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apiVersion: soultec.ch/v1kind: Solutionmetadata: name: vmware/vmware-cloud-foundation/vcf-automation locale: en labels: vendor: VMware VCF Automation capability/automation: 1.78 capability/cloud: 1.94 capability/virtualization: 1.37 vendor/vmware: 0.88 annotations: source: src/content/solutions/en/vmware/vmware-cloud-foundation/vcf-automation.md route: /en/solutions/vmware/vmware-cloud-foundation/vcf-automation/ schema: /nerd/schema/solutions.json markdown: /en/solutions/vmware/vmware-cloud-foundation/vcf-automation.mdspec: title: VCF Automation tags: [automation, cloud, virtualization] vendors: [vmware] summary: >- Self-service and lifecycle for virtual machines, networks and Kubernetes namespaces. The catalogue with the platform behind it. photoNeed: >- A vSphere or VCF console on a real screen at soulTec: a cluster view, a running task, an inventory tree, so the reader should recognise the UI stub: false draft: false kind: product formerly: Aria Automation editions: [vcf] addon: false sourceNote: >- Broadcom, VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 and VMware vSphere Foundation 9.1: Feature Comparison & Upgrade Paths, read 2026-08-28 vendorName: VMware VCF Automation status: current practice: >- The catalogue goes up quickly and the governance behind it does not. Introducing automation without first settling who may order what builds a second shadow IT. practiceReview: true sections: - heading:

What it is

body: | VCF Automation is the self-service layer over the platform: a catalogue people draw virtual machines, networks or Kubernetes namespaces from, with approval, an expiry date and teardown. Until VCF 9 it was called Aria Automation. - heading:

When it is worth it

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What it is

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When it is worth it

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Solution · VMware

VCF Automation

formerly Aria Automation

VCF

The vendor calls it: VMware VCF Automation

Self-service and lifecycle for virtual machines, networks and Kubernetes namespaces. The catalogue with the platform behind it.

VMware Pinnacle Partner

Topics Automation 1.78 Cloud 1.94 Virtualization 1.37

Vendors VMware 0.88

04Services

06Posts

03Capabilities

267Corpus

photograph wantedA vSphere or VCF console on a real screen at soulTec: a cluster view, a running task, an inventory tree, so the reader should recognise the UI

What it is

VCF Automation is the self-service layer over the platform: a catalogue people draw virtual machines, networks or Kubernetes namespaces from, with approval, an expiry date and teardown. Until VCF 9 it was called Aria Automation.

When it is worth it

For environments where the same request keeps arriving. A handful of VMs a month does not justify the build; a development team creating and discarding environments daily does.

What we do with it

Draft, unreviewed

The catalogue goes up quickly and the governance behind it does not. Introducing automation without first settling who may order what builds a second shadow IT.

This paragraph is a draft and nobody at soulTec has confirmed it yet. Everything above it describes the product and is checkable against the vendor.

Posts about it

VCF full stack from October 2027 – myth or truth?

18 May 2026

A myth that will not go away, and one VMware's competitors are happy to repeat: “from October 2027 a full-stack VCF implementation is mandatory”. It simply is not true.

Cloud 1.94 Virtualization 1.37

Microsoft Secure Boot certificates expire in June 2026

7 May 2026

Microsoft is refreshing the Secure Boot certificates originally issued in 2011, so Windows systems keep verifying trusted boot software. The old ones expire in June 2026.

Cloud 1.94 Virtualization 1.37

VLR Appliance 9.0.4 – HBR-Agent can't be installed

12 Dec 2025

You installed VLR Appliance 9.0.4 and it will not install the Host Based Replication Agent for ESX. If you run a vSAN stretched cluster, there is a workaround.

Cloud 1.94 Virtualization 1.37

Fix NSX to Re-Import ESX into VCF

11 Oct 2025

If you stumble upon this blog chances are you are working on VMware Cloud Foundation 9.x.

Cloud 1.94 Virtualization 1.37

Get Online Depot working in VCF 9

2 Sep 2025

In VMware Cloud Foundation 9 we can configure a Online Depot to get access to the Binaries for the Management as well as the Instance Components.

Cloud 1.94 Virtualization 1.37

DSM 9.0 – MS SQL as a Service

26 Jun 2025

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 brought VMware Data Services Manager (DSM) 9.0 with it. Alongside many improvements, the largest new feature is support for Microsoft SQL Server (tech preview).

Cloud 1.94 Virtualization 1.37