VMware announced VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 4.2 with some new features and enhancements for their customers to scale their infrastructure with ease and enhanced security. this includes:

vSAN Data Persistence platform

VCF 4.2 now supports partner integration on the vSAN Data persistence platform where customers can manage new Amazon S3 compatible object storage for unstructured data via Cloudian and MinIO partners.

vSAN HCI Mesh

VCF 4.2 now supports vSAN HCI Mesh, announced with vSAN 7.0U1 , a unique software-based approach that disaggregates compute and storage resources and brings multiple independent vSAN clusters together for a native and cross-cluster architecture. HCI Mesh reduces the CAPEX and OPEX while sharing capacity across vSAN clusters and reducing storage resource respectively.

Figure: Thanks to VMware

NSX-T 3.1 Federation

The newer version of VMware Cloud Foundation 4.2 now supports NSX-T Federation that offers a cloud-like simplified consumption model of networking and security. With NSX-T Federation, customers can leverage unified security policies across multi-region VCF deployment with simplified disaster recovery.

Figure: Thanks to VMware

vRealize Automation support for VMware Cloud Foundation

A VCF cloud account can facilitate a comprehensive hybrid cloud management solution where SDDC Manager and VCF workload domains work as VCF cloud accounts.

Static IP Pool for NSX-T TEPs

VCF 4.2 leverages static IP pools for NSX-T TEPs as an alternative to DHCP that applies to VI workload domains and management domain with uniform L2 clusters.

Release Versions UI

SDDC Manager UI includes BOM, new features, and end of general supports dates for each available VCF release and this will certainly help in planning the upgrades.

Improvements in Upgrading the Resiliency

VCF 4.2 includes pre-checks for API performance optimization, password validation, and ESXi error reporting.

Advanced Security Add-on for VCF

VCF 4.2 introduces Advanced Security Add-on that includes advanced threat protection, workload, and endpoint security that offers the following features:

• Carbon Black Workload Advanced: Next Generation Anti Virus, Workload Audit/Remediation, Workload EDR.
• Advanced Threat Prevention Add-on for NSX Data Center Advanced and Enterprise Plus editions which includes NSX Firewall, NSX Distributed IDS/IPS, NSX Intelligence, and Advanced Threat Prevention
• NSX Advanced Load Balancer with Web Application Firewall

Resources: VMware Blog

Author: Nisar Ahmad

Systems Engineer, double VCP6 (DCV & NV), 4 x vExpert 2017-20, and the owner of My Virtual Journey, with experience in managing a Datacenter environment using VMware and Microsoft Technologies. This blog mainly covers virtualization and cloud technologies but also covers some other technologies such as Cyber Security, Quantum Computing, etc.