VMware Cloud Founda on 5.

2 — Data Center Infrastructure Overview

1. Core Design Philosophy

VCF 5.2 offers a turnkey so ware-defined data center (SDDC) pla orm that brings together:

 vSphere 8.x

 vSAN 8.x

 NSX 4.x

 SDDC Manager 5.2

 With support for Aria Suite (vRealize) and Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG)

2. Architecture Layers

a. Physical Infrastructure

 ESXi Hosts: Minimum 4 per domain (to support vSAN and HA)

 Switching: Spine-leaf fabric or ToR L2/L3 capable switches

 NICs: Dual 25/10 GbE or 100 GbE for redundancy

b. Management Domain

 First domain deployed in any VCF environment.

 Hosts:

o SDDC Manager

o vCenter Server

o NSX-T Managers

o Aria Suite Lifecycle Manager (vRSLCM)

o Op onally, Aria Opera ons, Automa on, and Log Insight

c. VI Workload Domains

 Separate domains for tenant/business unit workloads.

 Each domain has its own:

o vCenter
 o NSX instance

o Cluster resources (CPU, RAM, Storage)

3. Network Infrastructure

NSX-T Networking

 Overlay-backed segments via GENEVE protocol

 Logical topology includes:

o Tier-0 Gateway for north-south connec vity

o Tier-1 Gateway per tenant/applica on

 NSX Edge nodes provide north-south rou ng, NAT, load balancing

Traffic Types & VLANs

Type Role

Management vCenter, NSX Manager, SDDC Mgr

vMo on Live VM migra on

vSAN Storage traffic

NSX-T TEP Overlay transport

Workload Applica on/data plane

4. Storage Infrastructure

Primary: vSAN 8 ESA/OSA

 ESA (Express Storage Architecture) supported with cer fied hardware

 Storage Policy-Based Management (SPBM)

 Storage availability via FTT (RAID-1, 5, 6)

Op onal: External Storage

 NFS, iSCSI, or FC supported with supplemental tools

  Not managed by VCF lifecycle

5. Lifecycle Management

SDDC Manager

 BOM-compliant upgrades of:

o vCenter

o NSX

o ESXi

o vSAN

 Prechecks, staging, and remedia on workflows

vRSLCM

 Manages Aria/vRealize suite lifecycle

 Handles cer ficates, patching, backup of pla orm services

6. Hybrid Cloud Integra on

VMware HCX

 Enables workload migra on to/from public clouds (e.g., AVS, GCVE)

 Supported as add-on in VCF 5.2

 Migra on types: bulk, live, cold

7. Security & Access Control

 NSX Distributed Firewall (DFW) for east-west isola on

 Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) across vCenter, NSX, SDDC Manager

 TLS cer ficates managed via vRSLCM Locker

 Integra on with vIDM/Workspace ONE Access for authen ca on

 8. Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG) Integra on

 Available through vSphere with Tanzu in workload domains

 Runs on vSphere Pods or VM-backed clusters

 Supports Harbor registry, NSX LB, and Calico/Antrea CNI

9. Monitoring & Observability

Tool Func on

Aria Opera ons (vROps) Health, performance, capacity

Aria Opera ons for Logs (vRLI) Log inges on and correla on

Aria Opera ons for Networks (vRNI) Flow visualiza on, microsegmenta on planning

10. DR & Backup Support

 VCF 5.2 supports SRM integra on (op onal)

 Na ve vSphere Replica on for VM-level DR

 3rd-party backup tools supported (e.g., Veeam, Cohesity)

Op onal Add-ons

 vGPU support for ML/AI workloads

 Integrated Load Balancers via NSX Advanced Load Balancer (Avi)

 Service Mesh with NSX Federa on (future releases)

Based on your updated LLD and the contents of the re-uploaded VCF 5.2 documenta on, here
is a detailed VMware Cloud Founda on 5.2 Data Center Infrastructure Overview for a Tier-1
Financial Ins tu on suppor ng 10,000+ mission-cri cal servers, including SQL, VOIP, Linux,
and AD infrastructure, with special focus on Dell IO Extreme storage, HCX, TKG, NSX, and
Lifecycle Management.
 1. High-Level Objec ve

Design a So ware-Defined Data Center (SDDC) hos ng:

 Core banking systems, fraud preven on, and treasury pla orms.

 10,000+ VM servers across mul ple domains:

o ~4,000 SQL and database workloads

o ~2,500 Linux app servers (Red Hat, Ubuntu, CentOS)

o ~1,500 Windows/Domain Controllers

o ~1,000 VOIP/Call Center systems

o Microservices via Tanzu containers

 Dual-Region with Georgia (USA) as Primary and Canada CoLo as DR.

 High-availability, zero-trust security, and hybrid cloud readiness.

2. Physical Infrastructure

Component Details

Compute 1000+ Dell VxRail G15 nodes with Intel Sapphire Rapids or AMD EPYC

Storage (HCI) Dell IO Extreme NVMe for vSAN

Networking Redundant ToR with 25/100 GbE + NSX Edge nodes

Rack Density 40–60 servers per rack with dual power and TOR

DC Footprint ~20–25 racks per site

3. Dell IO Extreme for vSAN

 All-NVMe storage for ultra-low latency.

 Supports vSAN ESA (Express Storage Architecture).

 Performance Targets:
 o 100K+ IOPS per node

o <1ms latency for cri cal databases

 Enables:

o FTT=2 RAID-5/6 for SQL clusters

o vSAN Stretched Cluster (if adopted) for 0 RPO

 Data Services: Compression, Deduplica on, Encryp on at rest

4. NSX-T Network Architecture

Layer Design

Overlay Transport Zone VXLAN/Geneve over VLAN-backed TEPs

T1 Gateways Per applica on or business unit

T0 Gateways 2 per site, connected to physical core via BGP/ECMP

Distributed Firewall (DFW) Zero-trust segmenta on per VM

Edge Nodes Bare-metal, dual 100Gb uplinks, High-Availability (Ac ve/Standby)

VPN/IPSec Used for site pairing and branch isola on

North-South Rou ng Redundant via Tier-0 Edge Clusters

East-West Isola on DFW + context-aware policies (tag-based rules)

5. HCX Version and Architecture

Item Details

HCX Version Enterprise Edi on (Latest compa ble with VCF 5.2 & 9.0)

Deployment One per domain, with interconnect, WAN Opt, Network Extension

Site Pairing IPSec VPN or Direct Connect ([Link]/16 transit)

Item Details

Network Extension Used for L2 con nuity during live migra ons

Mobility Groups App-based logical grouping (SQL, VOIP, CoreBanking)

Use Case VCF 5.2 to 9.0 migra on, AVS/GCVE burst, DR pilot-light workloads

6. Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG) Design

Item Detail

vSphere with Tanzu Enabled in 3 VI Workload Domains

TKG Cluster Types Workload clusters with Tanzu Supervisor

Namespaces Isolated by business func on (e.g., loans-dev, treasury-prod)

Container Registry Harbor integrated with RBAC

Backup & Monitoring Velero for backup, Prometheus + Grafana for metrics

App Types REST APIs, fraud detec on services, mobile backend microservices

Admin Via vCenter Plugin + CLI (kubectl/vk8s) + Aria Automa on templates

7. Security & Compliance Architecture

Area Approach

Microsegmenta on NSX DFW + applica on-based groups

Authen ca on Workspace ONE Access (SSO + MFA)

Role Management Centralized RBAC across vSphere, NSX, vRA

Cer ficate Management vRSLCM Locker service

Audit & Logging vRLI + external SIEM (Splunk or QRadar)

Area Approach

Encryp on vSAN Encryp on, TLS 1.2+, FIPS-140-2 validated modules

Compliance Targets PCI-DSS, FFIEC, RBI, GDPR (as per region)

8. Lifecycle Management Strategy

Component Managed By Upgrade Notes

VCF Core (ESXi, vCenter, NSX, SDDC

SDDC Manager BOM-aligned upgrade bundles
Manager)

Independent lifecycle with

vRealize/Aria Suite vRSLCM
snapshot rollback

Via Supervisor Cluster Version-locked to vSphere

TKG Components
and CLI versions

Integrated VxRail LCM

Dell Firmware/Drivers Cluster-aware upgrades
tools

9. Monitoring and Automa on

 Aria Opera ons (vROps): Capacity, health, and predic ve analy cs

 Aria Automa on (vRA): Self-service portals, approval workflows, IaC

 Aria Opera ons for Logs (vRLI): Centralized logging with NSX/TKG/vSAN plugins

 vRSLCM: Manages all Aria components’ installa on, cer ficates, and patching

 Aler ng: SNMP/syslog to branch NOC and central SOC

10. Branch Architecture (Sample)

Branch Type Details

Small Office/Branch ~100 VMs, 2 ESXi hosts + NSX-T edge VM

Branch Type Details

Security IPSec VPN to DC, NSX-T microsegmenta on

DR Strategy Replica on to HQ over encrypted WAN

Admin Centralized via vRA; branches use self-service catalog

Here's a comprehensive breakdown of the VMware Cloud Founda on (VCF) Port Matrix,
covering all major components such as SDDC Manager, vCenter, ESXi, NSX-T, vSAN, HCX, and
others — based on publicly documented informa on from VMware’s documenta on.

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Port

Matrix Summary
This document provides a comprehensive summary of the network port requirements for
VMware Cloud Founda on (VCF) and its major components, including vSphere, ESXi, NSX-T,
HCX, vSAN, and SDDC Manager.

SDDC Manager Port Requirements

Source Destination Port Protocol Purpose
Admin SDDC Manager 443 HTTPS GUI & REST API
Workstation UI/API access
SDDC Manager vCenter Server 443 HTTPS Inventory,
Lifecycle
SDDC Manager NSX-T Manager 443 HTTPS Inventory,
Config
SDDC Manager ESXi Hosts 22 / 443 SSH / HTTPS Bootstrap &
config
SDDC Manager vRealize Suite 443 HTTPS Integration
(Aria)
SDDC Manager LCM Depot 80/443 HTTP/HTTPS Patch
downloads

vCenter Server Ports

Source Destination Port Protocol Purpose
Admin PC vCenter 443 HTTPS Web Client
vCenter ESXi 902, 443 TCP/UDP Management,
VM Console
ESXi vCenter 443 HTTPS Reverse agent
calls
vCenter PSC (external) 443 HTTPS Authentication
vCenter NSX-T 443 HTTPS Registration and
plugins

ESXi Host Ports

Source Destination Port Protocol Purpose
vCenter ESXi 902, 443 TCP Management,
vMotion control
ESXi ESXi 8000 TCP vMotion traffic
ESXi vSAN Cluster 12345, 2233, TCP/UDP vSAN data +
2234, 31031 clustering
ESXi NSX-T 1234, 5671, TCP Agent
Manager/Edges 9443 communication
Admin ESXi 22 SSH CLI Access (if
enabled)

NSX-T Data Center Ports

Source Destination Port Protocol Purpose
NSX Manager Transport Nodes 5671 TCP RabbitMQ for
config push
NSX Manager Edges 9443 TCP REST API
NSX Edge Tier-0 Gateway / 179, 89 TCP/UDP Dynamic routing
Uplink
Edge → Physical 179, 4789 BGP, Overlay
Router VXLAN/VTEP transport
NSX Manager ESXi Host 1234 TCP Agent comm.
and telemetry

vSAN Port Requirements

Source Destination Port Protocol Purpose
ESXi Host ESXi Host 2233 TCP vSAN Clustering
ESXi Host ESXi Host 12345 TCP vSAN Data Path
ESXi Host ESXi Host 31031 UDP Gossip Protocol
(health)
vCenter vSAN Cluster 443 HTTPS Monitoring &
policy
enforcement
HCX Port Requirements
Source Destination Port Protocol Purpose
HCX Manager vCenter 443 HTTPS Inventory sync
HCX Manager NSX-T Manager 443 HTTPS Network profile
mgmt
HCX Remote Site 4500, 500, 443, UDP/TCP IPsec, Migration
Interconnect 9443 Tunnel
HCX Appliance Cloud Gateway 500, 4500, 443 UDP/TCP Bulk migration,
replication
ESXi HCX Manager 443 HTTPS Agent
registration

Addi onal Important VCF Ports

Component Port Description
SDDC Manager UI/API 443 Lifecycle automation & user
login
vCenter Server Appliance 5480 VAMI (Appliance
(VAMI) Management)
ESXi Host TSM (SSH) 22 For break-glass or config
NTP / DNS / Syslog 123, 53, 514 Time sync, name resolution,
log redirection
Aria Operations (vROps) 443 Data collection from
vCenter/NSX

PORT MATRIX
Service Source Destination Protocol Port(s)
vCenter Admin Workstation vCenter HTTPS 443
ESXi vCenter ESXi Hosts HTTPS 443
NSX Manager Admin Workstation NSX Manager HTTPS 443
HCX Remote HCX
HCX Manager IPSec 4500/UDP
Interconnect Site
2233,
vSAN ESXi vSAN Network TCP
2234
Tanzu Developer
TKG Clusters HTTPS 443
Supervisor Workstation
IP PLAN
VLAN Allocation
Domain/Zone Subnet Gateway
ID Notes
Management 100 [Link]/24 [Link] vCenter, NSX
vMotion 101 [Link]/24 [Link] ESXi vMotion
vSAN 102 [Link]/24 [Link] vSAN traffic
NSX-T TEP 103 [Link]/24 [Link] TEP overlay
Workload- Production
200 [Link]/24 [Link]
Prod VMs
Workload-
201 [Link]/24 [Link] Dev/Test VMs
Dev

Rack layout
Number of
Rack ID Host Type Switches Notes
Hosts
VCF vCenter, NSX, SDDC
R01 4 2x ToR
Management Mgr
R02 VCF Workload 20 2x ToR SQL/Apps
R03 VCF Workload 20 2x ToR Linux/DCs
R04 Spare/DR 4 2x ToR DR Failover

Low-Level Design Document (LLD)

Project Title: Secure, Highly Available Cloud-ready SDDC for Tier-1 Financial Ins tu on
Client: Global Private Banking Group
Version: 1.5
Prepared by: [Your Name]
Date: [Date]

VCF 5.2 to VCF 9.0 Upgrade – Runbook

1. Overview
This sec on details the comprehensive upgrade approach from VMware Cloud Founda on (VCF)
5.2 to VCF 9.0. The upgrade leverages a parallel greenfield deployment methodology using
VMware HCX for workload migra on, modernizes NSX design, refreshes the Aria Suite, and
transi ons Tanzu components.

2. Prepara on Checklist

Task Responsible Status

Backup vCenter, NSX, vSAN, SDDC Manager Infra Admin ☐

Snapshot Aria Suite components Aria Ops Team ☐

Export NSX-T firewall rules, segments Network Admin ☐

Inventory workload VMs and containers vROps Admin ☐

Validate target hardware for VCF 9.0 Infrastructure Team ☐

Finalize new IP schema and VLAN plan Network Engineer ☐

3. Greenfield VCF 9.0 Build

 Deploy VCF 9.0 management domain using Cloud Builder

 SDDC Manager 9.x configured and integrated with DNS/NTP/AD

 Create VI workload domains:

o SQL & Core Banking

o Fraud & Analy cs

o Tanzu (containers)

o VOIP & Domain Controllers

 Deploy NSX-T 4.x cluster with new segment schema

4. NSX Design Upgrade

Feature Ac on

NSX Manager New 3-node cluster in 9.0 domain

Tier-0/Tier-1 Designed per app zone and routed via BGP

Security Groups Recreated using context-aware tagging

Distributed Firewall Tag-based segmenta on and logging

5. Tanzu Transi on

 Deploy Supervisor Cluster and TKG 2.x

 Recreate Tanzu namespaces per environment

 Migrate workloads using YAMLs or Helm charts

 Integrate Harbor, Aria Automa on, and Prometheus

6. HCX Site Pairing & Migra on

Step Task

1 Install HCX in both VCF 5.2 and 9.0 sites

2 Enable Interconnect, WAN Op miza on, Network Extension

3 Pair sites securely using IPSec VPN

4 Group VMs into Mobility Groups

5 Validate applica on connec vity pre-migra on

6 Migrate in waves using Bulk/vMo on methods

7 Reapply firewall rules, tags, storage policies in 9.0

7. Lifecycle Management Alignment

 Use SDDC Manager 9.x for ESXi, NSX, vSAN, vCenter upgrades

 vRSLCM 8.x+ to manage Aria Suite upgrades and patching

  Dell VxRail LCM tool for firmware and BIOS consistency

 Offline upgrades via UMDS where needed

8. Post-Cutover Valida on

Task Tool Notes

Verify vCenter health vSphere Client HA, DRS, alarms

NSX firewall enforcement NSX Manager Rule hits, segment reachability

Tanzu workload access kubectl Pod status, ingress reachability

Monitoring vROps Alerts, capacity trend lines

Logging vRLI Confirm log inges on from new

stack

9. Decommission Legacy VCF 5.2

 Archive backups of vCenter, NSX, and SDDC Manager

 Power-off legacy hosts and unassign from monitoring

 Re re old certs, reverse IP reserva ons

 Update documenta on and DR runbooks

10. Appendices

 Sample YAML: Tanzu migra on

 NSX Segment comparison: 5.2 vs 9.0

 Firewall port matrix (HCX, TKG, Aria)

 Pre/post cutover test templates

 Inventory diff (before/a er migra on)

 VCF 5.2 vs VCF 9.0 – Feature and Architecture Comparison

Feature/Component VCF 5.2 VCF 9.0 Change Summary

Legacy UI, limited Enhanced UI, integrated More intui ve lifecycle

SDDC Manager
rollback pre-checks and LUS opera ons

Advanced DFW tagging,

NSX NSX-T 3.x NSX 4.x
TLS enhancements

DPU offload, NVMe

vSphere/vCenter vSphere 7.x vSphere 8.x (Update 2+)
improvements

Higher throughput with

vSAN OSA support vSAN ESA available
NVMe storage

Tanzu Kubernetes TKG 1.5 GitOps, be er mul -cloud

TKG 2.x with ClusterClass
Grid (Supervisor) support

HCX 4.x+, be er Seamless hybrid/mul -

HCX Legacy interface
resiliency cloud workloads

vRA, vROps, vRLI Aria Automa on, Ops, Unified Aria Hub and
Aria Suite (vRealize)
(legacy branding) Logs Guardrails op onal

BOM rigid, limited Enhanced Cloud Builder

SDDC Deployment Smoother greenfield setup
automa on valida ons

Security & FIPS 140-2, basic FIPS, TLS 1.3, NSX More context-aware
Compliance DFW firewall tagging, SSO microsegmenta on

Mul -Cloud HCX to AVS/GCVE

HCX + Aria Hub + Tanzu Wider flexibility
Integra on only

Na ve support for
Stretched cluster Greater DR flexibility (if
DR Capabili es vSphere+ replica on,
op onal NSX Federa on used)
NSX Federa on*

Low-Level Design Document (LLD)

Project Title: Secure, Highly Available Cloud-ready SDDC for Tier-1 Financial Ins tu on
Client: Global Private Banking Group
Version: 1.6
Prepared by: [Your Name]
Date: [Date]

17. Interview Ques ons and Expert Answers

This sec on contains 50 enterprise-level, technical interview ques ons and expert responses
based on best prac ces for VMware Cloud Founda on 5.2 deployments tailored to high-
availability, mul -domain financial data centers.

VCF Architecture & Lifecycle (Q1–Q10)

Q1. What are the primary components of VMware Cloud Founda on (VCF)?
A: VCF includes SDDC Manager, vCenter Server, NSX-T Data Center, vSAN, and op onally Tanzu
Kubernetes Grid. These components are deployed in a consistent BOM-aligned manner with
integrated lifecycle management.

Q2. How is lifecycle management handled in VCF 5.2?

A: Lifecycle is managed through SDDC Manager, which applies pre-validated updates to vCenter,
ESXi, NSX, and vSAN. vRSLCM manages Aria Suite components like vRA, vROps, and vRLI.

Q3. Explain the concept of Workload Domains in VCF.

A: A workload domain is a logical unit with its own vCenter, NSX instance, and set of ESXi hosts,
dedicated to hos ng tenant or applica on-specific VMs. Each workload domain is isolated and
lifecycle-managed independently.

Q4. What is the role of Cloud Builder in VCF deployments?

A: VMware Cloud Builder is used for ini al deployment of the VCF management domain. It
validates the configura on, applies the BOM, and automates the provisioning process.

Q5. How is availability achieved across mul ple domains in VCF?

A: Through stretched clusters, fault domains, and NSX Edge HA. For example, management
services can be protected via vSAN FTT=1 or FTT=2, and services are distributed across physical
fault domains.

Q6. What is a BOM in the context of VCF and why is it cri cal?
A: A BOM (Bill of Materials) lists supported versions of ESXi, vCenter, NSX, vSAN, etc. It ensures
interoperability and simplifies supportability and lifecycle updates.
Q7. What is the difference between a Management Domain and a VI Workload Domain?
A: The Management Domain hosts the core infrastructure services (vCenter, NSX Manager,
SDDC Manager), while VI Workload Domains are applica on-specific and can be created
independently.

Q8. How does VCF handle cer ficate management?

A: VCF integrates with a Cer ficate Authority or uses SDDC Manager workflows to generate and
apply cer ficates across vCenter, NSX, and ESXi.

Q9. What are pre-checks in the VCF lifecycle process?

A: Pre-checks validate the health, configura on, version compa bility, and resource availability
before applying an update or patch.

Q10. How does SDDC Manager interact with vRSLCM?

A: SDDC Manager orchestrates the core stack while vRSLCM manages Aria components. They
communicate via APIs and can share inventory data for holis c lifecycle control.

NSX-T Networking & Security (Q11–Q20)

Q11. How does NSX-T integrate with VCF and what is its role?
A: NSX-T provides network virtualiza on, security (DFW, microsegmenta on), and rou ng
services in VCF. It is ghtly integrated into both the management and workload domains and
supports east-west and north-south traffic control.

Q12. Explain the difference between Tier-0 and Tier-1 Gateways in NSX-T.
A: Tier-0 (T0) is used for north-south rou ng and connects to the physical network. Tier-1 (T1)
gateways connect to segments and handle east-west rou ng. T1s are o en used per applica on
or tenant zone.

Q13. How is microsegmenta on achieved in NSX-T?

A: Microsegmenta on uses Distributed Firewall (DFW) policies applied to VM vNICs. These
policies can use dynamic groups, tags, and L7 context to enforce app-specific security per
workload.

Q14. What’s the role of NSX Edge nodes?

A: NSX Edge nodes handle north-south traffic, load balancing, and NAT. In HA mode, two or
more edge nodes are deployed per edge cluster for redundancy and performance.

Q15. What is the purpose of Transport Zones?

A: Transport Zones define the span of logical switches. Overlay TZs are for tunnel-backed
segments (used by TEPs) and VLAN TZs are used when bridging to physical VLANs.
Q16. How do TEPs (Tunnel Endpoints) func on in NSX-T?
A: TEPs are interfaces on ESXi hosts used to encapsulate/decapsulate overlay traffic. They
enable communica on over NSX-T’s GENEVE-based tunnels.

Q17. How do you scale NSX-T in a mul -domain or mul -site environment?
A: By deploying addi onal NSX Manager nodes per domain, using NSX Federa on (if
supported), and segmen ng overlay networks per site with local edge clusters.

Q18. Describe how DFW policies are migrated during VCF upgrades.
A: Policies must be exported from the NSX Manager and manually recreated or imported using
API/PowerCLI in the new environment. Tags and group defini ons must also be replicated.

Q19. How does NSX-T support zero-trust architecture?

A: NSX-T enables iden ty-aware microsegmenta on, encrypted overlays, distributed IDS/IPS
(with NAPP), and API-driven segmenta on, aligning with zero-trust principles.

Q20. What are some key logging and visibility tools for NSX-T?
A: vRealize Network Insight (vRNI) for flow analy cs, Aria Opera ons for NSX-T metrics, and Log
Insight for DFW/Edge logs.

HCX Migra on & Hybrid Cloud (Q21–Q25)

Q21. What is the role of HCX in a dual-region VCF deployment?

A: HCX enables seamless migra on, DR, and network extension between VCF-based sites or
cloud pla orms (e.g., AVS/GCVE). It supports live vMo on, bulk migra on, and L2 extension.

Q22. How does HCX achieve workload mobility between regions?

A: HCX pairs source and des na on sites, deploys Interconnect, WAN Op miza on, and
Network Extension appliances, and enables encrypted mobility over WAN or VPN tunnels.

Q23. Describe HCX Network Extension and when it's used.

A: HCX Network Extension enables L2 connec vity across sites, maintaining IP/MAC con nuity
during migra on. It's used when apps can't tolerate IP changes.

Q24. How is HCX integrated into VCF lifecycle workflows?

A: HCX is deployed independently but managed as part of the VI workload domain. It’s updated
manually or through HCX Manager, outside of SDDC Manager workflows.

Q25. What are HCX best prac ces for large-scale migra on?
A: Group VMs by app er, stagger waves, enable WAN Op miza on, monitor throughput, test
NE before cutover, and coordinate DNS/firewall updates post-migra on.
 vSAN & Dell IO Extreme Storage (Q26–Q30)

Q26. What’s the purpose of vSAN in VCF?

A: vSAN provides hyper-converged storage integrated with the vSphere cluster. It eliminates the
need for external SAN/NAS and supports policy-driven provisioning.

Q27. What storage policies are typically used for mission-cri cal apps?
A: For SQL or core banking, use FTT=1 or FTT=2 (RAID-1 or RAID-6), IOPS limits, and availability
zones. Use storage policies to isolate VOIP and latency-sensi ve traffic.

Q28. How is Dell IO Extreme used in this context?

A: Dell IO Extreme storage uses NVMe and PCIe-based flash modules for ultra-low-latency
caching or primary storage, ideal for transac onal databases and high-frequency workloads.

Q29. How are disk groups designed in vSAN clusters?

A: Each host has 1 cache disk (SSD or NVMe) and 1–7 capacity disks (SSD/HDD). Dell IO Extreme
modules are o en used as cache er in all-flash configura ons.

Q30. How do you monitor vSAN performance and faults?

A: Use vROps, vSphere Health, and Aria Opera ons dashboards. Monitor latency, conges on,
disk health, and resync opera ons.

Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (Q31–Q35)

Q31. What is Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG) and how is it used in VCF?
A: TKG provides enterprise-grade Kubernetes on vSphere and is integrated into VCF. It supports
supervisor clusters and TKG clusters managed via vCenter or Tanzu CLI.

Q32. How are namespaces structured in a mul -tenant TKG deployment?

A: Namespaces are created per team or app using Supervisor Cluster. Resource limits (CPU,
memory, storage) and access policies (via vIDM/LDAP) isolate workloads.

Q33. Describe Tanzu’s lifecycle and upgrade method.

A: TKG upgrades are managed via vSphere (for Supervisor) or Tanzu CLI (for TKG clusters).
Pla orm updates are validated against VCF BOM and delivered via lifecycle tools.

Q34. How is GitOps implemented in a Tanzu environment?

A: FluxCD or ArgoCD can be integrated with Tanzu to automate cluster and app configura on.
Git repositories hold the desired state and sync changes to the clusters.

Q35. What monitoring and security tools are used with Tanzu?
A: Aria Opera ons for Apps (Wavefront), Prometheus, Grafana, and Harbor for image scanning.
NSX-T DFW policies can also be applied to Kubernetes pods.
 Aria Suite Opera ons (Q36–Q40)

Q36. What are the core components of the Aria Suite in VCF?
A: Aria Automa on (vRA), Aria Opera ons (vROps), Aria Log Insight (vRLI), and vRSLCM. These
tools manage automa on, monitoring, logging, and lifecycle.

Q37. How is vRealize Automa on (vRA) used in a financial SDDC?

A: vRA enables self-service provisioning, Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), and policy-based
automa on across VI domains, Tanzu, and hybrid cloud targets.

Q38. How does vROps contribute to capacity and performance planning?

A: vROps collects telemetry, builds forecas ng models, and helps rebalance workloads based on
demand, CPU/mem/storage usage, and applica on behavior.

Q39. Describe the role of vRealize Log Insight (vRLI) in compliance.

A: vRLI aggregates logs from vSphere, NSX, and Aria tools. It supports reten on policies,
aler ng, and audi ng for security/compliance (PCI DSS, ISO 27001).

Q40. What is vRSLCM and how does it simplify lifecycle?

A: vRSLCM centralizes install/upgrade/patching of Aria tools. It handles cer ficate management,
snapshots, and user management.

Real-World Workloads & Disaster Recovery (Q41–Q50)

Q41. What strategies are used to protect 4000+ SQL workloads in VCF?
A: Deploy in an -affinity VM groups, use RAID-6 vSAN policies, TKG namespaces for DBaaS
containers, and back up via Veeam or Data Protec on plug-ins.

Q42. How are VOIP systems integrated and isolated in the SDDC?
A: VOIP VMs are assigned to a dedicated NSX-T segment with QoS policies and real- me
resource pools. DFW rules isolate traffic from data-sensi ve zones.

Q43. What’s the best prac ce for Domain Controllers across primary and DR?
A: Deploy redundant DCs per site, sync via AD Sites & Services, and ensure DNS/NTP
consistency. Protect using vSphere HA and scheduled snapshots.

Q44. How do you support Linux-based banking workloads in this design?

A: Deploy RHEL/Ubuntu/CentOS in segmented NSX-T zones, use Aria Automa on blueprints,
apply vROps agents for visibility, and ensure kernel hardening.
Q45. What is the DR mechanism for VCF-based SDDC in this context?
A: Use stretched clusters (if latency <5ms) or HCX+SRM+vSphere Replica on across Georgia–
Canada. NSX Tier-0s must be mul -region aware.

Q46. How do you handle compliance for such a sensi ve environment?

A: Use Aria Automa on + Guardrails, apply vRLI aler ng, enforce least-privilege access, enable
NSX-T IDS/IPS, and maintain regular audits.

Q47. What is the strategy for applica on performance monitoring?

A: Use Aria Opera ons, Tanzu Observability, and Prometheus. Track app latency, memory leaks,
GC cycles, and pod/container metrics.

Q48. How do you secure east-west traffic between microservices?

A: NSX DFW with tag-based policies, Kubernetes Network Policies, TLS encryp on at service
mesh level (e.g., Is o), and container firewalls.

Q49. How is hybrid cloud burs ng handled for this deployment?

A: Through HCX integra on with AVS/GCVE, stretched NSX networks, Tanzu mul cloud clusters,
and cloud proxies in Aria Automa on.

Q50. Describe the patch management approach across the stack.

A: SDDC Manager for vSphere/NSX/vSAN, vRSLCM for Aria Suite, and out-of-band tools (VxRail
Manager) for firmware/BIOS. Patch waves are staged with rollback points.

Category 1: SDDC Manager & Lifecycle (Q1–Q20)

1. What are the major architectural differences between VCF 5.2 and VCF 9.0?

Answer:
VCF 9.0 introduces several architectural shi s:

 Lifecycle moderniza on: Improved vLCM integra on and async BOM support

 SDDC Manager now supports distributed LCM, which decouples upgrades of NSX,
vCenter, and ESXi

 Mul -availability zone (AZ) awareness and be er AVS/GCVE integra ons

 Na ve support for vSphere 8 U2, vSAN ESA, and Tanzu Kubernetes Grid 2.x+

2. Describe the greenfield deployment flow for VCF 9.0.

Answer:

1. Rack and cable physical servers

2. Deploy Cloud Builder OVA

3. Provide deployment parameter JSON

4. Run bring-up for:

o vCenter

o NSX Manager

o SDDC Manager

o Ini al workload domains

5. Post bring-up, SDDC Manager assumes full lifecycle control

3. Why choose greenfield over brownfield for this migra on?

Answer:

 Avoids compa bility issues between old and new VCF versions

 Enables clean architecture with modern NSX-T 4.x, TKG 2.x, and vSphere 8 features

 Simplifies compliance and BOM standardiza on

 HCX provides seamless workload migra on post-deployment

4. How does the new Lifecycle Manager in VCF 9.0 differ from earlier versions?

Answer:

 Supports asynchronous BOM upgrades

 Uses vLCM as a backend for ESXi patching

 NSX and vCenter upgrades decoupled

 Built-in pre-checks, snapshot scheduling, and rollback automa on

5. What is the role of vLCM in VCF 9.0?

Answer:
vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) is:

 Embedded within vCenter

 Manages ESXi patching with desired-state image

 Supports firmware updates via vendor plugins (e.g., Dell OMIVV, Lenovo XClarity)

 Used by SDDC Manager during Host Patching workflows

6. Explain how you integrate vCenter with SDDC Manager in VCF 9.0.

Answer:

 vCenter is deployed via Cloud Builder and registered with SDDC Manager

 SDDC Manager uses REST APIs to manage inventory, monitor status, ini ate upgrades

 Each workload domain (WLD) can have its own vCenter, also managed via SDDC
Manager

7. What is the process of adding a workload domain in VCF 9.0?

Answer:

1. Prepare hosts in the VI Workload Domain pool

2. Use SDDC Manager UI or API

3. Choose workload type (VI, vSAN, NSX-backed)

4. Assign IP pools, network pools, clusters

5. SDDC Manager automates deployment of vCenter, NSX, ESXi

8. How does BOM versioning work in VCF 9.0?

Answer:

 Each VCF version has a published BOM (Bill of Materials)

 vCenter, NSX, ESXi, vSAN, and TKG must align

 With 9.0, async BOM enables staggered upgrades of specific components

  SDDC Manager ensures all components are interoperable

9. What happens if a bring-up fails in Cloud Builder?

Answer:

 Logs are captured in /var/log/vmware

 Retry op ons include:

o Redeploy Cloud Builder

o Restore environment snapshot

 New in 9.0: be er bring-up valida on tool and par al rollback capability

10. How do you manage passwords, cer ficates, and secrets in VCF?

Answer:

 SDDC Manager provides Password Management UI and APIs

 Integrates with external Cer ficate Authority for TLS

 Cer ficate replacement workflows supported for:

o vCenter

o NSX

o SDDC Manager

 Secrets encrypted using KMIP-compliant key vault or local encryp on

Category 2: Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG) 2.x (Q11–Q20)

11. What are the main architectural changes in TKG 2.x vs 1.x?

Answer:

 Shi from TKGS (vSphere-integrated) to Cluster Class architecture

 Enhanced mul -cloud deployment

  Decoupled from Supervisor Cluster requirement

 Uses CAPV and CAPK (Cluster API Providers)

 Direct CLI-based control with tanzu CLI

12. How does Supervisor Cluster in VCF 9.0 support TKG 2.x?

Answer:

 Acts as control plane for TKG guest clusters

 Integrated with NSX-T overlay, storage policies, and DRS

 Enables VM service, namespace management, and DevOps RBAC

13. What is ClusterClass in TKG 2.x and why is it important?

Answer:

 ClusterClass = declara ve template defining cluster layout

 Enables policy-based management across many clusters

 Supports upgrades, scaling, and policy injec on

 Promotes GitOps and lifecycle consistency

14. How do you deploy a Tanzu guest cluster in VCF 9.0?

Answer:

1. Enable Workload Management

2. Deploy Supervisor Cluster

3. Define storage, compute, and network policies

4. Use tanzu cluster create CLI with ClusterClass

5. Validate access via kubeconfig

15. How is load balancing achieved in TKG on VCF?

Answer:

 Uses NSX Advanced Load Balancer (ALB)

 ALB is ghtly integrated with NSX-T Tier-1 routers

 Provides Ingress controller, L4/L7 load balancing

 Deploys via SDDC Manager workflow in VCF 9.0

16. What storage op ons are used for Tanzu guest clusters?

Answer:

 vSAN with Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM)

 Tag-based placement for PVs

 PVCs automa cally assigned via storage class defined in ClusterClass

17. What is the role of Antrea or Calico in TKG 2.x?

Answer:

 Provide Kubernetes CNI (Container Network Interface)

 Antrea: na ve VMware solu on (Open vSwitch-based)

 Calico: used when NSX isn’t present or in upstream TKG deployments

18. How are upgrades managed in TKG 2.x?

Answer:

 Managed via tanzu cluster upgrade CLI

 ClusterClass defines Kubernetes version and compa ble OS image

 No down me with rolling updates

 Pre-checks validate dependencies and availability

19. How is Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) implemented in TKG?

Answer:

 Namespace-level RBAC from Supervisor Cluster

 Integra on with vSphere SSO or LDAP

 Kubernetes na ve RBAC within guest clusters

 Supports workload isola on per team/tenant

20. What is the significance of Pinniped in TKG?

Answer:

 Handles secure authen ca on for kubectl access

 Enables OIDC-based login via external IdP

 Reduces reliance on cer ficates or kubeconfigs

 Integrated with vSphere SSO in VCF deployments

Category 3: NSX-T 4.x Advanced (Q21–Q40)

21. What are the key new features of NSX-T 4.x over 3.x in VCF 9.0?

Answer:

 NSX Federa on with enhanced GSLB and policy replica on

 EVPN/VXLAN support for integra on with physical fabric

 Micro-segmenta on at scale with enhanced DFW logging

 Improved DHCP, NAT, and L7 firewall policies

 Centralized API gateway for federated environments

 NSX-T security posture dashboard and IDS/IPS improvements

22. How does NSX-T Federa on operate in a VCF environment?

Answer:
  NSX Global Manager orchestrates mul ple NSX Local Managers

 Enables policy replica on, centralized segmenta on, and inter-site rou ng

 Reduces opera onal overhead in mul -site VCF deployments

 Federa on spans across availability zones or geographic sites

23. How do you design micro-segmenta on policies in VCF 9.0?

Answer:

 Based on group tags, AD groups, or VM metadata

 Use NSX-T DFW to define L4/L7 rules between app ers

 Integrate with Aria Opera ons for Networks for flow visibility

 Enforce security across TKG, VI workloads, and external endpoints

24. What are Transport Zones and their types in NSX-T?

Answer:

 Defines scope of NSX segments

 Types:

o Overlay TZ: For tunnel-backed networks (Geneve/VXLAN)

o VLAN TZ: For VLAN-backed segments

 Used by edge, hosts, and workloads to place traffic

25. How is EVPN used in NSX-T 4.x and VCF 9.0?

Answer:

 EVPN = BGP-based L2 extension over IP fabric

 NSX-T can peer with EVPN-capable switches (e.g., Arista, Cisco)

 Enables L2 adjacency between virtual and physical domains

 Alterna ve to NSX L2 Bridging or HCX L2 extension

26. Describe the design for NSX-T Tier-0 and Tier-1 routers in VCF.

Answer:

 Tier-0 handles North-South traffic, peered with physical routers

 Tier-1 services workloads, connects to Tier-0 via SRs

 SR (Service Router) = stateful services (NAT, DHCP)

 DR (Distributed Router) = stateless, runs on all transport nodes

27. What is the role of Edge Nodes in NSX-T?

Answer:

 Run SR components of Tier-0/Tier-1 routers

 Deliver NAT, DHCP, Load Balancing, VPN

 Support ECMP/BGP peerings

 Must be deployed in HA ac ve-ac ve mode in VCF produc on WLDs

28. How do you size NSX Edge Clusters in VCF 9.0?

Answer:

 Minimum: 2 edge nodes per cluster

 Must match MTU of overlay network

 Use large or extra-large form factor for high-throughput workloads

 Ensure DRS affinity rules to avoid co-loca on

29. Explain the use of NSX-T Load Balancer with Tanzu.

Answer:

 NSX ALB (Avi) handles L4 and L7 traffic for TKG clusters

 Ingress Controller integrated via AKO (Avi Kubernetes Operator)

  Supports SSL offloading, HTTP rou ng, rate limi ng

 Managed via SDDC Manager workflow in VCF 9.0

30. How does NSX-T integrate with Aria Opera ons for Networks?

Answer:

 Provides flow analy cs, path visibility, and security planning

 NSX-T Manager pushes data via IPFIX to Aria Ops for Networks

 Enables zero-trust policy planning with observed flows

 Maps logical overlays to physical fabric paths

Category 4: HCX Workload Migra on (Q31–Q40)

31. What is HCX and how is it used in this VCF 5.2 ➝ 9.0 upgrade?

Answer:

 HCX = Hybrid Cloud Extension

 Enables L2 network extension and live migra on of VMs

 Facilitates migra on from VCF 5.2 legacy stack to VCF 9.0 greenfield

 Works across on-prem, AVS, GCVE, and cloud sites

32. What are the core components of HCX?

Answer:

 HCX Manager

 Interconnect Appliance (IX)

 WAN Op miza on

 L2 Extension Appliance

 Network Extension and Mobility Agents

  Deployed at both source and des na on sites

33. What are the types of HCX migra on methods?

Answer:

 vMo on: Live migra on with minimal down me

 Bulk Migra on: Parallel cold migra ons

 Replica on Assisted vMo on (RAV): Hybrid approach

 OS-Assisted Migra on (OSAM): Physical to virtual migra ons

34. How do you design Service Meshes in HCX?

Answer:

 Define source and des na on sites

 Select Compute Profile, Network Profile, and appliances

 Ensure MTU 1600+ for tunnel interface

 Ensure L3 connec vity between Interconnect appliances

35. How do you extend Layer 2 networks between sites using HCX?

Answer:

 Deploy L2 Extension appliance

 Extend VLAN/segment across HCX tunnel

 Used during migra on to maintain IP address

 Can be decommissioned a er DNS/IP renumbering

36. What’s the difference between Mobility Group and Mobility Event?

Answer:

 Mobility Group: Set of VMs grouped for migra on as one unit

  Mobility Event: Actual migra on ac on taken on that group

 Enables batch control and repor ng

37. What are prerequisites for HCX deployment in VCF?

Answer:

 Compa ble vCenter and NSX versions

 IP pools for appliances

 DNS, NTP, and cer ficate trust

 Firewall rules to open HCX ports (TCP/UDP 443, 500, 4500, etc.)

38. How do you monitor HCX migra on ac vity?

Answer:

 HCX Dashboard shows ac ve events, failures, and appliance health

 Logs available via vCenter plugin and CLI

 NSX/Aria Ops for Networks can show tunnel flow stats

39. How do you rollback a failed migra on in HCX?

Answer:

 HCX automa cally snapshots VM before cutover (if configured)

 Can reverse migra on or re-ini ate a er fixing config

 DNS or sta c IP mappings may require manual rollback

40. What are limita ons of HCX during parallel workload migra on?

Answer:

 Limit to number of parallel vMo on streams per host

 Storage-backed VMs (e.g., RDMs) may need OSAM instead

  Licensing requirements for advanced features (RAV, WAN Opt)

 May need IP renumbering for unsupported L2 extension cases

Category 5: vSphere & vSAN (Q41–Q55)

41. What are the major enhancements in vSphere 8 relevant to VCF 9.0?

Answer:

 vSphere Distributed Services Engine (DSE) offloads network processing to SmartNICs

 Enhanced vLCM for cluster image and firmware dri detec on

 vSphere Green Metrics for sustainability tracking

 Full support for vSAN ESA (Express Storage Architecture)

 Tanzu enhancements for TKG 2.x and Supervisor Cluster lifecycle

42. What is vSphere DSE and how does it impact performance?

Answer:

 Offloads NSX, vSAN, or other infrastructure workloads to DPUs (SmartNICs)

 Reduces CPU load on ESXi hosts

 Improves East-West throughput

 Enhances microsegmenta on and L4–L7 services execu on

43. How does vLCM manage ESXi image and firmware in VCF?

Answer:

 Desired-state model for host configura on

 Validates against VMware BOM and HCL

 Integrates with vendor plug-ins (Dell OMIVV, HPE iLO Amplifier, Lenovo XClarity)

 Supports cluster-wide upgrades and compliance checks

44. What is QuickBoot and when is it useful?

Answer:

 Enables reboot of ESXi without full hardware ini aliza on

 Skips POST and firmware init

 Reduces host reboot me during patching/upgrades

 Useful during maintenance window-constrained upgrades in VCF

45. Describe a typical vSAN cluster setup in VCF.

Answer:

 Uses vSAN ReadyNodes in workload domains

 SDDC Manager provisions vSAN datastore during domain crea on

 Disk groups created automa cally using caching + capacity er

 Supports vSAN ESA or OSA depending on config

46. What are key features of vSAN ESA (Express Storage Architecture)?

Answer:

 All-NVMe architecture

 Log-structured filesystem for improved write handling

 RAID-5/6 parity efficiency at performance similar to RAID-1

 Improved data services: compression, encryp on, snapshots

 Scale beyond 100K IOPS per host

47. How is Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM) used in VCF?

Answer:

 Defines performance, availability, and placement policies

 Applied automa cally by vSphere & vSAN during provisioning

  Integrated with Tanzu namespaces for persistent volumes

 Policies include FTT, striping, dedupe, and compression rules

48. How are stretched clusters supported in VCF 9.0?

Answer:

 Dual-site deployment with Witness Node

 NSX-T must support east-west interconnect

 vSAN stretched clusters configured with affinity rules

 Available via SDDC Manager workflows in VI Workload Domain

49. What’s the role of VMware Skyline in vSphere/VCF opera ons?

Answer:

 Proac ve health and telemetry tool

 Integrated with SDDC Manager for LCM advisory

 Detects anomalies, misconfigura ons, and CVEs

 Sends alerts to VMware Cloud Support

50. Describe how DRS behavior has changed in recent vSphere versions.

Answer:

 Now workload-centric, not cluster-centric

 Uses VM demand vs host capacity to make decisions

 AI/ML based predic ve placement

 Avoids VM thrashing by modeling performance before migra on

Category 6: Mul -Cloud (AVS, GCVE) (Q56–Q70)

51. What is AVS and how does it integrate with VCF 9.0?

Answer:

 Azure VMware Solu on (AVS) is a Microso -hosted VMware stack

 Fully cer fied VCF-based infrastructure

 Integrated via HCX or VMware Transit Connect

 VCF 9.0 includes na ve workflows to register AVS SDDCs

52. Describe how GCVE supports disaster recovery from an on-prem VCF cluster.

Answer:

 Google Cloud VMware Engine is a na ve vSphere SDDC

 VCF can replicate workloads using vSphere Replica on or HCX

 NSX-T used to maintain consistent network/security policies

 VMware Cloud DR (VCDR) or Site Recovery Manager may be used

53. How do you connect on-prem NSX to AVS/GCVE using HCX?

Answer:

 Use Service Mesh with Network Extension + Interconnect appliances

 L2 Extension allows seamless IP reten on

 Network Profile must be pre-configured on both sites

 Rou ng table updates required for egress traffic

54. What are the networking considera ons for hybrid VCF deployments?

Answer:

 L2VPN or BGP between DC and cloud SDDC

 Consistent MTU, DNS, NTP, and IP space segmenta on

 Use of NSX Federa on if supported by CSP

  Security rules must be mirrored across both environments

55. What role does Aria Opera ons play in mul -cloud observability?

Answer:

 Centralized dashboard for performance, capacity, and configura on dri

 Connects to vCenter, NSX, TKG, and CSPs

 Supports mul -cloud cost analysis and rightsizing

 Aler ng, compliance, and custom dashboards for AVS/GCVE too

56. What is VMware Transit Connect and how is it used in AVS?

Answer:

 VMware-managed AWS/AVS interconnect service

 Provides SDDC-to-SDDC connec vity

 BGP peering with NSX-T Tier-0

 Required for mul -region AVS/GCVE communica on

57. How does VCF 9.0 enable mul -cloud Kubernetes across sites?

Answer:

 Through Tanzu Mission Control (TMC)

 Supervisor Clusters from mul ple VCF/AVS SDDCs can be a ached

 ClusterClass used for GitOps and declara ve lifecycle

 NSX-T policies can be federated

58. What is the difference between AVS and VMC on AWS?

Answer:

 AVS: Azure na ve offering managed by Microso

  VMC: VMware Cloud on AWS, managed by VMware

 Both run VCF stack but differ in management responsibility and APIs

 VMC supports VMC-X for data mobility via VMware Transit Gateway

59. How do you ensure security compliance in hybrid SDDC environments?

Answer:

 NSX DFW policies aligned across sites

 Use of VM Encryp on, TPM 2.0, and Aria Compliance

 SIEM integra on with Aria Opera ons for Logs

 Audit trails in SDDC Manager for administra ve ac ons

60. How does VMware Aria support cross-cloud governance?

Answer:

 Enforces tag-based policies across vSphere, AVS, GCVE, AWS, and Azure

 Role-based access with cloud zones

 Policy engine evaluates dri , security posture, and cost impact

 Automates remedia on using Terraform or Aria Automa on Ac ons

Category 7: Security, Compliance & Automa on (Q61–Q125)

61. How is NSX-T DFW used for zero-trust in a VCF 9.0 environment?

Answer:

 Enforces micro-segmenta on at VM vNIC level

 Allows policy defini ons based on VM tags, AD groups, OS iden ty, or applica on

 L7 AppID support (HTTP, HTTPS, DNS, etc.) for intelligent filtering

 Integrated with Aria Ops for Networks for east-west traffic visibility
62. What is VMware Trust Authority and how does it support a esta on?

Answer:

 Ensures that only trusted ESXi hosts join a cluster

 Works with TPM 2.0 and vCenter cer ficate infrastructure

 Trust Authority vCenter validates cryptographic iden ty of hosts

 Required for highly secure workloads like regulated industries

63. How do you secure SDDC Manager APIs?

Answer:

 Enforce TLS 1.2+

 Integrate with LDAP/AD for RBAC

 Rotate creden als using built-in password management

 Audit all API ac vi es using Aria Opera ons for Logs

64. How does Aria Automa on integrate with VCF to enable self-service?

Answer:

 Provides cloud template blueprints for vSphere, Tanzu, and NSX

 Offers Service Broker portal to internal dev/ops teams

 Orchestrates VM provisioning, network assignment, tagging, approval workflows

 Can integrate with GitHub Ac ons or Terraform

65. What is Secure Boot in ESXi and how is it validated in VCF?

Answer:

 Ensures only signed components load at boot me

 Uses UEFI firmware + TPM 2.0 for integrity verifica on

 vSphere health status shows Secure Boot compliance

  Required for Trust Authority deployments

66. How do you ensure regulatory compliance in VCF environments?

Answer:

 Use VMware Aria Opera ons Compliance Packs (HIPAA, PCI, NIST, etc.)

 Regular audit log exports

 NSX IDS/IPS and segmenta on

 Snapshot and patching policies via SDDC Manager

67. What is Aria Opera ons for Logs (formerly Log Insight)?

Answer:

 Centralized log aggrega on and analy cs pla orm

 Ingests from vCenter, NSX, ESXi, SDDC Manager, and applica ons

 Supports alerts, custom dashboards, and vRealize integra on

 Used for troubleshoo ng and audit trails

68. Explain the concept of ‘Intent-Based Automa on’ in Aria Suite.

Answer:

 Uses defined goals (e.g., availability, performance, compliance)

 Aria Automa on & Aria Ops work together to implement configura on changes

 Reac ve and proac ve enforcement via policies and triggers

 Enables self-healing infrastructure

69. How does Aria Guardrails support mul -cloud governance?

Answer:

 Defines policies as code for networking, iden ty, tagging, region restric on
  Con nuously enforces across vSphere, AVS, GCVE, AWS, Azure

 Supports dri detec on and rollback

 Can be managed via API or Terraform

70. What is the recommended logging and SIEM strategy in VCF?

Answer:

 Use Aria Opera ons for Logs as central logging hub

 Forward events to external SIEM (Splunk, Qradar, ArcSight)

 NSX IDS/IPS logs exported via Syslog

 Log reten on based on compliance (e.g., 90–365 days)

71. What is the Aria Automa on Orchestrator and its role in VCF?

Answer:

 Workflow engine to automate infrastructure tasks

 Built-in PowerCLI, REST, SSH, SNMP support

 Executes post-provisioning scripts (e.g., install agents, patch OS)

 Integrated with Service Broker and custom forms

72. How do you enable role-based access across mul -tenant VCF deployments?

Answer:

 Use vCenter roles and permissions at the folder/cluster level

 Aria Automa on supports projects and cloud zones per tenant

 NSX supports group-based firewall rules

 SDDC Manager supports LDAP/SSO binding

73. What’s the role of VMware Iden ty Manager (VIDM) in VCF?

Answer:

 Centralizes authen ca on (SSO, SAML, OAuth)

 Federates iden ty across Aria, NSX, vCenter

 Enables MFA and condi onal access

 Being replaced in future VCF releases by cloud-na ve SSO

74. How do you deploy and enforce encryp on in VCF workloads?

Answer:

 Enable vSAN Encryp on (KMS required)

 Enable VM Encryp on for sensi ve VMs

 TPM-backed key protec on (TPM 2.0 required)

 Aria Compliance can validate encryp on se ngs

75. What is FIPS mode in VCF and how is it validated?

Answer:

 Ensures cryptographic modules comply with NIST FIPS 140-2

 Enabled via boot parameter or system property

 Validated using VMware’s published FIPS compliance guide

 Required for US federal workloads

76–125. Bonus Areas: Deeper Topics Available Upon Request

To maintain message limits, I’ll pause here. If you want ques ons focused on:

 Tanzu Cluster Federa on

 Aria Configura on Dri Management

 Mul -site Disaster Recovery

 NSX-T Service Inser on

  GCVE/AVS Cross-SDDC L2 Interconnects

Mul -Site Disaster Recovery in VCF 9.0 (Q126–Q150)

126. What are the main DR op ons available in a VCF-based architecture?

Answer:

1. vSphere Replica on – asynchronous VM-level replica on

2. Site Recovery Manager (SRM) – orchestrated failover/failback with runbooks

3. VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery (VCDR) – DRaaS for VMware Cloud

4. HCX-based migra on – used for mobility and emergency fallback

5. Stretched Clusters – ac ve/ac ve across metro sites (vSAN, NSX required)

127. How does Site Recovery Manager (SRM) integrate with VCF?

Answer:

 Deployed per workload domain

 Tied to respec ve vCenters and Replica on Appliances

 SDDC Manager does not na vely manage SRM lifecycle

 NSX-T must replicate L2/L3 constructs via Federa on or HCX

128. Can you stretch a VCF Workload Domain across two sites?

Answer:
Yes, with constraints:

 Must use vSAN Stretched Cluster configura on

 Witness node at a 3rd site (or cloud)

 NSX-T Edge Clusters must also be stretched and highly available

 SDDC Manager supports stretched cluster domain crea on from vCF 4.3+
129. What is the role of NSX Federa on in mul -site DR?

Answer:

 Ensures centralized security policies across sites

 Replicates segments, groups, and rules between Local Managers

 Enables seamless failover of network profiles and micro-segmenta on

 Prevents security dri post-recovery

130. How does VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery (VCDR) work with on-prem VCF?

Answer:

 On-prem VMs replicated to VMware Cloud on AWS

 Uses vSphere Replica on + Cloud DRaaS Connector

 Instant Power-On using Live Mount

 Supports RPO from 30 minutes to 24 hours

 Aria Automa on or SRM used for orchestra on

131. What is a DR Runbook in SRM and how is it created?

Answer:

 Runbook = predefined sequence of ac ons during failover

 Includes VM order, IP customiza ons, script execu on, network mapping

 Created in SRM UI under Recovery Plans

 Can be tested without full failover using Test Recovery

132. How is failover automa on achieved with Aria Automa on?

Answer:

 Triggers DR workflows using Orchestrator or Terraform

 Uses cloud templates to recreate infrastructure state

  Can assign new NSX-T segments or TKG namespaces post-failover

 Integrated with external tools (e.g., PagerDuty, ServiceNow)

133. What is the difference between ac ve-ac ve and ac ve-passive DR in VCF?

Answer:

 Ac ve-Ac ve: Both sites serve traffic, require consistent state and replica on

 Ac ve-Passive: One site is on standby, VMs replicated and ready for promo on

 VCF supports both, depending on app requirement and network fabric

134. Can Tanzu clusters be part of a DR strategy?

Answer:
Yes, with condi ons:

 Stateless clusters backed by GitOps or Tanzu Mission Control (TMC) can be recreated

 PVCs require vSAN/CSI backup replica on

 Supervisor Clusters can be redeployed if control plane VMs are protected via SRM

135. How does HCX help in DR scenarios for VCF?

Answer:

 Enables non-disrup ve migra on during planned failover

 Supports L2 network extension across VCF and cloud (AVS/GCVE)

 Automates reverse migra on or fallback

 Lower RPO/RTO for workloads without strict recovery SLAs

136. What are recovery me objec ves (RTO) and recovery point objec ves (RPO) for VCDR vs
SRM?

Answer:
Tool RTO RPO

SRM Minutes–Hours 5 mins–24 hours (via vSphere Replica on)

VCDR <5 minutes (Live Mount) 30 mins–24 hours

137. How do you manage DNS updates post-failover in VCF DR?

Answer:

 Use cloud-based DNS (e.g., Route53, Azure DNS) with low TTL

 Automate record update using Orchestrator or scripts

 NSX NAT rules can be used as intermediate mapping if IP renumbering occurs

138. Can NSX Advanced Load Balancer support DR failover use cases?

Answer:
Yes:

 GSLB (Global Server Load Balancing) supports site proximity, health-based rou ng

 Automa cally fails over VIP to secondary site

 Requires shared DNS and NSX-T Edge reachability from both loca ons

139. What limita ons exist for SRM in a stretched cluster?

Answer:

 SRM not required for metro stretched cluster (use vSphere HA)

 SRM needed if failure domain = region or inter-DC

 Cannot use both SRM and vSAN Stretched together for the same app

140. How do you test DR in a live produc on VCF environment?

Answer:

 Use Test Recovery Plan in SRM

  Creates isolated bubble network and VMs

 No impact on produc on

 Validates IP mapping, service startup order, and app dependencies

141. What kind of app design pa erns are DR friendly in VCF?

Answer:

 Stateless microservices using Tanzu and GitOps

 Databases with cross-site replica on (MySQL, PostgreSQL)

 Apps using config-as-code + image registry deployment

 Backends that support read replicas and failover

142. What storage replica on op ons are valid for VCF DR?

Answer:

 Na ve vSAN Replica on (via SRM)

 Array-based replica on with VVols or RDMs

 vSphere Replica on at VM level

 For TKG: backup PVs to object storage with Velero or MinIO

143. How is compliance ensured for DR tests and plans?

Answer:

 Use Aria Opera ons for Compliance to track DR readiness

 Maintain audit logs of DR tests

 Implement scheduled DR test plans with success metrics

 Store runbook outcomes in secure, signed reports

144. How do you replicate SDDC Manager configura on in DR site?

Answer:

 Not na vely replicated

 Must be deployed independently at secondary site

 Recovery requires full re-deployment and host re-inventory

 Export/import backup/restore APIs planned in future releases

145. What’s the role of Aria Opera ons during a DR event?

Answer:

 Correlates performance/availability metrics

 Iden fies host or workload outages

 Triggers automa on or alerts via webhooks

 Enables capacity planning post-failover

146. What DR strategy is recommended for VCF workload domains with NSX-T?

Answer:

 Use SRM + NSX Federa on + Aria Automa on

 Pre-stage IP segments, firewall rules, and services at recovery site

 Replicate workloads using vSphere Replica on or VCDR

 Re-map segments post-restore

147. How does stretched NSX Edge Cluster help in DR?

Answer:

 Maintains NSX services across both sites

 Ac ve/Ac ve BGP peering avoids blackholing

 Supports seamless north-south rou ng a er failover

 Requires same Tier-0 configura on at both ends

148. What monitoring tools help ensure DR readiness in VCF?

Answer:

 Aria Opera ons for capacity/performance metrics

 Aria Opera ons for Logs for event correla on

 Aria Automa on Config for dri remedia on

 Skyline Advisor for preemp ve risk detec on

149. How are TKG-based Kubernetes apps recovered post-disaster?

Answer:

 Use TMC or GitOps to reinstan ate clusters

 Persistent volumes restored via Velero or object store

 Load Balancer mappings recreated via NSX ALB APIs

 StatefulSets must be designed for resync or init

150. What are the best prac ces for designing a resilient DR architecture in VCF 9.0?

Answer:

 Use SRM for automa on, HCX for flexibility

 Always separate Mgmt Domain from WLDs

 Maintain DNS, NTP, LDAP, and KMS availability in both sites

 Document and test runbooks quarterly

 Adopt immutable infrastructure prac ces where possible