How do you navigate VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9 terminology changes? The quick answer is that VCF 9 rebrands legacy products to unify the platform. These changes reflect a shift toward a seamlessly integrated, cloud-native infrastructure model designed for centralized management and multi-tenancy.
In my previous blog post, we explored how Broadcom transitioned VMware from a loosely connected suite of products into a unified cloud-native platform. That architectural shift requires IT professionals to learn a completely updated vocabulary. Technology providers frequently rebrand tools during major acquisitions, but the changes in the VMware Cloud Foundation 9 release are extensive. Mastering this new language is critical for infrastructure teams that need to maintain system uptime and secure their environments.
Consider this a running cheat sheet to the names you might know under either good old vSphere (vCenter+ESXi) or VCF 5.x, and what they mean in the “new hotness.” You may want to bookmark this article for future reference.
New and Changing Terminology
VCF 9.0 name |
Formerly called |
| ESX | ESXi |
| VCF Installer | Cloud Builder |
| VCF Fleet Management | (new in 9.0) |
| VCF Operations | Aria Operations / vROps |
| VCF Operations for Logs | Aria Operations for Logs / vRLI/ Log Insight |
| VCF Operations for Networks | Aria Operations for Networks / vRNI/ Network Insight |
| VCF Operations orchestrator | Aria Automation Orchestrator / vROps |
| VCF Automation | Aria Automation / vRA |
| VCF Identity Broker | Workspace ONE Access (identity role) |
| vSphere Supervisor | vSphere with Tanzu / IaaS Control Plane |
| vDefend | NSX advanced security (IDS/IPS, Malware Prevention) |
| Distributed Transit Gateway (DTGW) | (new in 9.0) |
| VCF Domain (management, workload) | VCF Instance |
The VCF 9.0 Deployment Component Stack
As mentioned previously, VMware Cloud Foundation consists of four distinct component layers that intertwine to deliver distributed services. Understanding these layers helps your team allocate resources efficiently and maintain robust security standards.
Here is how the VMware Cloud Foundation 9 deployment stack is structured:
- Deployment / Bring-up layer
- VCF Installer
Administrators use this tool one time to build the initial management domain. Once the deployment finishes, you do not need the VCF Installer for daily operations. (This is the “destroy after reading” component of the VMware universe.)
- Instance management layer (management domain only)
- SDDC Manager
- VCF Fleet Management (via VCF Operations)
This layer exists strictly within the management domain. The SDDC Manager and VCF Fleet Management provide real-time insights and allow your administrators to manage operations across multiple cloud regions seamlessly.
- Infrastructure layer (management and workload domains)
- vCenter
- ESX hosts
- NSX Manager cluster + Edge cluster
- vSAN
- VCF Identity Broker
The infrastructure layer operates across both management and workload domains. It includes your core compute, storage, and networking technologies.
- Operations and consumption layer (management domain only)
- VCF Operations (main cluster)
- VCF Operations for Logs
- VCF Operations for Networks
- VCF Automation
- VCF Operations HCX (if needed for migration)
This management-only layer houses the tools required for day-to-day administration and cloud consumption.
Creating User-facing Constructs
Once these components are built and created, we can create all customer or user facing constructs on top of them:
- Multi-tenancy
- Projects
- VPCs
- Namespaces
- Provider Libraries
- Tenant Workloads
- Content Libraries
- VMs
- Containers
- Networks
- Edges
- Tenant Libraries
Conclusion
New technology is a challenge, even more so when you don’t know the terminology around it. While the new VMware Cloud Foundation 9 terminology might seem overwhelming at first, these changes represent a powerful shift toward a more secure and efficient cloud-native environment.
While VCF isn’t a completely new capability, the 9.0 release, as well as the upcoming 9.1 version, include a host of new or changing terms and constructs. Now that you’ve got the lay of the land, we’ll focus upcoming blog articles on the ways that VMware Cloud Foundation can empower your business to grow in new and exciting ways.
