{"id":74794,"date":"2026-07-01T13:56:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T11:56:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/?p=74794"},"modified":"2026-07-01T16:24:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T14:24:04","slug":"vmware-cloud-foundation-and-vsphere-foundation-9-1-upgrade-now-for-the-new-security-baseline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/vmware-cloud-foundation-and-vsphere-foundation-9-1-upgrade-now-for-the-new-security-baseline\/","title":{"rendered":"VMware Cloud Foundation and vSphere Foundation 9.1: Upgrade Now for the New Security Baseline"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Close your security gap<\/strong> as artificial intelligence accelerates every new threat.<\/p>\n<p>Effective <strong>June 25, 2026<\/strong>, <strong>Broadcom is urging customers to fast-track their upgrade to VCF\/VVF 9.1<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-74831\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-LinkedIn-VMware-Cloud-Foundation-vSphere-Foundation-9.1-Security-800x526.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-LinkedIn-VMware-Cloud-Foundation-vSphere-Foundation-9.1-Security-800x526.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-LinkedIn-VMware-Cloud-Foundation-vSphere-Foundation-9.1-Security-500x329.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-LinkedIn-VMware-Cloud-Foundation-vSphere-Foundation-9.1-Security-150x99.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-LinkedIn-VMware-Cloud-Foundation-vSphere-Foundation-9.1-Security-768x505.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-LinkedIn-VMware-Cloud-Foundation-vSphere-Foundation-9.1-Security.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Summary<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Broadcom urges all customers to <strong>upgrade to VCF\/VVF 9.1 as soon as possible<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Broadcom research shows the time to exploit a new vulnerability has <strong>dropped from weeks to hours<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)<\/strong> and <strong>VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) 9.1<\/strong> deliver the newest security, resilience, and compliance capabilities, including <strong>live patching<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Older releases &#8211; <strong>vSphere 8.x, VCF\/VVF 5.x, and VCF\/VVF 9.0<\/strong> &#8211; keep scheduled patches but <strong>lack the newest protections<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>VCF Operations must be deployed first<\/strong>: it is mandatory in version 9 and <strong>included in your VCF and VVF subscription<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>New <strong>Upgrade Planner and Upgrade Assist<\/strong> tools streamline the move from older environments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-74799\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-VCF-VVF-91-800x342.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-VCF-VVF-91-800x342.png 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-VCF-VVF-91-500x214.png 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-VCF-VVF-91-150x64.png 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-VCF-VVF-91-768x328.png 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-VCF-VVF-91.png 1300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Why the upgrade is urgent &#8211; and what VCF\/VVF 9.1 delivers in response.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What is changing?<\/h2>\n<p>Broadcom introduced <strong>VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1 on May 5, 2026<\/strong>, and on <strong>June 25, 2026<\/strong> began a <strong>global campaign urging customers to upgrade<\/strong>. The driver is security. Testing of frontier artificial intelligence security models against production code shows that adversaries now <strong>exploit new vulnerabilities in hours, not weeks<\/strong>. That pace is the new baseline for infrastructure security.<\/p>\n<p>VCF\/VVF 9.1 carries the <strong>most current security posture<\/strong> &#8211; not only vulnerability fixes, but <strong>foundational improvements<\/strong> such as <strong>live patching<\/strong> that make ongoing maintenance faster and less disruptive at scale. Broadcom will keep patching <strong>vSphere 8.x, VCF\/VVF 5.x, and VCF\/VVF 9.0<\/strong> on their existing schedules, but those releases <strong>do not include the newest protections<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What are VCF and VVF?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)<\/strong> is Broadcom&#8217;s integrated private-cloud platform that combines compute, storage, networking, and management. <strong>VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF)<\/strong> is the vSphere-centric bundle for data-center virtualization. Both are <strong>subscription-based and licensed per core<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Since version 9, both are operated and licensed through a <strong>VCF Operations<\/strong> instance and the <strong>VMware Cloud Foundation Business Services console<\/strong>. Subscription license files replace the former 25-character license keys, which makes <strong>VCF Operations central to how you run and license the platform<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Customer benefits at a glance<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Shrink the window attackers have <strong>between disclosure and patch<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Hold your estate to the <strong>current security and compliance baseline<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Reduce maintenance downtime through <strong>live patching at scale<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Standardize operations and licensing through a <strong>single VCF Operations control point<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Reuse much of your <strong>existing vSphere 8.x hardware<\/strong>, lowering upgrade cost.<\/li>\n<li>Move with <strong>less manual effort<\/strong> using guided upgrade tooling.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Key capabilities<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Live patching<\/strong> for faster, less disruptive security maintenance.<\/li>\n<li>An <strong>accelerated patch-delivery cadence<\/strong> for VCF 9.1.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Zero-trust segmentation<\/strong> and <strong>sovereign recovery<\/strong> for production artificial intelligence workloads.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Upgrade Planner and Upgrade Assist<\/strong> lifecycle tools for upgrades from vSphere 8.x and VCF 5.x.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hardware compatibility with vSphere 8.x<\/strong> (announced February 2026), reducing upgrade friction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Before you upgrade: VCF Operations comes first<\/h2>\n<p>One prerequisite is easy to miss. Since version 9, <strong>VCF Operations is a mandatory component<\/strong>. You <strong>cannot upgrade the core stack to version 9 until VCF Operations is in place<\/strong>. If you do not run it today &#8211; or you still run the former VMware Aria Operations &#8211; you must <strong>deploy or upgrade it first<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The good news: <strong>VCF Operations is included in both VCF and VVF subscriptions<\/strong>, so this is about <strong>deployment, not buying a new product<\/strong>. The upgrade then proceeds in order: <strong>VCF Operations, SDDC Manager, NSX, vCenter, and finally the ESX hosts<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-74795\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-VCF-VVF-91-operations-800x324.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-VCF-VVF-91-operations-800x324.png 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-VCF-VVF-91-operations-500x203.png 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-VCF-VVF-91-operations-150x61.png 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-VCF-VVF-91-operations-768x311.png 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/07\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-07-01-Update-VCF-VVF-91-operations.png 1300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The version 9 upgrade sequence &#8211; VCF Operations must be in place first.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Why this is relevant now<\/h2>\n<p>When exploitation takes <strong>hours<\/strong>, an unpatched estate is exposed almost immediately. Staying on older releases means <strong>missing the newest protections<\/strong>, even while scheduled patches continue. Upgrading early <strong>reduces risk and shortens exposure<\/strong> and avoids a rushed migration later. Because version 9 also <strong>changes how you license and operate the platform<\/strong>, planning protects budget and avoids surprises at renewal.<\/p>\n<p>If you are still mapping the new VMware subscriptions, our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/vmware-by-broadcom-portfolio-simplification-and-transition-to-subscription\/\">VMware licensing guide<\/a> explains the post-Broadcom model.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What organizations should do now<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Inventory<\/strong> every VCF, VVF, vSphere 8.x, and VCF\/VVF 5.x environment and its <strong>current version<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Confirm<\/strong> whether <strong>VCF Operations<\/strong> is already deployed, since it is required before any version 9 upgrade.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Validate<\/strong> your hardware against the <strong>VCF 9.1 compatibility list<\/strong> before you set dates.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sequence<\/strong> the upgrade &#8211; VCF Operations, SDDC Manager, NSX, vCenter, ESX hosts &#8211; using <strong>Upgrade Planner and Upgrade Assist<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Review<\/strong> your <strong>VCF and VVF entitlements and term dates<\/strong> so the upgrade fits your subscription.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Prioritize<\/strong> internet-facing and artificial intelligence workloads for the <strong>earliest upgrade windows<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Ready to align your VCF and VVF licensing with version 9.1?<\/h2>\n<p>Our <strong>VMware licensing experts<\/strong> help you confirm what your <strong>VCF and VVF subscriptions include<\/strong> &#8211; such as VCF Operations &#8211; compare <strong>1-, 3-, and 5-year terms<\/strong>, and plan renewals around your upgrade. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/contact\/\"><strong>Contact us<\/strong><\/a> to get your VMware licensing right before you move to 9.1.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Sources<\/h2>\n<p><em>For the announcement of VMware Cloud Foundation and vSphere Foundation 9.1, please visit: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/news.broadcom.com\/releases\/broadcom-announces-vmware-cloud-foundation-9-1\"><em>https:\/\/news.broadcom.com\/releases\/broadcom-announces-vmware-cloud-foundation-9-1<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>For useful software licensing information on VMware products, please visit: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/software\/vmware\/\"><em>https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/software\/vmware\/<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Close your security gap as artificial intelligence accelerates every new threat. Effective June 25, 2026, Broadcom is urging customers to fast-track their upgrade to VCF\/VVF 9.1. Summary Broadcom urges all customers to upgrade to VCF\/VVF 9.1 as soon as possible. Broadcom research shows the time to exploit a new vulnerability has dropped from weeks to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":47363,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[683],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-broadcom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74794"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74890,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74794\/revisions\/74890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}