vD vDan VMware · VCF · NSX · K8S

VCF Upgrade Planner

Short answer: pick your current and target VMware Cloud Foundation version and this VCF upgrade planner returns the supported hop sequence, the bill of materials for every hop, the component upgrade order, interoperability checks and the release notes. The versions and the supported-path matrices are not typed in by hand: the page loads the data file that VMware publishes for its own upgrade planner, which a GitHub Actions job refreshes every week from the Broadcom Interoperability Matrix, so new VCF builds show up here within days of their release.

Bills of materials for 5.2.x come from the Broadcom release notes; for 9.x they are derived from the matrix. Export the plan as Markdown for the change record or print it as a checklist.

Running plain vSphere without SDDC Manager? Switch the first selector to vSphere (no SDDC Manager): tick the products you run (vCenter, ESX, VCF Operations, VCF Automation, NSX, Dell VxRail, Cloud Director), pick one of the four goals (vSphere 9.1 without a fleet, a new VCF 9.1 fleet, a new instance in an existing fleet, or an import as a workload domain) and the planner applies the same goal, version and path rules as VMware’s own planner, then adds the per-product upgrade chains and the Broadcom converge or import phases.

Prefer a full window, or want a shareable link such as ?from=5.2.1&to=9.1.1.0? Open the planner full screen →

How the VCF upgrade planner computes the path

  1. The SDDC Manager upgrade matrix from the Interop Matrix says which VCF version can be upgraded to which. If your pair is listed, the plan is a single hop.
  2. If not, the planner searches for the shortest supported sequence that never overshoots the target. When several sequences have the same length, your preference decides: newest GA stepping stones (default), newest of any kind, or GA releases only.
  3. For every hop it builds the target bill of materials, checks each component’s own upgrade matrix (vCenter, ESX, NSX, VCF Operations, VCF Automation) and the interoperability of the target vCenter, ESX and NSX with each other, and lists the Broadcom upgrade order for that train.
  4. Unsupported pairs show Broadcom’s reason, for example the forward-only rule: VCF 5.2.4 (May 2026) cannot go to 9.1.0 (released earlier) but can go to 9.1.1.

vSphere mode: from vSphere to vSphere 9.1 or VCF 9.1

  • Goals follow VMware’s planner. VxRail limits you to “Upgrade to vSphere 9.1 (no VCF fleet)”; VCF Automation, or VCF Operations together with NSX, limits you to “Create a new VCF 9.1 fleet”; VCF Operations alone allows the fleet and the vSphere 9.1 goals; NSX alone allows fleet, instance and workload-domain goals.
  • Version rules are checked before the plan. NSX 4.2.4.x and VCF Operations 8.18.7 can only go to 9.1.1; VCF Operations 9.0.2.0200 cannot go to 9.1.0.0 to 9.1.0.0200; vCenter 8.0 U3j/U3k without NSX reaches a fleet or instance only at 9.1.1; a 9.x vCenter or ESX needs VCF Operations in the selection; a new instance or workload domain must not be newer than the existing fleet.
  • Per-product paths come from the matrices. For vCenter, ESX, NSX, VCF Operations and VCF Automation the planner finds the shortest supported chain to the target bill of materials through each product’s own upgrade matrix (for example NSX 3.2.4 to 4.2.4.1 to 9.1.1.0) and checks the interoperability of the target versions with each other.
  • Phases come from the Broadcom guides. Converge with the VCF Installer (new fleet or new instance), import an existing vCenter as a workload domain, or upgrade vSphere and VCF Operations to VVF 9.1 with or without VCF Management Services. Cloud Director is handled by the VCF Automation 9.1 Migration Tool and is noted, not modelled; VxRail versions are a static list because the data file has none.

Rules the planner applies (VCF mode)

  • Forward-only: a target must have been released after your current version.
  • You can go directly to a patch release only if you can also reach its parent maintenance release.
  • Older than 5.2: bring the management domain and every workload domain to 5.2.x first; 4.5.2 or later can go straight to 5.2.x.
  • 5.2.x to 9.x is a sequential or skip-level upgrade; keep the Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.x instance and do not delete VMware Identity Manager.
  • Upgrade the VCF instance that hosts VCF Operations first, strictly in the documented component order; workload domains follow their management domain.

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