WilliamLam.com

Using HTTP with VCF 9.0 Installer and SDDC Manager for Offline Depot

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After deploying the new VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Installer appliance or SDDC Manager (Day N), the first thing you must setup is the software depot which is where the VCF Installer will go to download the software binaries for deploying either VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) or VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF).

Users have two options to select from:

  • Online Depot - Connect over the internet to Broadcom (directly or in-directly via network proxy), which will require a download token to be provided
  • Offline Depot - Connect locally to a depot that you have setup (using the VCF Download Tool) within your own environment

By default, the VCF Installer connects to Broadcom's online depot using HTTPS, which is expected when connecting over the public internet. With that said, for an offline depot that is running within your own infrastructure, you can simplify the offline depot setup by serving the content over HTTP, which also removes the need to setup a TLS certificate for your web server.

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Crowdsourced Lab Hardware for ESXi 9.0 Dashboard

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For a major new vSphere release, it can be challenging to understand whether your existing hardware will continue to work or if you need to upgrade.

During the development of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, I had put together a survey that would crowdsource from internal users who have successfully installed ESXi 9.0, so that it can be used as a reference for the community. We have almost 50 submissions, including details about the hardware platform but the also the different key I/O devices across networking, storage and graphics! I would like to give a big thanks to all the VMware/Broadcom employees who contributed to the initial dataset and I hope to see this grow as our users start to play with VCF 9.0 in their lab envionments

You can view the dashboard results by visiting: https://lamw.github.io/community-lab-hardware-for-esxi9/

If you would like to contribute your own system that has NOT already been submitted, please fill out this form here: https://forms.gle/dXbzpTz4JpwP8bXr7

VCF 9.0 Hardware Considerations

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While I have already shared this on my social media accounts, I still think it is still worth re-iterating this update as I know many of our users, partners and even employees are preparing for VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0.

The Broadcom Compatibility Guide (BCG) has recently been updated to include a preliminary set of devices that will be supported with VCF 9.0, this a company first as the BCG is typically only released at the GA, which make it difficult for those currently in the planning process for hardware refresh.

It is VERY important to understand that VMware/Broadcom does NOT certify hardware and I/O devices, which is still a common miss-conception and/or FUD being thrown out in the community. Our OEM partners ultimately decide which devices to certify for each release and they may choose NOT to re-certify devices for a number of reasons including earlier end-of-sales and end-of-life support. This  is not unique to VCF 9.0 and it is not unique pre or post-acquisition of VMware.

In addition to reviewing the updated BCG, KB 391170 - Deprecated devices in ESXi 9.0 and implications for support was also just published last week that provides a list of specific deprecated and end-of-life devices that you can check specifically.

To assist and automate the inventory of your existing I/O devices and then cross-checking that against the BCG, I have created several PowerShell and PowerCLI scripts which you can refer to this blog post HERE for more detail.

I know many of our users are excited to get their hands with VCF 9.0 in their lab and may be looking for some guidance, recommendations or just wondering what will work. I do plan on publishing some additional resources that will be available to community at GA, including an internal crowdsourced of systems (mostly not on the BCG) that folks have had success with installing ESXi 9.0, so stay tuned for that information.