When bringing an existing vSphere environment into a new VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) instance, the location of the existing vCenter Server is a critical design consideration. The hosts designated for the new VCF management domain will be configured and managed by the new SDDC Manager. If the vCenter Server Virtual Machine (VM) is running on one of these hosts, a management deadlock or circular dependency will occur, causing the bring-up process to fail. Therefore, a key prerequisite and design implication is that the vCenter Server VM must be migrated to compute and storage resources that are outside of the hosts intended for the initial VCF management cluster, such as a standalone host.

A. NSX is deployed during the VCF bring-up process, but this is a standard part of the workflow, not a pre-existing condition or a specific implication related to migrating an existing environment in the context of the other options.

C. VCF does not automatically convert clusters to vSAN. It supports multiple principal storage options, including the existing NFS, which can be selected during the VCF deployment process.

D. VCF mandates the use of vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) with a single cluster image, not baselines. Converting hosts to be managed by vLCM images is part of the process, but the option incorrectly specifies baselines.

1. VMware Cloud Foundation Planning and Preparation Guide (v5.1): This guide outlines the prerequisites for VCF deployment. In the section for preparing existing vSphere environments

it emphasizes the need for the management components to be separate.

Reference: Chapter 2

"Prerequisites for VMware Cloud Foundation

" specifically the sections discussing the requirements for the management domain hosts and the vCenter Server. The guide implicitly supports this by detailing that the bring-up process reconfigures the hosts

which cannot be done if the vCenter managing them is on them. A common documented practice is to place the vCenter on a temporary

standalone host.

2. VMware Cloud Foundation Architecture and Deployment Guide: This document details the bring-up process.

Reference: The section on "Deploying VMware Cloud Foundation on Existing vSphere Infrastructure" details the steps and prerequisites. It states

"The vCenter Server that manages the ESXi hosts for the management domain must not be running on those hosts." This directly supports the need to migrate the vCenter VM.

3. VMware Cloud Foundation Lifecycle Management (v5.1): This document clarifies the use of vLCM.

Reference: Chapter 1

"vSphere Lifecycle Manager in VMware Cloud Foundation

" page 8

states

"In VMware Cloud Foundation

each vSphere cluster is managed with a single image." This confirms that VCF uses images

not baselines

invalidating option D.

4. VMware Cloud Foundation Administration Guide: This guide details storage options.

Reference: The section on "Principal Storage for Workload Domains" lists vSAN

NFS

vVols

and VMFS on FC as supported options

confirming that a conversion to vSAN is not mandatory and invalidating option C.