When you want to deploy VCF (VMware Cloud Foundation) or VVF (VMware vSphere Foundation), you typically use the VCF installer. Even though the VCF installer has VCF in its name, it can be used to deploy VVF.

In this post, I will show you step by step how to deploy the VCF installer on VMware ESX.

Prerequisites

• Static IP for the VCF Installer appliance.
• FQDN for the VCF Installer appliance with forward and reverse DNS records.
• Enough resources to run the VCF Installer VM.
  • The VCF Installer VM will need:
    • 4 vCPU
    • 16GB RAM
    • 914GB disk space
• A root password for the VCF Installer appliance.
• A local user password for the VCF Installer appliance.
• NTP Servers.

The Process

The entire VCF Installer deployment process is divided into two sections.

• Downloading the VCF Installer
• Deployment of the VCF Installer

Download VCF Installer

Before we can deploy the VCF Installer, we need to download it first.

• Login to the Broadcom Support Portal https://support.broadcom.com/.

• Click on Software > VMware Cloud Foundation > My Downloads.

• Click on VMware Cloud Foundation or VMware vSphere Foundation.

• Click VMware Cloud Foundation 9 or VMware vSphere Foundation 9 to expand the releases, then click the release you want.

• Beside VCF Installer click on View Group.

• Before you can download anything, you need to read and review the Terms and Conditions and the Compliance Reporting Terms and Conditions.

• Click on Terms and Conditions to read them.
• Click on Compliance Reporting Terms and Conditions to read them.
• After reading, if you agree to the Terms and Conditions and the Compliance Reporting Terms and Conditions, select I agree.

• Download the VCF SDDC Manager Appliance OVA.

Technically, you are downloading the VCF SDDC (Software Defined Datacenter) Manager.

The SDDC Manager has two purposes:

1. The VCF Installer for VCF and VVF
2. The SDDC Manager for VCF.
   • If you deploy the VCF Installer on an ESX host that will be part of your VCF management domain, the VCF Installer will convert into your SDDC Manager.

Deploy VCF Installer

Now that we have the VCF Installer downloaded, we can deploy it.

If you deploy the VCF Installer to an ESX host that will be used for the VCF Management Domain, it will convert to the SDDC Manager and can no longer be used as an installer.

• To use the VCF Installer, you need to deploy it to something. The following are supported:
  • VMware vCenter
  • VMware ESX
  • VMware Workstation
  • VMware Fusion

In my example, I will deploy the VCF Installer to an ESX host. The process will be similar on other platforms.

• Login to VMware ESX.

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