---
name: vmwaresolutions-vc_orderinginstance-req
title: Requirements for VCF for Classic - Automated 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: 2025-12-03
---

> ## 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 VCF for Classic - Automated instances
{: #vc_orderinginstance-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 flexible and customizable VMware® virtualized platform that best fits your workload needs, order a VMware Cloud Foundation for Classic - Automated instance.

You can also add services, such as [HPE Zerto Software](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-addingzertodr&format=markdown) for disaster recovery. For more information about the available services, see [Available services for Automated instances](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vc_addingservices&format=markdown#vc_addingservices-available-services).

Price calculations are automatically generated when you access the instance order page. Default selections include the Data Center SP Professional license for NSX-T, 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 an 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 information in [Planning for Automated instances](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vc_planning&format=markdown).
* Review the domain name format. The domain name is used to generate the username and server names of the instance.

| Name        | Value format |
|:------------|:------------ |
| Domain name | `<root_domain>` |
| vCenter Server login username | `<user_id>@<root_domain>` (Microsoft® Active Directory™ user) or `administrator@vsphere.local` |
| vCenter Server (with embedded PSC) FQDN | `<instance_name>-vc.<root_domain>`. The maximum length is 50 characters. Any hyphens (-) are removed from the instance name. |
| Single Sign-On (SSO) site name | `<root_domain>` |
| Fully qualified VMware ESXi™ server name | `<host_prefix><n>.<root_domain>`, where `n` is the sequence of the ESXi server. The maximum length is 50 characters. |
| NetBIOS name | First string of `<root_domain>`. The maximum length is 15 characters. |
{: caption="Value format for instance and domain names" caption-side="bottom"}

After the instance is provisioned, do not modify any values that are set during instance order. Otherwise, the instance might become unusable. For example, if public networking shuts down or if servers and Virtual Server Instances (VSIs) move behind a Vyatta mid-provision.
{: attention}