VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 – Everything You Need to Know

Ravi ShankarRavi Shankar
3 min read

🧭 Introduction

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0 marks a major evolution in VMware's approach to delivering unified private cloud infrastructure. With this release, VMware (now under Broadcom) has taken significant steps toward simplifying platform consumption, enhancing lifecycle operations, and enabling secure, policy-driven management at scale.

Whether you’re an infrastructure admin, platform engineer, or cloud architect, VCF 9.0 introduces a modernized architecture that’s designed for operational efficiency and hybrid cloud readiness.

🚀 What’s New: Key Highlights

• Unified Private‑Cloud Experience

VCF 9.0 unifies private‑cloud operations and consumption: one API, common policy model, single console for LCM, monitoring, and IaC.

• VCF Installer Appliance

Replaces Cloud Builder with a dedicated appliance supporting automation, convergence from existing vSphere, LACP configuration via API, and integrated SDK/API access.

• VCF Operations & Fleet Management

Centralized lifecycle, monitoring, cost visibility, license management, and policy enforcement across domain fleets.

• VCF Automation Enhancements

Out-of-the-box self-service services — VMs, containers (vSphere Kubernetes Service), networking, storage, Secret Store, databases, Harbor, DNS, certificates, AI workloads — with rich governance/UI/CLI & metrics.

• Cost Transparency & Licensing Simplification

In-built dashboards for TCO, licensing consolidation (just two core license types), subscription-based activation via VCF Operations/Broadcom portal, offline mode supported.

• Security, Compliance & Sovereignty

FIPS default mode, data‑sovereignty policies, geo‑fencing, certificate rotation, secured TLS 1.3, unified secret‑store, certificate management in VCF Operations.

• vSphere 9.0 & ESX 9 Features

FIPS enabled, increased boot bank and disk sizes, script sandboxing, AMD SEV‑SNP, Intel TDX support, NVMe‑oF authentication, UEFI secure boot controls, wrapped‑key VM encryption, vTPM, CPU support.

🧱 Bill of Materials (BOM) Snapshot

Summarize core version BOM: vSphere 9.0, vSAN ESA, NSX (4.x?), SDDC Manager 9.0, VCF Installer/Operations/Automation 9.0.

🔧 Product Changes & Deprecations

  • UMDS is now part of the VCF Download Tool — standalone UMDS deprecated.

  • vSphere Java SDKs deprecated; use VCF Java SDK.

  • LCM moved from SDDC Manager to VCF Operations; Aria Suite deploy replaced by Operations/Installer workflows.

🛠️ What This Means for Users

  • Day‑0 deployments are automated, converged, and streamlined with VCF Installer.

  • Day‑2 ops benefit from unified observability, cost controls, and policy enforcement.

  • Developers/Platform teams access containers, DBaaS, and more via self‑service UI/API/CLI.

  • Security teams gain built‑in FIPS, sovereign controls, and certificate orchestration.

  • Admins handle licensing and fleet upgrades from a single portal.

✅ Upgrade Considerations

  • Requires ESX/vCenter 9.0.

  • Legacy SDKs deprecated—update automation.

  • UMDS replacement—adjust offline bundle workflows.

  • Review BOM alignment and license assignments via VCF Operations.

🧩 Conclusion

VCF 9.0 isn’t just an incremental update—it’s a leap toward a unified, secure, consumption-driven private cloud platform. It's built for speed, scale, security, and developer enablement. If you're planning a rollout or upgrade, this release is pivotal.

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Written by

Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar