---
name: vmwaresolutions-inst_comp_chart
title: Offering comparison chart
description: As of 17 July 2025, new automated installations of Red Hat® OpenShift® for VMware® are no longer available for new or existing deployments of VMware Cloud Foundation for Classic - Automated instances. You can still use or delete your existing Red Hat OpenShift for VMware automated installations until 16 July 2026. The service will no longer be available from 17 July 2026.
last-updated: 2025-10-24
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?format=markdown
> The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use these files to discover more information as needed.

# Offering comparison chart
{: #inst_comp_chart}

As of 17 July 2025, new automated installations of Red Hat® OpenShift® for VMware® are no longer available for new or existing deployments of VMware Cloud Foundation for Classic - Automated instances. You can still use or delete your existing Red Hat OpenShift for VMware automated installations until 16 July 2026. The service will no longer be available from 17 July 2026.
{: deprecated}

Review the following information to understand the differences in feature support between IBM Cloud® for VMware Solutions offerings.

## VCF for Classic - Automated vs Flexible
{: #inst_comp_chart-vcs-vss}

Review the following table to understand the differences in feature support for VMware Cloud Foundation for Classic - Automated and VMware Cloud Foundation for Classic - Flexible instances.

| Feature | VCF for Classic - Automated | VCF for Classic - Flexible |
|:------- |:--------- |:-------- |
| Powered by IBM® advanced automation[^automation] | Yes | No. Self-built and configured. |
| Storage options | * NFS or vSAN™ - available with automation \n * iSCSI - available with manual configuration | NFS, vSAN, or iSCSI - available with manual configuration |
| Number of ESXi™ servers in the initial cluster | For vSAN: 4 servers[^esxivsanvcs07] or 3 servers[^esxivsanvcs08] \n \n For NFS: \n * At least 3 servers for consolidated clusters \n * At least 2 servers for other clusters | No limitation. One or more ESXi servers are allowed on the console. For example, you can deploy a 3-node vSAN cluster with FTT=1. |
| Maximum number of ESXi servers | * 51 per consolidated cluster \n * 59 per workload cluster | 59 per cluster |
| Cloud automated multisite deployment | Supported for new instances | Supported. Automated configuration - not included. |
| Add or remove ESXi servers | Supported | Supported. Automated configuration - not included. |
| Multicluster support | The maximum number depends on VMware® by Broadcom sizing guidelines | Supported. Automated configuration - not included. |
| Client-managed updating and patching of VMware stack | Client-managed updates - Native VMware tools (VMware Update Manager™ or vSphere Lifecycle Manager) | Client-managed updates - Native VMware tools (VMware Update Manager or vSphere Lifecycle Manager) |
| Backup and restore | Manually, by using Veeam® | Backup and restore solution - not included |
| Add-on services | Supported[^services] | Not supported by the automation of this solution. You can bring and install your own software. |
| VMware components licensing | Automated for some VMware products | Not automated |
{: caption="Supported functions for Automated and Flexible instances" caption-side="bottom"}

[^automation]: According to a validated design and with verification during deployment

[^esxivsanvcs07]: Except for vSAN ESA

[^esxivsanvcs08]: For vSAN ESA on vSphere 8

[^services]: Add-on services that are supported might vary.

## Related links
{: #inst_comp_chart-related}

* [VCF for Classic - Automated overview](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vc_vcenterserveroverview&format=markdown)
* [VCF for Classic - Flexible overview](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vs_vsphereoverview&format=markdown)
* [VCF for Classic - Automated BOM](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vc_bom&format=markdown)
* [VCF for Classic - Flexible BOM](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vs_bom&format=markdown)
* [FAQ for VCF for Classic](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-faq-vmwaresolutions&format=markdown)