Virtualization & Storage
VMware Cloud Foundation 5.2.2 on Dell VxRail 8.0.361 is the first VCF release to support the transition of clusters from vSphere Lifecycle Manager baseline-managed to vSphere Lifecycle Manager image-based. It also […]
VMware Cloud Foundation 5.2.2 on Dell VxRail 8.0.361 is the first VCF release to support the transition of clusters from vSphere Lifecycle Manager baseline-managed to vSphere Lifecycle Manager image-based. It also offers support for vSphere Lifecycle Manager baseline and vSphere Lifecycle Manager image-based clusters in same workload domain.
Partial Lifecycle Manager conversion introduces the ability to operate mixed lifecycle management modes within a single workload domain. With this enhancement, one cluster can be managed using vSphere Update Manager (VUM) while another cluster in the same domain is managed using vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM). This allows administrators to introduce vLCM incrementally without requiring full workload domain conversion or disrupting existing Day‑N operations.
This feature introduced in VCF 5.2.2 On VxRail directly enables vSAN ESA adoption in environments that were previously constrained. Because ESA requires vLCM, customers running LCM-based systems could not add ESA nodes when clusters were still managed by VUM. Partial conversion removes this limitation by allowing a vLCM‑managed cluster to be added specifically for ESA workloads, while legacy or OSA clusters continue to operate under VUM.
Partial lifecycle conversion allows vLCM and VUM clusters to coexist in the same workload domain:
| Scenario | First Cluster | Second Cluster | Platform Type (Second Cluster) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vLCM | VUM | OSA |
| 2 | VUM | vLCM | ESA |
| 3 | VUM | vLCM | OSA |
These scenarios cover the most common deployment patterns. Customers can preserve existing VUM-managed clusters for legacy or OSA workloads while introducing vLCM clusters, including dedicated ESA clusters. This approach enables targeted adoption of vLCM and ESA without requiring full workload‑domain conversion or impacting ongoing operations.
For scenario 1: 1st VLCM + 2nd VUM Cluster (OSA) – Adding a VUM cluster to a vLCM-enabled VCF on VxRail setup may remove some permissions from the HCIA role in vCenter. This can cause upgrade or node addition failures. Refer to this KB article to restore the missing permissions:
DavidRing.ie 