---
# source: src/content/solutions/en/vmware/vsphere-foundation.md
# route:  /en/solutions/vmware/vsphere-foundation/
title: vSphere Foundation
tags: [virtualization, cloud]
vendors: [vmware]
summary: "The smaller of the two Broadcom bundles: vSphere with operations tooling, without the full private cloud platform on top."
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: platform
acronym: VVF
addon: false
vendorName: VMware vSphere Foundation
status: current
practice: >
  Draft, not yet reviewed. The question that opens almost every conversation here is not “VVF or VCF”. It is “how many cores does Broadcom actually count for us”. The answer decides the architecture more often than any technical requirement does.
practiceReview: true
---

## What it is

vSphere Foundation, or VVF, is the smaller of the two Broadcom bundles. It carries
vSphere, a defined allowance of vSAN and the operations tooling, but not the full
platform with NSX and automated lifecycle management.

## What it is for

Estates that want to run virtualization properly and are not building a private cloud.
That is most of them.

If you already run vSphere with vCenter and need neither network virtualization nor
self-service for development teams, this is the right cut. The path to VCF stays open,
and it is a licensing change rather than a rebuild.

## What to watch

The line between VVF and VCF does not sit where the technology would put it. It sits
where Broadcom drew it, and it has moved several times since the acquisition. Check the
current position before you build a multi-year plan on it.