VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5.2 Release Notes
Introduction
VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5.2 | 17 AUG 2023 | Build 22223457 Check for additions and updates to these release notes. |
What's New
The VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 4.5.2 release includes the following:
- Keyed to keyless license conversion:The option to convert the licensing mode of a workload domain from a keyed license (VCF-S or VCF perpetual license) to a keyless license (VMware Cloud Foundation+) model is a now available.
- Support for mixed license deployment:A combination of keyed and keyless licenses can now be used within the same VCF instance. The licensing within a given workload domain needs to be homogeneous (no mixing of keyed and keyless licensing within a workload domain).
- BOM deviation precheck:Running an upgrade precheck now determines if the Async Patch Tool was used in the environment to patch components.
- BOM updates: Updated Bill of Materials with new product versions.
- NSX-T Data Center 3.2.3.1, which includes new features and enhancements as part of NSX 3.2.3.1 and critical bug fixes.
- VMware vCenter Server 7.0 Update 3m, which contains critical bug fixes.
- VMware ESXi 7.0 Update 3n, which contains critical bug fixes.
Deprecation Notice
The VMware Imaging Appliance (VIA), included with the VMware Cloud Builder appliance to image ESXi servers, is deprecated and removed.
VMware Cloud Foundation Bill of Materials (BOM)
The VMware Cloud Foundation software product is comprised of the following software Bill-of-Materials (BOM). The components in the BOM are interoperable and compatible.
Software Component |
Version |
Date |
Build Number |
|---|---|---|---|
Cloud Builder VM |
4.5.2 |
17 AUG 2023 |
22223457 |
SDDC Manager |
4.5.2 |
17 AUG 2023 |
22223457 |
VMware vCenter Server Appliance |
7.0 Update 3m |
22 JUN 2023 |
21784236 |
VMware ESXi |
7.0 Update 3n |
06 JUL 2023 |
21930508 |
VMware vSAN Witness Appliance |
7.0 Update 3l |
30 MAR 2023 |
21424296 |
VMware NSX-T |
3.2.3.1 |
27 JUL 2023 |
22104592 |
VMware vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager |
8.10 |
19 JUN 2023 |
21950667 |
- VMware vSAN is included in the VMware ESXi bundle.
- You can use vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager to deploy vRealize Automation, vRealize Operations Manager, vRealize Log Insight, and Workspace ONE Access. vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager determines which versions of these products are compatible and only allows you to install/upgrade to supported versions.
- vRealize Log Insight content packs are installed when you deploy vRealize Log Insight.
- The vRealize Operations Manager management pack is installed when you deploy vRealize Operations Manager.
- You can access the latest versions of the content packs for vRealize Log Insight from the VMware Solution Exchange and the vRealize Log Insight in-product marketplace store.
VMware Software Edition License Information
The SDDC Manager software is licensed under the VMware Cloud Foundation license. As part of this product, the SDDC Manager software deploys specific VMware software products.
The following VMware software components deployed by SDDC Manager are licensed under the VMware Cloud Foundation license:
- VMware ESXi
- VMware vSAN
- VMware NSX-T Data Center
The following VMware software components deployed by SDDC Manager are licensed separately:
- VMware vCenter Server
NOTE
Only one vCenter Server license is required for all vCenter Servers deployed in a VMware Cloud Foundation system.For details about the specific VMware software editions that are licensed under the licenses you have purchased, see the VMware Cloud Foundation Bill of Materials (BOM).
Supported Hardware
For details on supported configurations, see the VMware Compatibility Guide (VCG) and the Hardware Requirements section on the Prerequisite Checklist tab in the Planning and Preparation Workbook.
Documentation
To access the VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware Cloud Foundation+ documentation, go to the VMware Cloud Foundation product documentation.
To access the documentation for VMware software products that SDDC Manager can deploy, see the product documentation and use the drop-down menus on the page to choose the appropriate version:
Browser Compatibility and Screen Resolutions
The VMware Cloud Foundation web-based interface supports the latest two versions of the following web browsers:
- Google Chrome 89 or later
- Mozilla Firefox 80 or later
- Microsoft Edge 90 or later
For the Web-based user interfaces, the supported standard resolution is 1024 by 768 pixels. For best results, use a screen resolution within these tested resolutions:
- 1024 by 768 pixels (standard)
- 1366 by 768 pixels
- 1280 by 1024 pixels
- 1680 by 1050 pixels
Resolutions below 1024 by 768, such as 640 by 960 or 480 by 800, are not supported.
Installation and Upgrade Information
If your VCF 4.5.0/4.5.1 environment is subscribed to VMware Cloud Foundation+, then you cannot transition to mixed licensing mode in VCF 4.5.2 post-upgrade. Only customers whose VCF source environments are in perpetual licensing mode (in any previous VCF version) can transition to mixed licensing mode in VCF 4.5.2.
VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5.2 cannot upgrade to VMware Cloud Foundation 5.0 or 5.0.0.1. See KB article 94195 for more information.
You can install VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5.2 as a new release or perform a sequential or skip-level upgrade to VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5.2.
Installing as a New Release
The new installation process has three phases:
- Phase One: Prepare the Environment
The Planning and Preparation Workbook provides detailed information about the software, tools, and external services that are required to implement a Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) with VMware Cloud Foundation, using a standard architecture model.
- Phase Two: Image all servers with ESXi
Image all servers with the ESXi version mentioned in the Cloud Foundation Bill of Materials (BOM) section. See the
VMware Cloud Foundation Deployment Guide
for information on installing ESXi.- Phase Three: Install Cloud Foundation 4.5.2
See the
VMware Cloud Foundation Deployment Guide
for information on deploying Cloud Foundation.Upgrading to Cloud Foundation 4.5.2
You can perform a sequential or skip-level upgrade to VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5.2 from VMware Cloud Foundation 4.2.1 or later. If your environment is at a version earlier than 4.2.1, you must upgrade the management domain and all VI workload domains to VMware Cloud Foundation 4.2.1 and then upgrade to VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5. For more information see .
If your VMware Cloud Foundation instance includes vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager, you may need to install a Product Support Pack to support VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5.2. Check the vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager release notes to see what Product Support Pack is required for your current version of vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager.
See KB article 88829 for more information about vRealize Suite/Aria upgrade paths.
Before you upgrade a vCenter Server, take a file-based backup. See Manually Back Up vCenter Server.
VMware Cloud Foundation 4.4 and later deactivate the SSH service on ESXi hosts by default, following the vSphere security configuration guide recommendation. Scripts that rely on SSH being active on ESXi hosts will not work after upgrading to VMware Cloud Foundation 4.4 or later. Update your scripts to account for this new behavior. See KB 86230 for information about enabling and disabling the SSH service on ESXi hosts.
Resolved Issues
The following issues are resolved in this release.
- Calling the/v1/nsxt-clustersAPI fails with aGET_VLCM_CLUSTER_STATUS_FAILEDerror when vCenter Server for the VI workload domain is down.
- NFS datastore is not mounted on newly added ESXi hosts
- In theDeveloper Center>API Explorersection of the SDDC Manager UI, reference to the Resource Locks API is not available.
- Although the update of a component has completed with a failure, its update status in the update history still appears as in-progress.
- vRealize Operations Manageradminaccount appears as disconnected.
- Trying to log in to SDDC Manager fails with ano permission to display this pageerror.