vSphere Foundation Installation

Start the VCF Installer wizard and select VVF deployment. Step 1: Existing components check — installer scans for any existing vSphere/VCF components. Step 2: General information — enter VVF-specific configuration: environment name, admin credentials, license keys (per-core), and domain settings. Note: VVF wizard does not ask for SDDC Manager or NSX configuration (these are VCF-only steps).

Step 3: VCF Operations configuration — specify: OVA deployment location, IP address, FQDN, admin credentials. VCF Operations serves as the admin console for VVF. Step 4: vCenter configuration — specify: vCenter FQDN, IP address, SSO domain (vsphere.local default), admin credentials, deployment size (small/medium/large based on host count). vCenter is the core management component for VVF.

Step 5: Storage type selection — choose from: vSAN ESA (recommended for new deployments, NVMe single-tier), vSAN OSA (legacy, cache+capacity tiers), NFS (external NAS storage), VMFS-FC (Fibre Channel SAN). For vSAN ESA: configure storage pool settings. Step 6: Add hosts — enter ESXi host credentials (IP, username, password) for each host. Minimum 4 hosts for vSAN FTT=1. Installer validates host connectivity and hardware compatibility.

Step 7: Configure host networks — assign VMkernel adapters for management, vMotion, vSAN traffic. Step 8: DVS (Distributed Virtual Switch) configuration — select network profile based on NIC count: 2-NIC profile (shared management+vMotion on one NIC, vSAN on other), 4-NIC profile (dedicated NICs for each traffic type). Step 9: Review all configuration, run validation checks, then deploy. Deployment creates: vCenter VM, VCF Operations VM, configures all hosts into a cluster with selected storage. Monitor deployment progress in the installer UI.

Document the alternative deployment method: JSON specification file. Instead of the wizard, create a JSON file defining all configuration parameters. Deploy using: VCF Installer API or CLI with the JSON spec. Benefits: repeatable deployments, version-controlled configuration, automated CI/CD integration. Compare: wizard is interactive (good for learning), JSON spec is automated (good for production repeatability). Document the key JSON sections: hosts, networking, storage, credentials.

Create a side-by-side comparison of VVF vs VCF wizard steps. VVF skips: SDDC Manager configuration, NSX Manager configuration (3-node cluster), NSX transport zone setup, NSX edge cluster configuration, VCF Automation configuration. Result: VVF wizard has fewer steps (approximately 9 vs 15+ for VCF). VVF deployment time: 2-3 hours. VCF deployment time: 4-6 hours.

VVF deploys: VCF Operations VM, vCenter VM, ESXi cluster with vSAN. VCF additionally deploys: SDDC Manager VM, NSX Manager cluster (3 VMs), NSX Edge cluster (2+ VMs), optionally VCF Automation. Total additional VMs for VCF: 6-8 management VMs. Additional resource overhead: approximately 50 vCPU, 200 GB RAM for VCF management components beyond VVF.

After VVF installation: management via VCF Operations Console and vSphere Client. Day-to-day operations: manual (create VMs in vSphere Client, manage storage via vSAN settings, no overlay networking). After VCF installation: management via SDDC Manager. Day-to-day operations: orchestrated (create workload domains, automated NSX overlay provisioning, lifecycle management via vLCM). Key insight: VVF is operationally simpler but less automated; VCF is more complex but highly automated.

VVF installation logs: VCF Installer appliance /var/log/vmware/vcf/bringup/. vCenter deployment: /var/log/vmware/upgrade/ on VCSA. VCF adds: SDDC Manager logs /var/log/vmware/vcf/sddc-manager-ui-app/, NSX Manager logs /var/log/proton/. For VVF troubleshooting: fewer log sources to check (no SDDC Manager, no NSX). Document the installation troubleshooting decision tree for VVF.

Access VCF Operations Console at https://<vcf-ops-fqdn>. Verify: Launchpad shows VVF components (vCenter, vSAN, VKS), Inventory tree shows vCenter instance with all hosts, vSAN Insights shows storage health and capacity, Infrastructure Security dashboard is accessible. Document any warnings or alerts in the console.

Access vSphere Client at https://<vcenter-fqdn>/ui. Verify: all ESXi hosts in cluster and connected, vSAN datastore visible and healthy, DRS and HA enabled on cluster, VM creation test (deploy a test VM, verify it starts and has storage), vMotion test between hosts. Document: vCenter version, cluster configuration, storage policy assignments.

In vSphere Client, navigate to Cluster > Monitor > vSAN > Health. Run proactive health tests. Verify: all health checks green, disk balance within acceptable range, network health (multicast/unicast operational), hardware compatibility (all devices on HCL), capacity utilization below 70%. Run: esxcli vsan health cluster list from ESXi host SSH for CLI-based verification.

Even if converge is not immediate, assess readiness: (a) sufficient free compute resources for SDDC Manager (4 vCPU/16 GB), NSX Manager x3 (18 vCPU/72 GB), VCF Automation (8 vCPU/32 GB), (b) network VLANs prepared for NSX TEP and edge uplinks, (c) additional DNS records created for future SDDC Manager and NSX Manager FQDNs, (d) IP address pool reserved for NSX TEP addresses. Document the converge readiness checklist with current status for each item.

Create an operational baseline document for the VVF environment: (a) component inventory (vCenter version, VCF Operations version, ESXi version, vSAN version), (b) network configuration (VLANs, IP ranges, DNS entries), (c) storage configuration (vSAN policy, capacity, disk layout), (d) credential inventory (vCenter admin, ESXi root, VCF Operations admin), (e) backup configuration (vCenter file-based backup target). This baseline serves as the reference for future converge and troubleshooting.