---
name: vmwaresolutions-vs_orderinginstances-req
title: Requirements for Flexible instances
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.

# Requirements for Flexible instances
{: #vs_orderinginstances-req}

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}

To deploy a highly customizable VMware® virtualized platform, order a VMware Cloud Foundation for Classic - Flexible instance.

Select VMware components, IBM Cloud® bare metal server settings, storage settings, and networking choices, to create a new instance. After you place the order, the instance configuration is captured so that you can come back and continue to scale out the instance as needed. After the order is completed, you can manually configure the VCF for Classic - Flexible instance based on your requirements.

Price calculations are automatically generated when you access the VCF for Classic - Flexible instance order page. Default selections include the Dual Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8260 processor / 48 cores, 2.4 GHz CPU model, and 768 GB RAM.

Ensure that you complete the following tasks:
* If you are ordering a VCF for Classic - Flexible instance for the first time, complete the tasks in the **Before you begin** section on the ordering page. For more information, see [Setting up your environment for your first order](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-completing_checklist&format=markdown).
* Review the requirements and considerations in [Planning for Flexible instances](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vs_planning&format=markdown).

## Related links
{: #vs_orderinginstances-req-related}

* [System settings](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vs_orderinginstances-sys-settings&format=markdown)
* [Procedure to order Flexible instances](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vs_orderinginstances-procedure&format=markdown)