Platform Engineering teams to build faster while staying compliant and cost-efficient.

Final Thoughts

VCF 9.0 is more than a version bump. It’s a bold step toward delivering cloud agility with private cloud control. With its smarter automation, integrated operations, security-first design, and optimized resource usage, it aligns perfectly with the needs of modern enterprises.

If you’re running an earlier version of VCF—or still managing siloed infrastructure—this is the perfect time to rethink your strategy.

Let the private cloud work for you, not the other way around.

Enterprise AI Made Easy: A Deep Dive into VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA

 

As artificial intelligence reshapes industries, enterprise IT leaders face a tough balancing act: deliver cutting-edge AI capabilities without compromising data privacy, governance, or cost-efficiency. Enter VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA—a powerful, on-premises AI infrastructure solution that marries GPU acceleration with trusted VMware technologies.

In this blog, we’ll explore how this modern AI stack simplifies deployments, enhances observability, and puts IT and data science teams in the driver’s seat.

It took me nearly a month of hands-on exploration, reading, and deep-dive discussions to fully understand and articulate the capabilities of VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA. This blog is the result of that learning journey—crafted to make things easier for others stepping into the world of enterprise AI infrastructure.

I truly hope it helps clarify the concepts and inspires you to explore how this powerful platform can fit into your AI strategy. Enjoy the read!

 

What Is VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA?

It’s a purpose-built, private AI infrastructure platform tailored for enterprise datacenters. At its core, it combines:

• VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) – the baseline for compute, storage, and network virtualization
• NVIDIA AI Enterprise stack – for accelerated computing, model training, and inference
• Flexible AI workload support – run either containerized or VM-based AI apps

Key Components:

• Deep Learning VMs with dedicated or shared GPUs (vGPU support)
• Production-ready Kubernetes clusters for scalable AI workloads
• Inference runtimes using NVIDIA NIM or open-source alternatives
• Integrated governance tools to manage model lifecycle and access

Why Enterprises Choose It

For Data Scientists:

•  Self-service access to GPU-powered environments
•  Isolated VM environments for safe testing of large language models
•  Pre-integrated tools like Jupyter Notebooks, Conda, and PyTorch
•  Seamless scaling to Kubernetes clusters for model serving or fine-tuning

For IT and Platform Engineers:

•  Manage with familiar VMware tools like vSphere, NSX, and SDDC Manager
•  Enforce governance policies across users, models, and infrastructure
•  Monitor real-time GPU telemetry—memory, temperature, and utilization
•  Automate provisioning through blueprints, templates, or APIs

Architecture at a Glance

This solution follows a layered architectural model that ensures flexibility and operational consistency:

1. Infrastructure Layer (VCF)
• Hosts vSphere clusters, NSX networking, and vSAN or other storage platforms
2. Provisioning Layer
• Deploys VM templates, Kubernetes clusters, and inference environments
3. AI Services Layer
• Runs models, vector databases, and RAG pipelines in containers or VMs

 Supports both VM and container-native workloads—perfect for hybrid AI strategies.

Security & Model Governance Built-In

Enterprises must retain strict control over proprietary models and datasets. This solution supports:

• Air-gapped Deep Learning VMs for secure model training and testing
• Staging pipelines to promote verified models to Kubernetes environments
• Policy enforcement on access, movement, and auditability

This empowers organizations to meet compliance and sovereignty requirements without sacrificing innovation.

Optimized GPU Sharing & Automation

AI infrastructure is expensive—efficiency matters. VMware and NVIDIA provide:

•  vGPU support – Share physical GPUs across multiple VMs
•  MIG profiles – Partition GPUs at the silicon level
•  Snapshots & vMotion – Enable model mobility, migration, and failover
•  Chargeback mechanisms – Attribute GPU usage costs to departments

All provisioning is catalog-driven or automated via scripts, allowing AI environments to spin up in minutes.

Running Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) Workloads

Looking to run ChatGPT-style apps with enterprise context? VMware’s Private AI setup is RAG-ready.

A typical stack:

•  Vector Database: PostgreSQL with pgVector
•  Inference Server: Deployed in Kubernetes or VMs
•  Front-End Interface: A chatbot or custom UI

The result? Context-rich answers grounded in your enterprise data—ideal for internal helpdesks, legal research, or support automation.

End-to-End GPU Observability

Visibility is key to AI performance. Admins can monitor:

• Real-time GPU memory and core usage
•  Heatmaps to track trends and identify hot spots
•  VM-to-GPU mapping for transparent resource usage
•  Historical performance data to guide capacity planning

This ensures proactive optimization—not just reactive firefighting.

Conclusion: A Future-Ready AI Stack for the Enterprise

VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA empowers organizations to:

•  Build secure and sovereign AI environments
•  Enable fast provisioning of GPU-powered resources
•  Maintain observability and governance at every stage
• Leverage existing VMware investments
• Delight developers and data scientists with easy access to tools

With this platform, enterprises don’t need to choose between AI innovation and operational control—they can have both.