Broadcom updates VMware Cloud Foundation with new key features

Broadcom has introduced significant updates to VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), its leading private cloud platform.

These advancements aim to enhance infrastructure modernisation, developer productivity, and cyber resilience, whilst maintaining a low total cost of ownership.

The new features include VCF Import functionality, designed to integrate existing vSphere and vSAN environments into VMware Cloud Foundation. This integration is expected to enhance management centralisation and optimise resources without necessitating a complete overhaul of the customer's environment.

The update also includes support for vSAN Max and vSAN ESA stretched clusters, delivering petabyte-scale disaggregated storage and active-active availability. Furthermore, a new VCF Edge feature is introduced, optimising VMware Cloud Foundation for edge use cases by offering scalable and cost-efficient management from data centre to edge.

"VMware Cloud Foundation is the industry's first private-cloud platform to offer the combined power of public and private clouds with unmatched operational simplicity and proven total cost of ownership value," said Paul Turner, vice president of products at VMware Cloud Foundation division, Broadcom.

"With our latest release, VCF is delivering on key requirements driven by customer input. The new VCF Import functionality will be a game changer in accelerating VCF adoption and improving time to value. We are also delivering a set of new capabilities that help IT more quickly meet the needs of developers without increasing business risk. This latest release of VCF puts us squarely on the path to delivering on the full promise of VCF for our customers."

Additionally, the update aims to simplify application deployment and management for developers. Quick start templates, easy network integration, and advanced performance insights are provided to accelerate time to market and boost developer productivity. The latest release hosts Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG) as an independent service, aligning quickly with upstream Kubernetes to give developers access to the most recent versions.

Enhancements in VCF networking further simplify the transition from traditional VLAN-based setups to advanced NSX virtual networking configurations. VMware Avi Load Balancer is also integrated, enabling self-service load balancing for DevOps and AppOps teams, streamlining the deployment speed of applications.

Ensuring security and resilience, the updated VCF incorporates add-ons such as VMware Live Recovery and VMware vDefend lateral security. These features bolster private cloud integrity, availability, and network performance while providing robust protection against malware and ransomware.

The inclusion of ESXi Live Patching allows for critical patches to be applied without maintenance windows, and Flexible VCF Component upgrade ensures that the latest security patches are available during upgrades. Dual DPU support through vSphere Distributed Services Engine and vSAN Data Protection further improve operational reliability and system security.

Dave McCarthy, Research Vice President of Cloud and Edge Services at IDC, highlighted the importance of private clouds in ensuring data security amidst growing interest in GenAI and data security.

"The excitement and associated concerns surrounding GenAI and data security reinforce the need for private clouds. Enterprises need to ensure that private corporate data does not find itself inside a public AI model," he said. "VMware Cloud Foundation continues to evolve as a private cloud platform, and the latest innovations Broadcom is delivering should help customers of all sizes accelerate adoption."

In tandem with the VCF updates, Broadcom has also announced enhancements to VMware vSphere Foundation to support modern IT requirements. The updates are designed to boost operational efficiency, elevate security, and enhance workload performance.

New features include ESXi Live Patching for zero-downtime updates, better access to self-service infrastructure for developers, and an independent Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Service for faster updates. A simplified console interface, unified licensing, and improved end-user security are also part of the latest upgrade to vSphere Foundation.

Both VMware Cloud Foundation 5.2 and VMware vSphere Foundation 5.2 are expected to be available starting in the third fiscal quarter of 2024.