Broadcom revamps VMware Cloud Foundation with VCF 9 and a special focus on AI

At VMware Explore 2024, Broadcom unveiled the next generation of its private cloud platform: VMware Cloud Foundation 9 (VCF 9). This update promises to simplify and unify private cloud deployments, improve AI capabilities, and enhance security and resilience.

Broadcom highlights VCF 9's ability to help organisations break down infrastructure silos, manage public cloud sprawl, and unlock the potential of AI. "To break the infrastructure silos, reclaim control of public cloud sprawl, and capture the opportunity for AI in the enterprise, our customers are shifting from best-of-breed siloed architectures to a modern private cloud platform," said Krish Prasad, senior vice president and general manager of the VCF Division at Broadcom.

Key Features and Benefits of VCF 9

Unified Operations and Automation: VCF 9 simplifies management by consolidating multiple consoles into a single interface for both operations and automation. This streamlines tasks and provides enhanced insights for proactive management.

Expanded VCF Import: Migrating existing infrastructure to VCF becomes easier with expanded import capabilities. Users can now import VMware NSX, vDefend, Avi Load Balancer, and complex storage topologies, even integrating older versions.

Advanced Memory Tiering with NVMe: VCF 9 leverages NVMe memory tiering to significantly boost performance for data-intensive workloads like AI, databases, and real-time analytics. This improves data retrieval and processing speeds, crucial for AI training and inference.

Integrated VCF Multi-Tenancy: Multi-tenancy capabilities are now integrated into the VCF platform, allowing IT teams to support various organisations and development groups on a shared infrastructure while maintaining segmentation and control.

Native VPC Deployment: VCF 9 introduces native VPC deployment, simplifying networking and enabling self-service isolated connectivity without the complexities of VLANs. This streamlines workload provisioning and enhances developer productivity.

Accelerated Adoption of VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA: VCF 9 enhances support for AI workloads with new VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA capabilities. This comprehensive solution simplifies GenAI deployments with features like vGPU profile visibility, GPU reservations, data indexing, and an AI agent builder service.

Enhanced Security and Resilience: VCF 9 strengthens security with unified security management, providing centralised control and visibility across VCF deployments. Native vSAN-to-vSAN data protection with deep snapshots bolsters data resilience and ransomware recovery. Advanced cyber threat prevention capabilities are also expanded.

Real-World Impact

Broadcom highlights the positive impact of VCF through customer testimonials. "At GCI, deploying VMware Cloud Foundation has fundamentally transformed how we deliver services across Alaska's diverse landscape,” said Jeremy Mayfield, Senior Solutions Architect at GCI Communication. "By standardising our infrastructure on a unified private cloud platform, we've modernised our operations, significantly reducing deployment times from months to days. This shift enables us to respond faster to the unique needs of our remote communities while maintaining the highest levels of security and resilience."

Broadcom also introduced VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Advanced Services, a catalogue of ready-to-deploy solutions designed to accelerate innovation in private cloud environments. These solutions offer enterprises tools and technologies comparable to those available in the public cloud, enabling them to address diverse use cases and business opportunities quickly.

Broadcom is investing in resources to guide customers through their private cloud adoption journey. This includes a Private Cloud Maturity Model to assess capabilities and a Jumpstart Program to help organisations align their architecture with their goals. Additionally, a new VMware Cloud Foundation Certification and free digital learning resources are available to upskill IT professionals.