VCF 9.1 - VCF Download Tool (VCFDT) Cheatsheet

The latest release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Download Tool (VCFDT), which ships as part of VCF 9.1, includes a number of enhancements for downloading VVF and VCF installation and upgrade binaries.

For new users of VMware Cloud Foundation Download Tool (VCFDT), I thought it would be useful to put together a quick cheat sheet covering some of the most common workflows, ranging from configuring an activation code and downloading the required VCF 9.1 binaries for initial deployments and upgrades, to the new workflow for downloading ESX patches and updates.

I have even found myself repeatedly using the --help command just to locate a specific option or workflow, so hopefully this serves as a useful reference for both new and existing users, including myself! 😅

Download Token and Activation Code

While download tokens can still be used to download VVF/VCF 9.1 binaries using either the VCF Installer UI or VCFDT, activation codes will eventually become the preferred mechanism and replace the existing download token workflow.

The one caveat is when downloading ESX updates and patches using VCFDT, which introduces a new “esx” namespace and replaces the need for a UMDS installation, as this new workflow only supports the use of an activation code.

Step 1 - Generate VCFDT Software ID

vcf-download-tool configuration generate --software-depot-id

Step 2 - Either copy the registration URL to your browser or  login to VCF Broadcom Service Console (BSC) and go to Software Depot Registration to register your VCFDT instance. You can have multiple registration for different VCFDT deployments (e.g. development vs production).

Once you have successfully registered your VCFDT instance, you will be provided with an activation code.

Note: If you need to download ESX updates/patches, you should switch to using activation code as all VVF/VCF downloads support both download token and activation codes.

Offline Depot with multiple VCF versions

When downloading binaries for a specific VVF or VCF version, you can have several releases, all within a single VCF Offline Depot, simply provide the same destination folder and VCFDT will do the rest.

VVF/VCF 9.1 Installation Binaries for VCF Installer

To see the available binaries that are required for the initial installation, use the following command:

vcf-download-tool binaries list --depot-download-token-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_download_token.txt --vcf-version=9.1.0 --sku=VCF --automated-install --type=INSTALL

To download the VCF binaries for initial installation, use following:

vcf-download-tool binaries download --depot-download-token-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_download_token.txt --depot-store=/Users/lamw/Desktop/VCF910 --vcf-version=9.1.0 --sku=VCF --automated-install --type=INSTALL

To download the VVF binaries for initial installation, use following:

vcf-download-tool binaries download --depot-download-token-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_download_token.txt --depot-store=/Users/lamw/Desktop/VVF910 --vcf-version=9.1.0 --sku=VVF --automated-install --type=INSTALL

VVF/VCF 9.1 Upgrade Binaries for VCF Installer

To see the available binaries that are required for an upgrade, use the following command:

vcf-download-tool binaries list --depot-download-token-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_download_token.txt --vcf-version=9.1.0 --sku=VCF --automated-install --type=UPGRADE

To download the VCF binaries for upgrade, use following:

vcf-download-tool binaries download --depot-download-token-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_download_token.txt --depot-store=/Users/lamw/Desktop/VCF910 --vcf-version=9.1.0 --sku=VCF --type=UPGRADE

To download the VVF binaries for upgrade, use following:

vcf-download-tool binaries download --depot-download-token-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_download_token.txt --depot-store=/Users/lamw/Desktop/VVF910 --vcf-version=9.1.0 --sku=VVF --type=UPGRADE

VVF/VCF 9.1 Patch Binaries for VCF Upgrades using SDDC Manager

To see the available upgrade/patch binaries for an upgrade, use the following command:

vcf-download-tool binaries list --depot-download-token-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_download_token.txt --vcf-version=9.1.0 --sku=VCF --type=UPGRADE --upgrades-only

Note: VCF 9.1.0.0100 is an express patch (EP01) release and is part of the VCF 9.1.0.0 release, this is why you will not see results if you specify the EP version number.

To download the VCF upgrade/patch binaries for upgrade, use following:

vcf-download-tool binaries download --depot-download-token-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_download_token.txt --depot-store=/Users/lamw/Desktop/VVF9100100 --vcf-version=9.1.0 --sku=VCF --type=UPGRADE --upgrades-only

To download VCF 9.1 EP01 (9.1.0.0100) upgrade/patch binaries for upgrade, use following:

vcf-download-tool binaries download --depot-download-token-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_download_token.txt --depot-store=/Users/lamw/Desktop/VVF9100100 --vcf-version=9.1.0 --sku=VCF --type=UPGRADE --upgrades-only --component-version=9.1.0.0100

VCF 5.x Installation Binaries for VCF Offline Depot

You can use the latest VCFDT to see the available binaries for 5.x installation, but only vCenter and NSX binaries will be available.

vcf-download-tool binaries list --depot-download-token-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_download_token.txt  --vcf-version=5.2.0 --type=INSTALL

To download the VCF binaries for installation, use following:

vcf-download-tool binaries download --depot-download-token-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_download_token.txt --depot-store=/Users/lamw/Desktop/VCF520 --vcf-version=5.2.0 --type=INSTALL

VCF 5.x Upgrade Binaries for VCF Offline Depot

You can use the latest VCFDT to see the available binaries for 5.x upgrade, but only vCenter, ESX and NSX binaries will be available.

To download the VCF binaries for upgrade, use following:

vcf-download-tool binaries download --depot-download-token-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_download_token.txt --depot-store=/Users/lamw/Desktop/VCF520 --vcf-version=5.2.0 --type=UPGRADE

ESX Binaries

The latest version of VCFDT provides a much better user experience for downloading ESX patches and updates.

The following command will list all the ESX depot URLs that it will source the downloads from as well as the specific ESX versions that are available.

vcf-download-tool esx configuration -G

Not sure about you, but I do NOT need or want ESXi 6.7 patches! 😅

We can disable specific versions that we do not need to require, which will also help reduce the amount of storage needed to store only patches you intend to use.

The following command will disable the "embeddedEsx-6.7-INTL" version and you may also want to disable anything starting with esxio (used by vSphere Distributed Service Engine formally DPU) and armESx (if you do not have plans for ESX 9.1 for Arm)

vcf-download-tool esx configuration -D embeddedEsx-6.7-INTL

Thanks to a reader, you can also exclude multiple version on a single line by using the following:

vcf-download-tool esx configuration -D esxio-9.1-INTL -D armEsx-9.1-INTL -D embeddedEsx-8.0-INTL -D embeddedEsx-7.0-INTL -D embeddedEsx-9.0-INTL -D esxio-8.0-INTL -D esxio-9.0-INTL

One trick that I have found to be useful is to update the esxUserConfig.json configuration file (e.g. /Users/lamw/vcf-download-tool-9.1.0.0.25371089/conf/esxUserConfig.json) which is how VCFDT excludes specific ESX versions rather than having to both with running the exclude command as it still takes awhile.

{
  "disabledPlatforms": [
    "embeddedEsx-6.7-INTL",
    "esxio-9.1-INTL",
    "armEsx-9.1-INTL",
    "embeddedEsx-8.0-INTL",
    "embeddedEsx-7.0-INTL",
    "embeddedEsx-9.0-INTL",
    "esxio-8.0-INTL",
    "esxio-9.0-INTL"
  ]
}

As mentioned earlier, to download ESX patches and updates using the latest VCFDT, you will need to provide an activation code instead of download token.

Once you have saved your configuration, to download the desired ESX patches and updates, use the following:

vcf-download-tool esx download --depot-download-activation-code-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_activation_code.txt --depot-store=/Users/lamw/Desktop/VCF910

Day-N Optional Components

There are additional VCF components that can be deployed after your initial VCF Fleet installation which can include Log Management, Real-time Metrics and VCF Operations for Networks.

To see the available binaries post-VCF Fleet installation, use the following command:

vcf-download-tool binaries list --depot-download-token-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_download_token.txt --vcf-version=9.1.0 --sku=VCF --type=INSTALL

To download the specific VCF binaries, use following:

binaries download --depot-download-token-file=/Users/lamw/vcf_download_token.txt --depot-store=/Volumes/Storage/Software/VCF910 --vcf-version=9.1.0 --sku=VCF --type=INSTALL --component=VRLI

Here is a list of the Day N components and their IDs, which you can use to quickly download and deploy using VCF Operations:

Customer Improvement Experience Program (CIEP)

When you first run the VCFDT tool, you will be prompted to confirm your Customer Improvement Experience Program (CIEP) choice. For those that wish to automate this configuration change, you can simple run the following and use either the "ENABLE" or "DISABLE" for the value.

echo "obtu.telemetry.config=DISABLE" > /Users/lamw/vcf-download-tool-9.1.0.0.25371089/conf/telemetry/telemetry.flag