Upgrading VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) is not just about running the upgrade workflow — it’s about preparation. Before moving from version 9.0 to 9.0.1, several validation and readiness steps must be taken to ensure a smooth and error-free process. Before diving into the upgrade process, it’s essential to understand how lifecycle management in VCF is structured and the distinction between management components and core components.

VCF Operations serves as the central tool for managing the lifecycle of both Management and Core Infrastructure Components. It provides unified capabilities for downloading, staging, and applying patches or upgrades — whether you’re operating online or through an offline depot. While both component types can share the same depot, their upgrade scopes differ:

• Management components (like SDDC Manager, Aria Suite, and NSX Managers) are maintained at the fleet level, allowing consistent operations across multiple VCF instances.
• Core components (such as ESX hosts, vCenter, and NSX Edge Clusters) are managed per instance, ensuring control within each workload domain.

This separation allows administrators to plan and execute upgrades in a structured, non-disruptive way. However, it also raises an important question:

When performing an upgrade, which should be done first? The management components or the core components?

This article is part of a two-part series. In this first part, I’ll cover the upgrade of the VCF management components, and in the next one, I’ll focus on the core components. In both, we’ll outline what to verify, what to back up, and what dependencies to check before initiating your upgrade.

Continue reading “VCF 9.0 to 9.0.1 Upgrade – Part 1” →