2V0-15.25 VMware Certified Professional - VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Support Questions and Answers

When activating avSphere Supervisor using VCF Networking with VPC, theSupervisor Workload Networkmust use aVPC Connectivity Profile. These profiles arescoped to an NSX Project, andcannot be consumed from the Default Project.

VCF Automation requires that:

Acustom NSX Projectbe used for VPC networking integrations.

TheDefault Projectcannot host Connectivity Profiles or VPC constructs intended for Supervisor activation.

Even though the administrator verified that a VPC Connectivity Profileexistsin NSX, the Supervisor wizard will not display it if:

The VPC Connectivity Profile belongs to adifferent project, or

The current selection is theDefault Project, which blocks visibility.

This exact behavior—empty VPC Connectivity Profile dropdown—is documented when attempting Supervisor activation under the Default NSX Project.

Option A (T0 active/active) affects North-South routing but does not hide VPC profiles.

Option B (Supervisor HA mode) does not impact network profile selection.

Option D (missing default VPC) is incorrect because the wizard is complaining aboutavailability of Connectivity Profiles, not VPC instances.

In vSAN Express Storage Architecture (ESA),Auto-Policy Managementdetermines which default storage policies can be used based on the number of hosts in the cluster. RAID-5 and RAID-6 policies require a minimum number of hosts to satisfy fault domain and component placement rules.

ForvSAN ESA, the minimum hosts required are:

RAID-1 (FTT=1)→ minimum3 hosts

RAID-5 (FTT=1)→ minimum4 hosts

RAID-6 (FTT=2)→ minimum6 hosts

In this scenario, the administrator deployed athree-host ESA cluster. Since RAID-5 requires at leastfourESA-capable hosts, vSAN Auto-Policy Managementautomatically falls back to RAID-1, the highest level of resilience possible with the available cluster size. This results insignificantly higher storage consumption, which matches exactly what the administrator observed.

Option A is incorrect because RAID-5 is fully supported on ESA—but only with enough hosts.

Option C (Force Provisioning) does not change the default policy selected.

Option D (Host Rebuild Reserve) does not control RAID policy selection.

In VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 Automation, each VPC is governed by aVPC Service Profile, which defines the default network services applied to the VPC’s DHCP server—this includesDNS servers, NTP servers, DHCP lease values, and other network attributes. When a subnet is associated with a VPC and DHCP is enabled, the DHCP service inherits its DNS and NTP configuration from the VPC Service Profile.

In the scenario, virtual machines attached to the new VPC subnet receive an IP address, but not DNS or NTP settings. This indicates that the DHCP server is functioning correctly, but its service profile lacks DNS and NTP configuration. Updating thedefault VPC Service Profileallows the administrator to specify DNS resolver addresses and NTP time sources, which will then automatically be pushed to all DHCP-enabled subnets under that VPC.

Option B (changing to DHCP Relay) is incorrect because relay mode does not configure DNS/NTP—it delegates DHCP to an external DHCP server.

Option C (enable DNS/NTP passthrough) is not a feature of NSX DHCP.

Option D (changing connectivity mode) affects routing and service placement, not DHCP options.

In VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0, publishing aVCF Operations Orchestratorworkflow to aVCF Automation project catalogrequires that the Organization has a valid integration withVCF Operations Orchestrator. The question states that the usercannot see the Workflows option under Content Hub, and theorganization is not a Provider Consumption Organization (PCO). According to the VCF 9.0 documentation, only organizations withVCF Operations Orchestrator integrationare allowed to publish workflows into the catalog. Both embedded and external orchestrator integrations must be configured depending on the environment. Ifno orchestrator (embedded or external)is integrated with the organization, workflows cannot be listed or published. This aligns with the documented VCF Automation and VCF Operations Orchestrator design requirements, which specify that workflow publishing is only available when the orchestrator instance is properly registered.

Additionally, user role permission issues could prevent workflow visibility, but the key blockers described in the scenario are the missing workflow section and the organization type. Because the organization isnot a PCO, advanced provider features—including workflow publishing—are disabled unless a proper orchestrator integration exists. Therefore, the two most likely causes are:

A:An external VCF Operations Orchestrator is not integrated with their Organization.

D:An embedded VCF Operations Orchestrator is not integrated with their Organization.

These two conditions directly match the documented behavior in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0.

In vSphere 7+ and VCF-managed clusters, thevSphere Cluster Services (vCLS)VMs must remain powered on for DRS, cluster health, and policy enforcement to function. If the vCLS VMs cannot power on,no workloads—including new VMs—can be deployedto the cluster because vSphere considers the cluster unhealthy.

A common cause is insufficient resources (CPU/memory), datastore issues, or policy conflicts preventing vCLS VMs from starting. VMware providesRetreat Modeas a troubleshooting mechanism to temporarily disable vCLS, allowing the administrator to deploy VMs and correct underlying issues. Enabling retreat mode:

Removes vCLS from the cluster

Restores ability to deploy VMs

Allows remediation of storage/placement issues

Can later be disabled to restore DRS health

Option A (deleting resource pools) does not restore vCLS VM power state.

Option B (disabling HA) does not affect vCLS behavior.

Option D (setting DRS automation level) does not correct vCLS placement problems.

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.x usesVMware Identity Broker (VIDB)as the central identity provider for the entire VCF fleet. VIDB synchronizes user and group metadata from the connected enterprise identity source, in this caseActive Directory. When a user is added to an AD groupafterthe group was already synced into VIDB,VIDB does not automatically resync group membership on demandunless a directory synchronization is performed.

In this scenario, the groupVCFA_ProviderAdminswas synchronized five days earlier. When the new userprovideradmin05was later added to the AD group, VIDB—and therefore the VCF Automation Provider Management Portal—does not recognize that new user until amanual directory resynchronizationoccurs fromVCF Operations.

This operation forces VIDB to:

Requery Active Directory

Update group membership information

Repopulate available users for import into VCF Automation

Options B and D are incorrect because they donotinfluence Identity Broker directory synchronization. Option C (disable VCF SSO) would break authentication and is not a valid solution.

In VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0,all host commissioning operationsare performed throughVCF Operations, not through vSphere Client, Cloud Builder, or the VCF Installer. Once VCF is deployed, Cloud Builder is no longer used, and the VCF Installer is for lifecycle and bundle management—not for host workflows. The vSphere Client also cannot commission hosts because host commissioning is a foundational VCF workflow requiring hardware validation, storage type checks, NIC checks, HCL conformance, and version compatibility.

The error message provided:

“Hosts must be unassigned, commissioned with at least one physical NIC and the same storage type… and the ESX version must be compatible…”

is a standard VCF 9.0 validation message shown whenno commissioned hostsmatching the workload domain requirements exist. VMware documentation states that hosts must be commissioned under:

VCF Operations → Fleet Management → Hosts → Commission Host

Here, VCF validates:

Storage type (vSAN ESA, vSAN OSA, NFS, FC, etc.)

Network pool membership (matching the WLD plan)

ESXi version compatibility with the Management Domain baseline

NIC mapping and certifications

Until hosts are commissioned, they cannot appear in the workload domain creation wizard.

Thus, the correct method to commission hosts isD. Using VCF Operations.

The symptoms described—reduced cluster capacity,degraded virtual machine components, andautomatic component rebuild operations—are classic indicators of avSAN disk failure or disk group degradation. vSAN continuously monitors the health of disks, disk groups, and network paths. When a physical disk or disk group becomes unavailable, vSAN will:

Mark affected components as degradedbecause the required number of replicas or witnesses cannot be maintained.

Trigger automatic repair/rebuild operations, provided there are enough healthy disks remaining in the cluster to satisfy the storage policy (e.g., FTT=1, RAID1/5/6).

Reduce available storage capacitybecause the failed device is removed from contributing to the vSAN datastore.

These behaviors align directly with documented vSAN failure-response logic, which states thatcomponent rebuilds begin automatically after a disk failure, assuming the cluster still has adequate resources.

The other options do not match the symptoms:

A. VM migration to another cluster→ does not reduce vSAN capacity nor trigger component rebuilds.

B. vSAN license capacity too small→ restricts features, not component state or capacity changes.

C. Too many VMs created→ may cause capacity pressure but doesnotmark components degraded or trigger automated rebuilds.

Onlyphysical disk failureaccurately explains all three observations simultaneously.

In VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0, aProvider Gatewayin VCF Automation is always backed by anexisting Tier-0 or Tier-0 VRF gatewayin NSX. When the administrator launches theCreate Provider Gatewayworkflow and no Tier-0 gateways appear for assignment, this indicates that VCF Automation cannot discover any valid Tier-0 gateways in the associated region.

The VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 documentation explicitly states thatbefore adding a Provider Gateway, an administratormust first create an Active-Standby Tier-0 Gateway in NSX Manager. The Provider Gateway workflow only lists Tier-0 gateways that already exist and are properly configured in NSX. If none are present, the list will be empty.

From the documentation:“To add a provider gateway, first you must create an Active Standby tier-0 gateway in the NSX Manager associated with the region to back it.”. Provider gateways in VCF Automationare discovered from these preexisting Tier-0 gatewaysand cannot be created until they exist.

Creating a Tier-1 gateway (Option B) does not satisfy the requirement because Provider Gateways must map specifically toTier-0, not Tier-1. Retrying the workflow (Option D) will not resolve the issue because the Tier-0 backing resource is missing. Creating a new region (Option A) is unnecessary unless required for other organizational reasons, and it still would not produce a Tier-0 gateway.

Therefore, the correct and verified solution is tolog in to NSX Manager and create the required Tier-0 gateway, after which it will appear in the Provider Gateway creation workflow.

In VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0 usingdisconnected mode licensing, VCF Operations does not automatically synchronize license status with VMware’s cloud services. Instead, the administrator must periodically refresh the license file using amanual offline workflow. When the VCF Operations console reports that licenses have expired, it means the license entitlement in theVCF Business Services portalis out of date, and therefore VCF Operations cannot validate the current usage.

The VMware-documented offline licensing workflow requires the following steps:

Export the usage filefrom VCF Operations.This usage file contains consumption details needed to generate a new offline license.→C is correct.

Upload the usage file to the VCF Business Services consoleand generate a new offline license file.In disconnected mode, the Business Services portal is the only mechanism to create updated license entitlements.→D is correct.

Import the updated VCF license file into VCF Operations, specifically assigning it to theSDDC Manager.SDDC Manager is the system that validates and enforces licensing across workload domains, so the new license must be applied there—not only to a vCenter.→F is correct.

Options A and B do not affect license validation.

Option E is incorrect because workload-domain vCenter licensing is independent and not the root cause of VCF license expiration.

Before applying updates to a vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA), an administrator must validate that all vCenter services are healthy. VMware provides two supported and documented methods for checking vCenter service status:

1. Using the vCenter Appliance Shell

Running the command:

services-control --status

This command displays the status of all vCenter-related services (vmdird, vmcad, vpxd, vsan-health, etc.). It is the authoritative diagnostic tool embedded in the appliance for confirming whether services are running, stopped, or in a degraded state. This method is explicitly documented in vSphere 9.0 service management procedures.

This matchesOption B.

2. Using the vCenter Server Management Interface (VAMI)

Accessed at:

https:// :5480

The VAMI console provides a graphical interface underServices, showing the real-time health, status, and start/stop controls for all vCenter services. VMware documentation instructs administrators to review service status here before performing upgrades or maintenance operations.

This matchesOption C.

Incorrect Options Explained

A. vSphere performance charts→ These show workload data, not service health.

D. vim-top command→ Displays vSphere hosts’ runtime metrics, not vCenter services.

E. Running services.sh on ESXi DCUI→ vCenter doesnotrun ESXi services; this script is for ESXi hosts only.

VCF Operations enforces strict certificate format validation when importing certificate chains. According to VMware Cloud Foundation 9.x certificate management requirements,all uploaded certificates must be PEM-encoded. A PEM certificate must contain:

ASCII-encoded content

Proper headers such as:

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----

-----END CERTIFICATE-----

If the certificate is encoded inDER, PFX, PKCS#12, or any non-PEM format, VCF Operations will reject the upload with the error:

“The provided certificate content is invalid.”

This matches the behavior described in the question.

Option B (chain order invalid) and Option C (missing root CA) can cause validation issuesonly afterthe certificate file is successfully parsed. The error described indicatesthe file itself cannot be parsed, which directly points to encoding.

Option D (missing private key) is incorrect becausecertificate chain uploads must NOT include a private key— private keys are only used during CSR signing and are handled separately by the system.

InVMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, the management of appliance credentials and lifecycle operations is centralized within theVCF Operations Fleet Manager(which subsumes the roles of the legacy SDDC Manager Life Cycle Management).

The Problem:The administrator is unable to log in as root via the console or SSH. This indicates a credential synchronization issue or account lockout, which prevents them from manually enabling SSH via the console (the traditional method).

The Solution (Remediate Password):The "Remediate Password" workflow in VCF Operations allows the administrator to reset and synchronize the root password for VCF components (like the VCF Ops instance itself) directly from the management plane.

By navigating toFleet Management > Passwords(or similar path in VCF 9.0), the administrator can select the affected instance and chooseRemediate.

This process updates the password in the centralized database and on the appliance, restoring the ability to log in.

Once the root access is restored via remediation, the administrator can then proceed to enable SSH (either via the VCF Operations settings UI or the console). Without the correct password (which "Remediate" fixes), SSH cannot be enabled.

Note: Options A and B (Reset/Reboot) are legacy manual steps that do not ensure the VCF inventory database is updated, potentially leading to further "configuration drift" or sync errors. Option C is unnecessary for a credential issue.

In VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0, password changes mademanually on an NSX Edge Transport Nodearenot automatically synchronizedwith VCF Operations. VCF Operations maintains secure credential records for all managed components, including NSX Manager appliances and NSX Edge Transport Nodes. When credentials become stale—such as after a password expiration and manual reset—VCF Operations marks the credential object asout of syncand requires administrative remediation.

The official workflow described in VCF 9.0 Operations documentation states that administrators must use the“Remediate Password”function whenever a password was changed outside of VCF Operations, ensuring that the platform revalidates and updates the stored credentials used for monitoring, log collection, and automation tasks. Options such as “rotate,” “sync,” or “update” do not apply because rotation implies generating a new password managed by VCF, and “sync” does not overwrite the stored credential. Only remediation forces VCF Operations to re-validate and align credentials with the external system.

Therefore, after manually resetting the NSX Edge admin password, the administrator must perform passwordremediationin VCF Operations to restore operational consistency, makingBthe correct and verified answer.

When anNSX Adminaccount becomes locked in NSX Manager, this occurs due to failed login attempts exceeding the lockout threshold for either:

CLI access,

API access, or

UI login, which is tied to API authentication.

Once locked, the only supported method to recover the NSX admin account is tolog in to the NSX Manager console as the root userand manually clear the lockout counters. This is documented in NSX Manager password-recovery procedures and is the standard administrative recovery action.

The root console provides access to:

clear account-lockout admin

or the equivalent reset methods within NSX Manager.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. SSH into NSX Manager as AdminImpossible — the admin account is locked and cannot be used to SSH.

B. Change password age policy in vCenterNSX Manager accounts arenotgoverned by vCenter password policy.

C. Rotate admin password in SDDC ManagerSDDC Manager rotates NSX passwords when unlocked; it cannot unlock a locked account.