Hello to all readers of the blog about IT Architecture and Training!
In the previous article of the “VMware Training and Certification. Year 2025” series, we explored VMware Cloud Foundation as a standardized platform for building and operating private and hybrid cloud infrastructures based on the Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) model.
In this article, we shift the focus from infrastructure platforms to cloud service delivery and consumption models and examine VMware Cloud Director – a key solution for designing, deploying, and operating multi-tenant cloud environments.
The VMware Cloud Director learning domain includes training programs focused on cloud service abstraction, tenant isolation, resource pooling, self-service portals, and policy-based management. These programs are especially relevant for cloud architects, service providers, and enterprise teams building internal cloud platforms (private cloud) or offering Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions.
In this article, we will review the current VMware Authorized Training programs for VMware Cloud Director, analyze their structure and learning objectives, and explain how they align with VMware certification paths and real-world cloud architectures.
VMware Cloud Director
VMware Cloud Director (formerly vCloud Director) is a cloud service-delivery platform used by cloud providers to operate and manage cloud-service businesses. The vendor states that by using VMware Cloud Director, cloud providers deliver secure, efficient, and elastic cloud resources to thousands of enterprises and IT teams across the world.
The main current training programs for VMware Cloud Director technologies are:
Target audience: Cloud architects, systems engineers, data center administrators, and cloud administrators with experience in managed services or managing a service provider environment.
Prerequisites: This course requires completion of the following course and equivalent knowledge:
VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage [V8];
VMware NSX: Install, Configure, Manage [V4.0].
In this five-day course, you focus on installing, configuring, and managing on-premises VMware Cloud Director 10.6. You will learn how to set up and manage VMware Cloud Director, including the provisioning of workloads, creating organizations and Virtual Data Centers (VDCs), and use catalog services that include predefined virtual machines. You will learn about different networks that a system administrator and an organization administrator can configure and use with virtual machines and vApps.
Brief Summary
In this article, we examined VMware Cloud Director as a key platform for delivering and managing cloud services in multi-tenant environments. We reviewed its role in abstracting infrastructure resources, enabling self-service cloud consumption, and enforcing policy-based governance and tenant isolation. The overview of VMware Authorized Training programs highlighted how Cloud Director supports cloud service providers and enterprise IT teams in building scalable, secure, and operationally efficient cloud service platforms.
In the next article of the “VMware Training and Certification. Year 2025” series, we will shift our focus from infrastructure and service delivery to modern application platforms and explore VMware Tanzu. We will review training programs dedicated to Kubernetes, container platforms, and cloud-native application architectures, highlighting Tanzu’s role in bridging traditional virtualized environments with modern, cloud-native workloads.
Follow the news until the meeting is on air in a few days. Sincerely, AIRRA.
Welcome to my blog dedicated to IT architecture and continuous learning! Here, we explore cloud platforms, infrastructure design, automation, and the technologies that help IT professionals and architects grow.
Today, we’re diving into VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 — a release that goes beyond features to redefine how we build private cloud environments that are secure, scalable, and smart.
Let’s explore what’s new, how it works, and why it matters for anyone dealing with modern workloads, DevOps, or hybrid infrastructure.
VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0
VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0 is not just an update — it’s a fundamental shift in how private clouds are built and managed. Broadcom focuses on unified management, efficiency, security, and modern workloads like Kubernetes and Private AI.
Key Enhancements in VCF 9.0
One Console for Everything
A single pane of glass to manage all components: Compute, Storage, Networking, Tenants, and Security.
Workload Flexibility
Run VMs, containers, and AI/ML on the same platform with support for Kubernetes-as-a-Service and native integrations.
Lower TCO
38% reduction in memory and server costs;
34% lower storage TCO;
Up to 3× higher network performance.
Performance Improvements
Global deduplication with vSAN ESA;
NVMe memory tiering;
Optimized vMotion for GPU and AI workloads.
Built-in Security and Compliance
Confidential Computing;
FIPS 140-2, TLS 1.3;
Security Operations Dashboard;
Continuous configuration compliance monitoring.
End-to-End Automation
VCF Operations Console: central control of lifecycle, access, and upgrades;
Edge, On-Prem, Telco, Sovereign, and Public Cloud support;
Deprecated: old Intel CPUs (Broadwell/Skylake);
Compatibility via Readiness Checklist and Ecosystem Matrix.
Conclusion
VCF 9.0 delivers a cloud-as-a-service experience on your infrastructure — secure, scalable, and efficient. If you’re looking to modernize your datacenter with enterprise-grade automation and full-stack control, this release is the one to watch.
This post provided a high-level overview of what’s new in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 and how it impacts infrastructure strategy. In upcoming blog posts, we’ll take a deeper look at real-world implementations, automation flows, security practices, and Private AI use cases.
Next up — a deeper dive into VCF 9: real-world practice, automation, security, and uncompromising cloud infrastructure.
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:
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:
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.
Hello to all readers of the blog about IT Architecture and Learning!
In the previous articles of the “VMware Training and Certification. Year 2025” series, we explored key VMware Authorized Training domains, including Datacenter Virtualization with VMware vSphere 8, software-defined storage with VMware vSAN, and disaster recovery with VMware Site Recovery Manager.
In this article, we turn our attention to VMware vSphere 9 Foundation – the next generation of VMware’s core virtualization platform, introducing architectural updates, enhanced operational capabilities, and a revised platform positioning aligned with modern enterprise and hybrid datacenter requirements.
The vSphere 9 Foundation training direction focuses on updated learning paths that reflect changes in platform architecture, lifecycle management, security, performance, and integration with cloud, automation, and platform services. These training programs are designed to help administrators, engineers, and architects transition from previous vSphere versions and effectively adopt the latest platform capabilities.
Why the name change to vSphere 9 Foundation?
The introduction of the “Foundation” designation reflects VMware’s shift toward a more integrated platform approach. Rather than positioning vSphere solely as a hypervisor-centric product, vSphere 9 Foundation emphasizes its role as a foundational layer for modern datacenters, tightly integrated with management, automation, security, and cloud-adjacent services. This change is also reflected in updated training programs and certification paths, which place greater emphasis on platform-level skills rather than isolated component knowledge.
This article will provide an overview of the current VMware vSphere 9 Foundation training programs, their structure, learning objectives, and alignment with VMware certification paths, offering a clear perspective on how vSphere 9 Foundation fits into modern datacenter virtualization strategies.
VMware vSphere 9 Foundation
From a technical perspective, VMware vSphere 9 Foundation introduces significant architectural enhancements to enable more efficient management of large-scale datacenters. Key improvements include support for larger clusters with increased numbers of hosts and virtual machines, enhanced resource scheduling through updated DRS policies, integrated security enhancements at the ESXi kernel level, and improved interoperability with VMware Cloud services. Backup, recovery, and operational automation capabilities are also optimized through tighter integration with vCenter, vSAN, and Site Recovery Manager, allowing IT teams to build highly available, resilient, and scalable enterprise infrastructures.
The main current training programs for vSphere 9 Foundation technologies are:
● VMware vSphere Foundation: Build, Manage, and Operate [V9]
Course code: VVFBMO9 .
Duration: 5 days.
Level of difficulty: Intermediate (L300).
Target audience: System Administrators, Solution Engineers, Consultants, Architects, and Support Personnel.
Prerequisites: Working experience and knowledge of VMware vSphere, VMware NSX, and vSAN environments.
This five-day course provides you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to achieve competence in deploying, configuring and managing VMware vSphere Foundation. You will learn about the architecture of vSphere Foundation, compute, storage, networks and licensing.
This course prepares you to administer a vSphere Foundation, which includes VCF Operations 9.0, vCenter 9.0, and ESX 9.0.
Brief Summary
In this article, we reviewed the VMware vSphere 9 Foundation Authorized Training learning domain as part of the “VMware Training and Certification. Year 2025” series. The focus was placed on the updated and technically enhanced training programs designed to help IT professionals adopt the latest vSphere platform capabilities for enterprise and hybrid datacenter environments.
The article highlighted key learning objectives, including platform architecture updates, cluster scalability, advanced resource management with DRS, kernel-level security enhancements, integration with VMware Cloud services, and improved operational automation with vCenter, vSAN, and Site Recovery Manager. Special attention was given to alignment with VMware certification paths, enabling administrators, engineers, and architects to develop practical skills for building resilient, high-performance datacenter infrastructures.
In the next article, the series will focus on VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). The upcoming publication will explore training programs and learning paths dedicated to building fully integrated hybrid cloud platforms, covering converged infrastructure, automated lifecycle management, multi-cloud integration, and alignment with VMware certification tracks.
Follow the news until the meeting is on air in a few days. Sincerely, AIRRA.
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 reviewed key VMware Authorized Training domains, including Datacenter Virtualization with a focus on VMware vSphere 8, as well as software-defined storage with VMware vSAN.
In this article, we turn our attention to VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) – a critical component of enterprise VMware infrastructures responsible for disaster recovery and business continuity.
The Site Recovery Manager training direction covers educational programs focused on recovery planning, orchestration of failover and failback processes, non-disruptive testing, and integration with VMware vSphere–based environments. These training programs are designed to help IT professionals build practical skills required to design, implement, and operate reliable disaster recovery solutions.
Given the focused and limited number of training programs within this domain, this article will concentrate on their structure, learning objectives, and alignment with VMware certification paths, providing a clear view of how SRM fits into modern enterprise and hybrid datacenter architectures.
Site Recovery Manager
VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) is a business continuity and disaster recovery solution for planning, testing and restoring virtual machines from a protected, primary site to a backup recovery site.
Current Site Recovery Manager Technology Curriculum:
● VMware Site Recovery Manager: Install, Configure, Manage [V8.6]
Course code: SRMICM86.
Duration: 2 days.
Level of difficulty: Intermediate (L300).
Target audience: vSphere administrators, architects, system engineers, and systems integrators who are responsible for the deployment or management of Site Recovery Manager.
Prerequisites: This class requires completion of one of the following courses:
VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage;
VMware vSphere: Fast Track;
VMware vSphere: What’s New;
VMware vSphere: Troubleshooting;
Or equivalent knowledge and administration experience with VMware ESXi and VMware vCenter Server.
This two-day, hands-on training course gives experienced VMware vSphere administrators the knowledge to install, configure, and manage VMware Site Recovery Manager 8.6. This course also shows you how to write and test disaster recovery plans that use Site Recovery Manager.
Brief Summary
In this article, we reviewed the VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) Authorized Training learning domain as part of the “VMware Training and Certification. Year 2025” series. The focus was placed on the targeted and well-defined set of training programs designed to support disaster recovery and business continuity in enterprise VMware environments.
The article outlined the core learning objectives, including recovery planning, orchestration of failover and failback processes, non-disruptive testing, and integration with VMware vSphere–based infrastructures. Particular attention was given to how these training programs align with VMware certification paths, enabling IT professionals to develop practical skills for designing and operating reliable disaster recovery solutions.
In the next article, the series will move forward to VMware vSphere 9. The upcoming publication will explore updated training programs and learning paths focused on the latest platform capabilities, architectural changes, operational improvements, and certification alignment for the newest generation of VMware datacenter virtualization.
Follow the news until the meeting is on air in a few days. Sincerely, AIRRA.
