The complete VMware Cloud Foundation upgrade path — step-by-step guides from VCF 4.0 through 5.x to VCF 9.1, tested in real environments.
Every step of the VMware Cloud Foundation upgrade path, in order, from VCF 4.0 to VCF 9.1. Each guide below covers one hop — prechecks, bundle downloads, the upgrade itself, and the verification afterwards — with screenshots and the errors I actually hit along the way.
How to use this series: find your current version in the list (newest last), then follow the guides hop by hop. VCF does not support skipping intermediate versions — if you’re on 4.x you’ll pass through 4.5 and 5.x before reaching 9. For the 9.x era, SDDC Manager updates and Fleet Management (VCF Operations) updates are separate tracks; both are covered here and in the VCF 9 Fleet Management series.
Upgrading VCF 4.4.0 to 4.5 Step by Step
With the release of of VCF 4.5 I wanted to get my lab upgraded. The release blog can be found here and the release notes are here
Please note that some of the components within the VCF will still need additional upgrading. Please read the release notes for additional details.
Downloading the VCF 4.5 Bundles We can start by going to Lifecycle Management -> Bundle management -> Download now. If you do not see the newest releases go to Administration -> Repository settings and add a VMware Customer Connect account that has access to perform downloads.
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Upgrading VCF 4.1.0.0 to 4.2.0.0 Step by Step
With the release of of VCF 4.2 I wanted to get my lab upgraded. The release blog can be found here and the release notes are here
Upgrading to VCF 4.1.0.1 First In order to get to 4.2.0.0 we have to upgrade to 4.1.0.1. We can do so by going to Repository -> Bundle management -> Download now
The next step is to upgrade VCF by going to Inventory -> Workload Domains -> Select the workload domain -> Update/Patches -> Update Now for the VMware Cloud Foundation Update 4.1.0.1. The release notes can be found here
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Upgrading VCF 4.0.1.1 to 4.1.0.0
With the release of of VCF 4.1 I wanted to get my lab upgraded. The release blog can be found here and the release notes are here
Downloading the 4.1.0.0 Update Bundle In my case I pre downloaded the VMware Cloud Foundation Update 4.1.0.0 by going to Repository -> Bundle management -> Download now
Applying the VCF 4.1.0.0 Update The next step is to upgrade VCF by going to Inventory -> Workload Domains -> Select the workload domain -> Update/Patches -> Update Now
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Upgrading VCF 4.0.1 to 4.0.1.1
This VMware Cloud Foundation Upgrade 4.0.1.0 to 4.0.1.1 contains critical bugs and security fixes. For more information, see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-Foundation/4.0.1/rn/VMware-Cloud-Foundation-401-Release-Notes.html#4.0.1.1-Release For VCF on VxRail see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-Foundation/4.0.1/rn/vmware-cloud-foundation-on-dell-emc-vxrail-19-release-notes.html#Patch%20Releases
If you dont see any updates you can follow the first couple of steps in my other post here: https://cosmin.us/upgrading-vcf-4-0-to-vcf-4-0-1/
Downloading the Update Bundle Once I logged on to my SDDC Manager I was able to see that na update is already available for me to download:
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Upgrading VCF 4.0 to VCF 4.0.1
With the release of VCF 4.0.1 I wanted to go through the patch in my lab.
The release notes can be found here: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-Foundation/4.0.1/rn/VMware-Cloud-Foundation-401-Release-Notes.html
Authorizing the Account and Downloading the Bundle When I logged on to my SDDC Manager I noticed that there weren’t any updates available and I was prompted with an information bar To view available updates, Authorize My VMware Account.
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