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VCP-VVF Administrator Study Guide: Objective 4.2 – VVF: Manage, Part 4: Manage the Lifecycle of VMware vSphere Foundation

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Welcome back to our VMware Certified Professional – VMware vSphere Foundation Administrator (2V0-16.25) study guide series! This section is part of the upcoming VCP-VVF Study Guide Page, which will be released as a PDF when completed—check it out at https://www.vladan.fr/vcp-vvf-administrator/.


Today, we’re continuing with Objective 4.2 – VVF: Manage, focusing on Given a scenario, manage the lifecycle of VMware vSphere Foundation. Lifecycle management in VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) 9.0 involves upgrading and patching vCenter Server, ESXi hosts, and components like vSAN and the Supervisor using vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) and VCF Operations.

This objective is critical for the 2V0-16.25 exam, testing your ability to maintain a VVF environment through updates and upgrades. Building on our previous posts (Objective 4.2, Part 1 on Identity Management and RBAC, Part 2 on License Management, and Part 3 on Certificate Management), we’ll provide detailed, verified steps, practical tips, and exam-focused guidance using a realistic scenario, aligned with VMware’s official vSphere 9.0 and VCF 9.0 documentation (https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vsphere/vsphere/9-0.html and https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vcf/vcf-9-0-and-later/9-0/lifecycle-management.html). Let’s get into it and manage the VVF lifecycle!

Why Lifecycle Management Matters

Lifecycle management in VVF 9.0 ensures that vCenter Server, ESXi hosts, vSAN, and the Supervisor remain up-to-date with the latest patches, firmware, and versions, maintaining security, performance, and feature availability. VVF 9.0 leverages vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) for ESXi host upgrades and VCF Operations for integrated management, replacing traditional baselines with image-based updates. Objective 4.2, Part 4, tests your ability to perform lifecycle tasks like patching and upgrading in scenarios involving compliance and operational continuity. We’ll cover deploying updates using vLCM and VCF Operations, ensuring minimal disruption.

Scenario: Managing the Lifecycle of VVF

Let’s use a typical exam scenario: A medium-sized business has a VVF 9.0 environment with a 4-host cluster (“VVF-Cluster”) running 20 VMs (10 web servers, 5 databases, 5 VDI desktops) on a vSAN datastore (“vSAN-Datastore”), managed by vCenter 9.0 (IP: 192.168.1.20, hosts at 192.168.1.10-13). The environment includes vSphere HA, DRS, a vSphere Distributed Switch (“vDS-VVF”), a Supervisor for Kubernetes workloads in “Microservices-Namespace” (Objective 4.1, Part 3), and a VCF Operations instance (“vcf-operations-vm”, IP 192.168.10.54, Objective 4.2, Part 2). The business needs to apply a critical security patch (ESXi 9.0 Update 1) and upgrade vCenter to 9.0 Update 1 to address vulnerabilities and enable new Supervisor features. You must: manage the VVF lifecycle by updating ESXi hosts using vLCM, upgrading vCenter via VCF Operations, and verifying compliance, ensuring no downtime for critical VMs. This scenario tests your ability to manage the VVF lifecycle for the 2V0-16.25 exam.

Managing the VVF Lifecycle: Step-by-Step

Managing the lifecycle of VVF 9.0 involves patching ESXi hosts using vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) and upgrading vCenter via VCF Operations, with verification to ensure compliance. Below is a detailed, double-checked guide with manual steps for the scenario, using the vSphere Client and VCF Operations UI.

1. Prepare for Lifecycle Management

Purpose: Verify prerequisites and prepare the environment for updates to minimize disruption.

Detailed Process:

  • Check Current Versions:Log in to vCenter at https://192.168.1.20/ui using SSO credentials (e.g., [email protected]).
  • Navigate to Hosts and Clusters → VVF-Cluster → Hosts and confirm ESXi hosts are at 9.0.0 (e.g., build 22380479).
  • Check Menu → Administration → vCenter Server → Summary to confirm vCenter is at 9.0.0.
  • Verify VCF Operations (“vcf-operations-vm”, 192.168.10.54) is running and registered in Connected Mode (Objective 4.2, Part 2).

Verify License Compliance:

  • In the VCF Operations UI (https://192.168.10.54), go to Licensing → License Usage.
  • Confirm the VVF license (“VVF-License-2025”, 8 cores, 8 TiB vSAN) is active and supports updates.

Check Prerequisites:

  • Ensure vSAN health: Cluster → Monitor → vSAN → Skyline Health shows no errors.
  • Verify HA and DRS are enabled: Cluster → Configure → Services → vSphere HA and DRS.
  • Back up vCenter: Navigate to Menu → Administration → vCenter Server → Backup and schedule a backup to an FTP server (e.g., ftp://192.168.1.100).
  • Confirm VM workloads are protected: Ensure critical VMs (web, database) are on HA-protected hosts.
  • Download the ESXi 9.0 Update 1 image and vCenter 9.0 Update 1 bundle from vcf.broadcom.com.

Verification:

  • Confirm backups are complete in vCenter Server → Backup → Activities.
  • Check VCF Operations → Licensing for no license warnings.
  • Verify sufficient vSAN capacity (~2 TiB available) for temporary data reshuffling during updates.

Scenario Example: Verify ESXi 9.0.0 and vCenter 9.0.0 versions, confirm “VVF-License-2025” is active, back up vCenter, and ensure vSAN health for “VVF-Cluster”.

Study Tip: Memorize prerequisites (license, backups, vSAN health) and practice checking them in VMware Hands-On Labs https://labs.hol.vmware.com/. Understand vLCM’s image-based approach for the exam

2. Update ESXi Hosts Using vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM)

Purpose: Apply ESXi 9.0 Update 1 to the 4 hosts in “VVF-Cluster” using vLCM to ensure security and compliance.

Detailed Process:

Import ESXi Update Image:

  • In vCenter, navigate to Menu → Lifecycle Manager → Images.
  • Click Import Image and upload the ESXi 9.0 Update 1 ISO (e.g., ESXi-9.0U1-23009485.iso) from vcf.broadcom.com.
  • Name the image “ESXi-9.0U1-VVF” and verify components (e.g., ESXi base image, vendor add-ons).

Create Cluster Image:

  • Navigate to Hosts and Clusters → VVF-Cluster → Updates → Images.
  • Click New Image, select “ESXi-9.0U1-VVF”, and include compatible firmware/drivers (e.g., HPE for host hardware).
  • Save the image as “VVF-Cluster-Image-U1”.

Note: again here, the “U1” is hypotetical, just for our excercise. OK?

Remediate Hosts:

  • In VVF-Cluster → Updates → Images, select “VVF-Cluster-Image-U1” and click Remediate.
  • Choose Stage and Remediate to pre-stage updates, reducing downtime.
  • Configure settings:Enable Quick Boot to minimize reboot time.
  • Set Maintenance Mode Options: Evacuate VMs with DRS (ensures no downtime for critical VMs).
  • Schedule remediation for a maintenance window (e.g., midnight).
  • Select all 4 hosts (192.168.1.10-13) and start remediation.
  • vLCM will sequentially update hosts, leveraging HA and DRS to migrate VMs.

Verification:

  • Monitor VVF-Cluster → Updates → Tasks for remediation progress.
  • Check Hosts and Clusters → VVF-Cluster → Hosts to confirm each host is at ESXi 9.0 Update 1 (e.g., build 23009485).
  • Verify Cluster → Monitor → vSAN → Skyline Health shows no issues post-update.
  • Test a VM (e.g., web server) to ensure no downtime occurred.

Scenario Example: Import ESXi 9.0 Update 1, create “VVF-Cluster-Image-U1”, and remediate all 4 hosts in “VVF-Cluster” with DRS to avoid VM downtime.

Study Tip: Practice vLCM image-based updates in a lab, focusing on staging and remediation. Understand Quick Boot and DRS integration for the exam.

3. Upgrade vCenter Using VCF Operations

Purpose: Upgrade vCenter to 9.0 Update 1 via VCF Operations to enable new Supervisor features and address vulnerabilities.

Detailed Process:

Download vCenter Update Bundle:

(this is an example only. The U1 has not been released yet durign the time of writing)

  • Log in to the Broadcom Support Portal (vcf.broadcom.com) and navigate to Downloads → VMware Cloud Foundation → vCenter Server → 9.0 Update 1.
  • Download the update bundle (e.g., vcenter-9.0U1-bundle.zip).

Upload Bundle to VCF Operations:

  • In the VCF Operations UI (https://192.168.10.54), go to Lifecycle → Bundle Management.
  • Click Upload Bundle and select vcenter-9.0U1-bundle.zip.
  • Verify the bundle is listed as “Available” for vCenter 9.0 Update 1.

Run Pre-Upgrade Checks:

  • Navigate to Lifecycle → Updates → vCenter Server.
  • Select “vcenter-vvf” (192.168.1.20) and click Check Compatibility.
  • Confirm no issues (e.g., vSAN health, backup availability, sufficient disk space).

Perform the Upgrade:

  • In Lifecycle → Updates → vCenter Server, select “vcenter-vvf” and “vcenter-9.0U1-bundle.zip”.
  • Click Upgrade and schedule for a maintenance window.
  • VCF Operations stages the update, restarts vCenter services, and completes the upgrade (~30-60 minutes).

Verification:

  • Check VCF Operations → Lifecycle → Updates → History for successful upgrade status.
  • In vCenter, verify Administration → vCenter Server → Summary shows 9.0 Update 1 (e.g., build 23009486).
  • Confirm Workload Management → Supervisors → VVF-Cluster is operational with new Supervisor features (e.g., enhanced pod scaling).

Scenario Example: Upload vCenter 9.0 Update 1 bundle to VCF Operations, upgrade “vcenter-vvf” (192.168.1.20), and verify Supervisor functionality.

Study Tip: Memorize the VCF Operations upgrade process and pre-checks. Practice vCenter upgrades in a lab for the exam.

4. Verify Compliance and Functionality

Purpose: Ensure the VVF environment is compliant and all features function post-update.

Detailed Process:

Check Compliance:

  • In VCF Operations, go to Lifecycle → Compliance.
  • Verify “VVF-Cluster” and “vcenter-vvf” are compliant with ESXi 9.0 Update 1 and vCenter 9.0 Update 1.
  • Check Licensing → License Usage to confirm no license violations (8 cores, 8 TiB vSAN).

Test VVF Features:

  • vSAN: Check Storage → Datastores → vSAN-Datastore for health and capacity (~2 TiB).
  • HA: Simulate a host failure (Hosts and Clusters → VVF-Cluster → Actions → Maintenance Mode) and confirm VM restarts.
  • DRS: Verify Cluster → Monitor → DRS → Resource Distribution for balanced VM placement.
  • Supervisor: Deploy a test pod in “Microservices-Namespace” (e.g., kubectl -n Microservices-Namespace run nginx-pod –image=nginx) and confirm enhanced features (e.g., pod scaling).

Verification:

  • Review VCF Operations → Lifecycle → Compliance for no errors.
  • Check vCenter Events for update-related logs.
  • Confirm all 20 VMs (web, database, VDI) and Kubernetes workloads operate without issues.

Scenario Example: Verify ESXi and vCenter are at 9.0 Update 1, confirm vSAN, HA, DRS, and Supervisor functionality, and ensure compliance via VCF Operations.

Study Tip: Practice compliance checks and feature testing in a lab. Understand the 90-day evaluation period and 180-day license usage reporting for VVF 9.0.

Exam Scenarios and Tips

Scenarios:

Scenario: ESXi host remediation fails. What should you check?
Answer: Verify vSAN health, DRS settings, and sufficient vSAN capacity. Check vLCM logs in Updates → Tasks.

Scenario: vCenter upgrade fails in VCF Operations. What’s a likely issue?>
Answer: Missing backup, insufficient disk space, or vSAN health issues. Run pre-upgrade checks in VCF Operations.

Scenario: Supervisor features are unavailable post-upgrade. How do you fix it?
Answer: Confirm vCenter is licensed and at 9.0 Update 1. Re-apply the VVF license via VCF Operations if needed.

Study Tips:

Resources:

Sample Exam Questions

What tool is used to update ESXi hosts in VVF 9.0?
A. vCenter Update Planner
B. vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM)
C. VCF Business Services Console
D. vSAN Skyline Health
Answer: B. vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM).

What is a prerequisite for upgrading vCenter in VVF 9.0?
A. Disable DRS
B. Back up vCenter
C. Decommission a host
D. Disable vSAN
Answer: B. Back up vCenter.

How do you verify compliance after a VVF lifecycle update?
A. Check vSAN capacity
B. Use VCF Operations Compliance tab
C. Reboot all VMs
D. Recreate the Supervisor
Answer: B. Use VCF Operations Compliance tab.

 

Final Words

Managing the lifecycle of VVF 9.0 is a critical skill for the 2V0-16.25 exam and VVF administration. By using vSphere Lifecycle Manager for ESXi updates and VCF Operations for vCenter upgrades, you ensure security, compliance, and feature availability with minimal disruption. The upcoming VCP-VVF Study Guide Page, available at https://www.vladan.fr/vcp-vvf-administrator/, will be released as a PDF to support your preparation. Stay tuned for the next part of Objective 4.2! Happy studying, and good luck on your VCP-VVF journey!

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