Introduction
Hello to all readers of the blog about IT Architecture and Training!
In the previous articles of the “VMware Training and Certification. Year 2025” series, we explored the evolution of VMware platforms, starting with core virtualization using VMware vSphere, continuing with software-defined storage through VMware vSAN, disaster recovery with VMware Site Recovery Manager, and the latest platform updates introduced with VMware vSphere 9 Foundation.
In this article, we shift our focus to VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) — VMware’s fully integrated platform for building and operating modern private and hybrid cloud environments.
The VMware Cloud Foundation training domain covers educational programs designed to help IT professionals design, deploy, and operate software-defined datacenters (SDDCs) based on tightly integrated compute, storage, networking, and cloud management components. Key areas include platform architecture, automated lifecycle management, infrastructure standardization, workload mobility, and integration with public cloud services.
This article will provide an overview of the current VMware Cloud Foundation training programs, their structure, learning objectives, and alignment with VMware certification paths, offering a comprehensive view of how VCF enables consistent operations across on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments.
VMware Cloud Foundation
VMware Cloud Foundation is the industry’s most advanced hybrid cloud platform. It provides a complete set of software-defined services for compute, storage, networking, security and cloud management to run enterprise apps-traditional or containerized – in private or public environments.
Current VMware Cloud Foundation Technology Curriculum:
● VMware Cloud Foundation: Deploy, Configure, Manage [V5.2]
- Course code: VCFDCM52.
- Duration: 5 days.
- Level of difficulty: Professional.
- Target audience: System architects and system administrators..
- Prerequisites: The course material presumes that you have the following skills or experience:
- VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage;
- VMware NSX: Install, Configure, Manage;
- VMware vSAN: Install, Configure, Manage.
This five-day course provides you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to achieve competence in deploying, managing, and operating VMware Cloud Foundation. You will learn about the architecture of VMware Cloud Foundation, storage and network management, licensing, and certificates. In addition to workload domains, availability, life cycle management, and troubleshooting, the course also covers VMware Aria Suite integration and VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA architecture and components.
● VMware Cloud Foundation: Troubleshooting [V5.0]
- Course code: VCFT5.
- Duration: 3 days.
- Level of difficulty: Advanced.
- Target audience: Experienced System Administrators, System Engineers, System Integrators.
- Prerequisites: This course requires completion of the following course:
- VMware Cloud Foundation: Deploy, Configure, Manage [V5.0],
- The course material presumes that you can perform the following tasks with no assistance or guidance before enrolling in this course:
- Operational capabilities with VMware vSphere processes and architecture;
- Operational capabilities with VMware NSX;
- Operational knowledge of VMware vSAN;
- Minimum one year experience with VMware Cloud Foundation.
This three-day training course provides the advanced knowledge, skills, and tools to achieve competency in troubleshooting problems in VMware Cloud Foundation infrastructure. In this course you are exposed to tools and methodologies that help you support and troubleshoot your VMware Cloud Foundation environment.
In addition, various scenarios are presented to you in hands-on student labs and simulations where you will learn to identify, analyze, and solve problems systematically in VMware Cloud Foundation infrastructure.
VMware Cloud Foundation 9
From an architectural standpoint, VMware Cloud Foundation 9 is built as a fully integrated Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) platform that unifies vSphere for compute virtualization, vSAN for software-defined storage, NSX for networking and security, and VMware Aria for cloud and operations management. A key architectural component of VCF is its automated lifecycle management (LCM) framework, which provides coordinated deployment, upgrade, and patching of the entire platform stack, significantly reducing operational complexity. By enforcing standardized architecture and validated configurations, VMware Cloud Foundation enables predictable performance, improved security posture, and consistent operations across on-premises, hybrid, and public cloud environments.
Current VMware Cloud Foundation 9 Technology Curriculum:
● VMware Cloud Foundation: Build, Manage, and Secure [9.0]
- Course code: VCFBMS9.
- Duration: 5 days.
- Level of difficulty: Professional.
- Target audience: This course is ideal for system administrators, solution engineers, consultants, architects, and support personnel.
- Prerequisites: Before attending this course, you should have experience and knowledge of VMware vSphere, VMware NSX, and vSAN environments.
- Certifications and related exams: This course is one of two courses recommended for the VMware Certified Professional – VMware Cloud Foundation Administrator certification.
This course provides you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to achieve competence in deploying, managing, operating, and securing private cloud using VMware Cloud Foundation® (VCF). You learn about the architecture of VCF, storage and network management, licensing, and certificates. In addition to workload domains, availability, and life cycle management, the course also covers upgrade scenarios.
● VMware Cloud Foundation – Automate and Operate [V9.0]
- Course code: VCFAOP9.
- Duration: 5 days.
- Level of difficulty: Professional.
- Target audience: System architects and system administrators.
- Prerequisites: Before taking this course, students should take the following courses:
- VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage;
- VMware NSX: Install, Configure, Manage.
This five-day course provides you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to achieve competence in automating and operating a VCF private cloud using VMware Cloud Foundation Automation and VMware Cloud Foundation Operations. You will learn about the architecture of VCF Automation, provider and organization management, provider and organization networking, and content library management. The course covers blueprints, catalogs, Supervisor management, and deploying workloads using the Catalog and IaaS portals. You will learn about VCF Operations overview, architecture, and navigating the user interface. You will explore customizing alerts, views, reports, dashboards, and policies. This course also explains VCF logs, storage, and network operations, health and diagnostics, service discovery, and application monitoring concepts.
● VMware Cloud Foundation – Troubleshooting [V9.0]
- Course code: VCFTS9.
- Duration: 5 days.
- Level of difficulty: Advanced.
- Target audience: System Administrators, Solution Engineers, Consultants, and Support Personnel.
- Prerequisites: Before taking this course, students should have completed the VMware Cloud Foundation Fundamentals for Technical Support training from Support Learning Path Stage-1.
- Familiarity with command-line interfaces is strongly recommended.
This comprehensive five-day hands-on training is designed to provide you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to achieve competence in troubleshooting the VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0 environments. This course blends lecture and hands-on lab exercises to deliver advanced skills to diagnose and resolve problems in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 environments. This course also focuses on investigating and resolving problems and analyzing log files to help you recognize log file entries that identify root causes.
● VMware Cloud Foundation – Solution Architecture and Design [V9.0]
- Course code: VCFSAD9.
- Duration: 5 days.
- Level of difficulty: Advanced.
- Target audience: System Operator, System Administrator, System Integrator.
- Prerequisites: Before taking this course, students should take the following courses:
- VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage;
- VMware NSX: Install, Configure, Manage.
- Certifications and related exams: This course recommended for the VMware Certified Professional – VMware Cloud Foundation Architect (VCP-VCF Architect) certification.
This five day course explores the architecture and design considerations for an initial deployment of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). The course explains the architecture framework and language, as well as design considerations for building, operationalizing, and consuming a VMware Cloud Foundation deployment. The scope of the course is centered on the core design considerations applicable to a VMware Cloud Foundation deployment in a single site.
Brief Summary
In this article, we explored VMware Cloud Foundation as a comprehensive platform for building and operating modern private and hybrid cloud infrastructures. We reviewed its core architectural components, the role of standardized Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) design, and the importance of automated lifecycle management in reducing operational complexity. The overview of VMware Authorized Training programs demonstrated how VMware Cloud Foundation serves as a strategic foundation for scalable, secure, and operationally consistent cloud environments.
In the next article of the “VMware Training and Certification. Year 2025” series, we will move from infrastructure platforms to cloud service delivery models and focus on VMware Cloud Director. We will review training programs dedicated to designing, deploying, and operating multi-tenant cloud environments, highlighting the role of Cloud Director in service provider architectures, self-service portals, tenant isolation, and cloud consumption models.
Follow the news until the meeting is on air in a few days.
Sincerely, AIRRA.
