HELPING YOU NAVIGATE THE NEW VMWARE LANDSCAPE

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

 

How will Broadcom know if I onboard new customers to my shared platforms after 1 November 2025?

When using dedicated hardware, the partner agreement with Broadcom includes naming the usage meter after the customer and providing a list of customers on shared hardware. I am not aware of any other mechanism available to Broadcom. I would also challenge the likelihood of Broadcom acting on this and what steps they would take, especially if you are working with an ongoing approved partner at the same time.

 

Do the Product Licensing Guide changes impact EU partners who have not been impacted by the partner programme changes?

Yes, the changes to the PLG impact all partners globally equally. The changes to the PLG end the introduction of new white label agreements as all new services must be a cloud service subscription.

 

What guarantees are there that Broadcom don’t drop the 8 partners to 2 and Redcentric is then in the same boat we are all currently in now?

None. It’s how an ongoing approved partner manages this that is important..

 

Can I leave choosing a partner until 2026 to see if Broadcom changes the rules again?

It is important that partners act sooner rather than later as there will be a limit on capacity within the ongoing approved partners to deliver cloud services to displaced partners over the next 20 months.

 

How will you manage future unknown cost increases or minimum core changes etc. from Broadcom if someone moves to one of your services? How and how quickly would those be passed on?

Redcentric will bundle VCF subscription, hardware and managed service into a single subscription. Should Broadcom increase prices, our standard MSA makes provision for Redcentric passing on increased costs, however we absorb variations in the costs of running our cloud platforms every month as power and licensing prices change on a monthly basis.

 

When they say new customers, is that just selling physical cores of VMware licensing to them or is it selling and running VMs on the physical cores we’ve already bought for new customers?

Broadcom has stated in the email to displaced partners that they should not onboard new customers after 1 November 2025. No limitations have been set on the scope of this statement. There is no means of technically enforcing this requirement from Broadcom. Note that the changes to PLG mean any new customers you bring on must be on a cloud service that packages VCF subscription, hardware and managed service into a subscription, so you cannot sell physical core subscriptions to a new customer now. If you have an existing customer, their environment can be expanded, as can your shared platforms.

 

What does the migration process look like between current vSphere 7/8 environments to Redcentric Cloud or Partner Private Cloud? Can it be a live migration without downtime?

Downtime always depends on the design of the service being migrated. A service with high availability and redundancy designed into it can always be migrated without downtime. I recommend all partners concerned about this arrange a one-to-one call with a Redcentric Solutions Architect to discuss their migration strategy.

 

How are you migrating to VCF from VCD when its not currently supported?

This is not currently supported, but the VCF software is a fast-changing product and we anticipate some level of support being added. If it is not, we will be looking at defining a migration strategy and method that we can use to help all partners using Cloud Director and wanting to move to VCDA.

 

To clarify, there is no co-managed options? It is full adopt only? So we have to hand over our business to Redcentric or another provider, or leave VMware?

Broadcom has stated in the PLG that all new services must now be a cloud service subscription that includes hardware, VCF subscriptions and a managed service. The managed service must have the partner as sole admin of VCF. This customer can still administrate on full self-service basis to consume VMs, Container, Storage, NSX, etc. It does not include non-VCF elements like backup, file and block storage, non-VMware DR services like Zerto, non-VCF firewalls, circuits, WAN management, etc. As a result, it very much depends on what your business is. If it extends beyond hardware management and VCF admin, then only a part of your business is impacted. Redcentric recognises this and wants to support you in this transition to understand the impact and scope. Yes, you can also choose to select another technology and retain sole admin access and responsibility for hardware refresh and both minor and major upgrades.

 

Are recordings available from the series?

Yes, you can view them here.

 

Will resell customers and direct customers also be forced onto VCF9/9.1 in 2027 when vSphere 7 and 8 will end? Thus potentially requiring a lot of new and extra hardware to run VCF rather than vSphere?

VCF does require additional resources compared to the simple VCSA+ESXi configuration, but it also offers more features. The resell and VCSP programmes are now almost completely separate as partners have had to choose between one or the other. Resell currently offers multiple products simpler than VCF, and it is up to Broadcom how long they offer vSphere Standard (VVS), Enterprise Plus (VVEP) and Foundation (VVF). With the removal of vSPhere Essential Plus from the product catalogue, it looks likely that the long term goal is to reduce the product offerings.

 

How long have you provisioned private clouds for with dedicated clusters?

We have been providing hosted private cloud services with dedicated hardware to customers for over ten years.

 

What is the minimum size of a private cluster from 2027 because of the VCF minimum requirements?

A private cluster, assuming a Consolidated Domain, must meet the Management Domain minimum requirements. VMware’s FAQ document states that vSAN is no longer a requirement of the management domain (Q28). See here for details of the workload and management domain models. Finally, Broadcom states here that a minimum of 4 hosts is required for a HA deployment in VCF 9.

 

If you are running a management cluster in VCF and have dedicated cluster, how can you convert that setup to a resell programme?

The customer would have to own the hardware, purchase subscriptions through the resell programme and own the support escalation relationship with Broadcom.

redcentric

Redcentric

0800 983 2522 sayhello@redcentricplc.com