Short answer: The Cisco UCS Manager plugin for vSphere is a remote plugin for the vSphere HTML client. It runs from its own OVA appliance. Version 4.0(0) was released in November 2023 and added support for vSphere 8.0 U2. The current release is 4.0(1). Cisco’s release notes list both versions for vSphere 7.0 U1 to U3, 8.0 GA to 8.0 U3, and 9.0, with UCS Manager 3.2 or later. The appliance needs 4 vCPU and 8 GB RAM.
I first wrote this post in November 2023 after rolling out 4.0(0) across about 13 UCS Manager domains and 411 ESXi 8.0 U2 hosts. This September 2026 update adds 4.0(1) and the current compatibility matrix from Cisco’s release notes, and keeps my hands-on notes.
Cisco UCS Manager plugin vSphere compatibility
| vSphere HTML client | Cisco UCS Manager plugin versions |
|---|---|
| 7.0 | 3.0(4), 3.0(5), 3.0(6) |
| 7.0 U1, 7.0 U2 | 3.0(5), 3.0(6), 4.0(0), 4.0(1) |
| 7.0 U3 | 3.0(5), 3.0(6), 4.0(0), 4.0(1) |
| 8.0, 8.0 U1, 8.0 U2, 8.0 U3 | 4.0(0), 4.0(1) |
| 9.0 | 4.0(0), 4.0(1) |
UCS Manager support is listed as “Release 3.2 and later”. Two known limitations are still open: CSCwi01415, where vCenter 7.0 GA is not supported (use 7.0 U1 or later), and CSCwi01422, where vSphere 8.0.1 does not show some appliance network fields (IP address, gateway, netmask).
Cisco UCS Manager remote plugin 4.0(0) vs 4.0(1)
| Release | Date | New in this release |
|---|---|---|
| 4.0(0) | 6 November 2023 | Plugin registration through the Cisco UCS Manager plugin appliance, registration of multiple vCenter Servers, support bundle logs (vCenter and appliance), adding and deleting custom faults, list of Proactive HA faults |
| 4.0(1) | Release notes created March 2024, last updated December 2025 | Plugin upgrade from the CLI, adding a certificate, changing the appliance IP and password, and actions removed for unmanaged servers. Fixes CSCwi01416, CSCwi01417, CSCwi01420, CSCwi01423, CSCwi03516 and CSCwj65650 (including FQDN registration and upper-case hostname issues). |
If you are still on 4.0(0), move to 4.0(1). It fixes several registration bugs, and the CLI upgrade makes later updates easier.
What the plugin does in vCenter
- Physical hierarchy view of the UCS domain: chassis, blades, rack servers.
- Inventory: installed firmware, faults, and power and temperature statistics.
- Mapping of ESXi hosts to physical servers.
- Firmware management for B-Series and C-Series servers.
- Launch of the UCS Manager GUI and the KVM console from vCenter.
- Locator LED control.
- Cisco UCS provider for vSphere Proactive HA, with configurable faults.
Install the plugin and register vCenter
- Download the plugin OVA from Cisco Software Download (Cisco.com login required).
- Deploy the OVA with 4 vCPU and 8 GB RAM, on a 4 GB thin-provisioned or 100 GB thick-provisioned datastore.
- Log in to the appliance and register one or more vCenter Servers. The steps are in the chapter “Installing the Plug-in OVA and Registering the VMware vCenter Servers” of the user guide.
- In the vSphere client, open the plugin and register your UCS Manager domains.
- Optional: enable the Cisco UCS provider for Proactive HA on the cluster and choose which faults it should act on.
Proactive HA experience from production
Proactive HA worked as intended with fault F1236. When it was raised, the plugin’s provider put the blade’s ESXi host into Quarantine mode automatically.
I had trouble with a custom fault, F1705: Proactive HA did not trigger on it. It was probably a configuration issue on my side, but I would like Cisco to include F1705 in the default fault list. I describe the setup in Add F1705 alert to Cisco UCS Manager plugin 4.0(0).
Sources
- Release Notes for Cisco UCS Manager Plug-in Release 4.x for VMware vSphere
- Cisco UCS Manager Plug-in for VMware vSphere HTML Client User Guide, Release 4.x
- Cisco Software Download: UCS Manager plugin (Cisco.com login required)
