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VCF 9.1 - Automating VCF Backup Scheduling with the Fleet LCM API

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In VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1, users can configure scheduled backups for all VCF Management components, including the new VCF Management Services (VCFMS), through the Fleet LCM capability in VCF Operations by navigating to Build > Lifecycle > VCF Management > Backup & Restore. While the UI makes this straightforward, the same functionality is also exposed through the Fleet LCM API, making it easy to automate backup schedule configuration.


The Fleet LCM Update SDDC LCMS API is used to configure backup schedules, which are managed on a per-VCF Instance basis.

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VCF 9.1 - Understanding VCF Express Patches

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AI has fundamentally changed the software industry through its ability to discover software vulnerabilities at an unprecedented pace. This has driven software vendors to adopt faster release cadences, making more frequent software updates the new industry norm.

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) is no exception. With the unified versioning introduced in VCF 9, several release types are available to deliver updates, each serving a specific purpose.

The following diagram summarizes the VCF unified versioning model, showing whether each release type is synchronized across the VCF software stack or delivered independently, along with its installation method.


Rather than bundling security fixes into the next scheduled maintenance release, Express Patches allow them to be delivered as soon as they are available. Unlike upgrades, which must be applied in a specific order, Express Patches can be applied in any order, reducing some of the overhead in rolling out the fixes.

As a result of this faster release cadence, product fixes can also be delivered much sooner, rather than waiting for the next maintenance or minor release.

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Quick Tip: How to Identify Which Kubernetes Cluster Owns a vSphere Container Volume (PV)

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I was recently cleaning up some orphaned vSphere Container Volumes and while I was able to compare the Persistent Volumes (PV) IDs against the ones currently in use by a couple of Kubernetes clusters, I wanted to be 100% sure before removing them, especially since I planned bulk delete using PowerCLI’s Remove-CnsVolume cmdlet.

You can view all provisioned vSphere Container Volumes in the vSphere UI by navigating to vSphere Cluster->Monitor->Cloud Native Storage->Container Volumes. In addition to the volume details, you also get access to all of the associated metadata and labels, very similar to what you would see using kubectl, which is quite nice!


While reviewing the PV IDs in the UI, I noticed an attribute named Kubernetes Cluster, which appeared to identify the Kubernetes (K8s) cluster that owned the volume. How do I find this Kubernetes Cluster ID?

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