A successful move to VCF 9.1 is mostly decided before the first upgrade starts. Pick your level, get the estate ready, run it in a predictable order, and prove it works.
In Part 1 we covered the three landing levels. Level 1a takes vSphere Foundation to 9.1 through a manual, in-place upgrade. Level 1b uses the VCF Installer to add VCF Management Services. Level 2 or 3 uses the VCF Installer to reach full VCF 9.1 with NSX Manager, SDDC Manager and an Operations Collector. All three start from VCF Operations, vCenter and ESX on 8.x or 9.0.x.
This part turns that choice into a plan you can run with confidence.
Before you start: a readiness checklist
Most upgrade surprises are readiness gaps that a day of preparation would have caught. Work through this list before you book a change window.
- Confirm your starting versions. Record the exact builds of VCF Operations, vCenter and ESX, and check they are inside the supported 8.x or 9.0.x range.
- Check interoperability. Validate every build, and any third-party integrations, against the Broadcom interoperability matrix and the 9.1 release notes.
- Check hardware compatibility. Confirm servers, NICs, storage controllers and firmware are supported for ESX 9.1.
- Agree the target level. Write down whether you are landing on Level 1a, 1b, or 2 or 3, and what is optional (Log Management, VCF Automation).
- Plan capacity for new components. Levels 1b, 2 and 3 deploy new appliances. Size compute, storage, IP addresses and DNS records for them up front.
- Sort out licensing. Every level lands the License Server on 9.1, so make sure your entitlements match the target level.
- Back up everything. Take file-based backups of vCenter and the management appliances, and confirm you can restore them.
- Check health. Clear existing alarms, certificate warnings and failed hosts before you start, not halfway through.
- Line up your people. Agree the change window, rollback owner and the application teams who will sign off afterwards.
Running the upgrade, level by level
The big difference between the levels is who does the orchestration. At Level 1a, your team sequences the components. At Levels 1b, 2 and 3, the VCF Installer does it. Always follow the 9.1 upgrade guide for the exact component order.
Level 1a: manual, in-place upgrade
- Upgrade the License Server to 9.1.
- Upgrade vCenter to 9.1, and confirm it is healthy before you touch any host.
- Upgrade ESX hosts cluster by cluster, using maintenance mode so workloads move off each host first.
- Validate each cluster before moving to the next one.
Because nothing new is deployed, the change is easy to explain to change boards and easy to roll back at each step.
Level 1b: installer-driven, with management services
- Prepare capacity, networking and DNS for VCF Management Services.
- Run the VCF Installer to bring the platform to vSphere Foundation 9.1 and deploy VCF Management Services alongside the License Server.
- If you want centralised logging, enable Log Management once VCF Management Services is running.
- Validate the platform and the new services.
Level 2 or 3: full VCF 9.1
- Design the new components before you deploy them: NSX Manager, SDDC Manager and the Operations Collector, each with its networks, IPs and DNS.
- Run the VCF Installer to reach VCF 9.1 and deploy those components.
- Decide your consumption model, VM Apps or All Apps. Both are supported.
- Add VCF Automation now or later. It is optional, so it never blocks the upgrade.
- Validate the full stack, including networking and lifecycle operations through SDDC Manager.
A practical tip: if Level 2 or 3 feels like too much in one window, it can make sense to land Level 1a first and stabilise, then plan the next step. Check the 9.1 documentation that your exact route is supported before you commit to a staged plan.
Validate and hand over
An upgrade is finished when the business agrees it works, not when the last progress bar completes. Close it out with a short, repeatable validation pass.
| Check | What good looks like | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Versions | License Server, vCenter and ESX all report 9.1 | All levels |
| Platform health | No new alarms; hosts connected; clusters balanced | All levels |
| Workloads | Application owners confirm their services are healthy | All levels |
| Management services | VCF Management Services running; Log Management receiving logs if enabled | Level 1b |
| Networking | NSX Manager healthy; workload connectivity unchanged | Level 2 or 3 |
| Lifecycle | SDDC Manager shows the estate and can run its checks | Level 2 or 3 |
| Monitoring | Operations Collector feeding VCF Operations | Level 2 or 3 |
Finish with a fresh backup of the upgraded environment and update your runbooks. That turns the upgrade into a new, documented baseline.
Pitfalls to avoid
None of these are hard to avoid once you know them. Every one of them costs a change window when you don’t.
- Planning Log Management on Level 1a. Log Management requires VCF Management Services, so it needs Level 1b or above.
- Under-sizing for new components. Levels 1b, 2 and 3 add appliances. Missing IPs, DNS records or capacity are the most common reasons an installer run stops.
- Treating VCF Automation as a blocker. It is optional at Level 2 or 3. Upgrade first, then add self-service when the operating model is ready.
- Skipping the interoperability check. One unsupported integration or driver can hold up the whole estate. Check early, while there is still time to fix it.
- Starting on an unhealthy estate. Certificate, host and alarm issues get harder to diagnose mid-upgrade. Fix them first.
- Going big-bang when you don’t need to. The levels exist so you can move in steps. A smaller, successful first step builds confidence for the next.
Start where you are, grow into VCF
VCF 9.1 does not ask you to change everything at once. If you run 8.x or 9.0.x today, you can land on vSphere Foundation 9.1 with a familiar in-place upgrade, add management services with the VCF Installer, or go straight to a full private cloud.
The smart move is to pick the level that fits the next 12 months, prepare well, and take the first step. Each level you land on is supported, and each one puts the next one within easier reach.
Ready to plan your path? Start with the readiness checklist above, and talk to us about a short assessment of your estate against the 9.1 upgrade routes.
