---
name: vmwaresolutions-vc_orderinginstance-consold-cluster
title: Consolidated cluster
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.

# Consolidated cluster
{: #vc_orderinginstance-consold-cluster}

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}

VMware Cloud Foundation for Classic - Automated instances are deployed with a consolidated cluster for VMware vSphere® 8 in which all the VMware® management components and user workloads run.

Optionally, you can order a separate workload cluster or a gateway cluster, or both. For more information, see [Additional clusters (optional)](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vc_orderinginstance-addl-clusters&format=markdown).

## Cluster name
{: #vc_orderinginstance-consold-cluster-name}

By default, the name of the consolidated cluster is set to **_instance name_-consolidated**.

CONTENT:

Use resource groups to organize the resources in your account for access control and billing purposes. The default resource group in your account is selected. You can also select another resource group according to your needs. The resource group that you select cannot be changed after the instance is created.

## Data center location
{: #vc_orderinginstance-consold-cluster-dc-location}

Specify the IBM Cloud® data center settings. For more information, see [IBM Cloud locations for resource deployment](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/overview?topic=overview-locations&format=markdown).

### Geography
{: #vc_orderinginstance-consold-cluster-dc-region}

Select the region where your cluster is hosted.

### Data center
{: #vc_orderinginstance-consold-cluster-dc}

Select the IBM Cloud data center where the cluster is hosted.

### Pod
{: #vc_orderinginstance-consold-cluster-dc-pod}

Select the IBM Cloud data center pod where you want to deploy your resources. Keep the default pod selection unless you want a specific pod.

## CPU model
{: #vc_orderinginstance-cpumodel}

You can choose from **Sapphire Rapids**, **Cascade Lake**, and **SAP-certified Cascade Lake** servers[^1u].

[^1u]: For clusters with NFS storage, where locations with appropriate 1U servers are available, 1U servers (up to 4 drives of storage) are ordered silently rather than 2U servers. For gateway clusters and clusters with vSAN storage, 2U servers are ordered.

### Sapphire Rapids
{: #vc_orderinginstance-sapphire}

| CPU model | Cores | GHz | Storage type | RAM options |
| :--------- | :----- | :--- | :------------ | :----------- |
| Dual Intel Xeon Platinum 6416H | 36 | 2.2 | Up to 16 drives | 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB |
| Dual Intel Xeon Platinum 8474C | 96 | 2.1/3.1 | Up to 16 drives | 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB |
| Dual Intel Xeon Platinum 6434H | 16 | 3.7/4.1 | Up to 16 drives | 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB |
{: caption="Option for Sapphire Rapids bare metal servers" caption-side="bottom"}

The 6434H CPU model has 8 cores per processor. However, VMware Cloud Foundation requires a minimum of 16 cores per processor. As a result, you are billed for 32 cores for this configuration.
{: attention}

Sapphire Rapids servers are not supported for BYOL users.
{: important}

For **Cascade Lake** servers, choose from the following CPU models and supported RAM sizes:



### Cascade Lake
{: #vc_orderinginstance-cascade}

| CPU model | Cores | GHz | Storage type | RAM options |
| :--------- | :----- | :--- | :------------ | :----------- |
| Dual Intel Xeon Silver 4210 | 20 | 2.2 | Up to 12 drives | 128 GB, 192 GB, 384 GB, 768 GB, 1.5 TB |
| Dual Intel Xeon Gold 5218 | 32 | 2.3 | Up to 12 drives | 128 GB, 192 GB, 384 GB, 768 GB, 1.5 TB |
| Dual Intel Xeon Gold 6248 | 40 | 2.5 | Up to 12 drives | 128 GB, 192 GB, 384 GB, 768 GB, 1.5 TB |
| Dual Intel Xeon Platinum 8260 | 48 | 2.4 | Up to 12 drives | 128 GB, 192 GB, 384 GB, 768 GB, 1.5 TB |
| Quad Intel Xeon Gold 6248 | 80 | 2.5 | Up to 24 drives | 384 GB, 768 GB, 1.5 TB, 3 TB |
| Quad Intel Xeon Platinum 8260 | 96 | 2.4 | Up to 24 drives | 384 GB, 768 GB, 1.5 TB, 3 TB |
{: caption="Options for Cascade Lake bare metal servers" caption-side="bottom"}

For **SAP-certified Cascade Lake** servers, choose from the following configurations:

### SAP-certified Cascade Lake
{: #vc_orderinginstance-sap}

| CPU model | Cores | GHz | RAM | Storage type |
| :------------- | :---------- | :-------- | :------------ | :------------ |
| Dual Intel Xeon Gold 5218 (BI.S4.NW192) | 32 | 2.3 | 192 GB | Up to 12 drives |
| Dual Intel Xeon Gold 5218 (BI.S4.NW384) | 32 | 2.3 | 384 GB | Up to 12 drives |
| Dual Intel Xeon Gold 6248 (BI.S4.NW768) | 40 | 2.5 | 768 GB | Up to 12 drives |
| Dual Intel Xeon Platinum 8260 (BI.S4.NW768_v2) | 48 | 2.4 | 768 GB | Up to 12 drives |
| Dual Intel Xeon Platinum 8280M (BI.S4.NW1500) | 56 | 2.7 | 1.5 TB | Up to 12 drives |
| Dual Intel Xeon Platinum 8280M (BI.S4.NW3000) | 56 | 2.7 | 3 TB | Up to 12 drives |
{: caption="Options for SAP-certified Cascade Lake bare metal servers - NetWeaver" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="NetWeaver"}
{: tab-group="SAP-certified Intel servers"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}

| CPU model | Cores | GHz | RAM | Storage type |
| :------------- | :---------- | :-------- | :------------ | :------------ |
| Dual Intel Xeon Gold 5218 (BI.S4.H2.192) | 32 | 2.3 | 192 GB | Up to 12 drives |
| Dual Intel Xeon Gold 5218 (BI.S4.H2.384) | 32 | 2.3 | 384 GB | Up to 12 drives |
| Dual Intel Xeon Gold 6248 (BI.S4.H2.768) | 40 | 2.5 | 768 GB | Up to 12 drives |
| Dual Intel Xeon Platinum 8280M (BI.S4.H2.1500) | 56 | 2.7 | 1.5 TB | Up to 12 drives |
| Dual Intel Xeon Platinum 8280M (BI.S4.H2.3000) | 56 | 2.7 | 3 TB | Up to 12 drives |
| Quad Intel Xeon Platinum 8280M (BI.S4.H4.3000) | 112 | 2.7 | 3 TB | Up to 24 drives |
| Quad Intel Xeon Platinum 8280M (BI.S4.H4.6000) | 112 | 2.7 | 6 TB | Up to 24 drives |
{: caption="Options for SAP-certified Cascade Lake bare metal servers - HANA and NetWeaver" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="HANA and NetWeaver"}
{: tab-group="SAP-certified Intel servers"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}

CONTENT:

The uplink speed provides two options:
* 10 Gb, which is selected by default.
* 25 Gb, which is available only for specific pods and data center locations. The following table shows the available locations for the 25 Gb uplink speed.

## RAM
{: #vc_orderinginstance-consold-cluster-ram}

Various RAM sizes are available depending on the CPU model.

## Number of bare metal servers
{: #vc_orderinginstance-bare-metal-number}

* If you are planning to use vSAN™ OSA storage, you can order 4-59 servers.
* If you are planning to use vSAN ESA storage, you can order 3-59 servers.
* If you are planning to use NFS storage, you can order 2-59 servers.
* All servers that you order have the same configuration.

When you size the capacity of your bare metal servers, consider your current requirements and include extra capacity to accommodate anticipated growth. For more information about sizing, see [How to export the VMware inventory?](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vmware-inventory-export&format=markdown).
{: tip}

## Storage
{: #vc_orderinginstance-consold-cluster-storage}

Storage settings are based on your selection of bare metal server configuration and the storage type.

For deployed instances, you can add NFS storage shares to an existing NFS or vSAN™ cluster. For more information, see [Adding NFS storage to Automated instances](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vc_addingnfs&format=markdown).

### NFS storage
{: #vc_orderinginstance-nfs-storage}

When you select **NFS storage**, you can add file-level shared storage for your instance where all shares use the same settings or you can specify different configuration settings for each file share. The number of file shares must be in the range 1 - 100.

For new instances, NFS storage is available with both vSphere 7 and vSphere 8.
{: important}

Specify the following NFS options:
* **Configure shares individually** - Toggle this switch on to specify different configuration settings for each file share.
* **Number of shares** - When you use the same configuration setting for each file share, specify the number of file shares for the NFS shared storage that you want to add.
* **Size (GB)** - Select the capacity that meets your shared storage needs.
* **Performance** - Select the IOPS (input/output operations per second) per GB based on your workload requirements.
* **Add shared storage** - Select to add individual file shares that use different configuration settings.

Choose performance level options according to your needs.

| Option       | Details       |
|:------------ |:------------- |
| 0.25 IOPS/GB | This option is designed for workloads that are not used often. For example, vaulted data, hosting large databases with legacy data, or virtual disk images of virtual memory system as backup. |
| 2 IOPS/GB | This option is designed for most general-purpose workloads. For example, hosting small databases, backing up web applications, or virtual machine disk images for a hypervisor. |
| 4 IOPS/GB | This option is designed for higher-intensity workloads that have a high percentage of active data at a time. For example, transactional databases. |
| 10 IOPS/GB | This option is designed for the most demanding workload types, such as analytics. For example, high-transaction databases and other performance-sensitive databases. This performance level is limited to a maximum capacity of 4 TB per file share. |
{: caption="NFS performance level options" caption-side="bottom"}

### vSAN storage
{: #vc_orderinginstance-vsan-storage}

Review the following settings for vSAN storage.

#### Storage architecture
{: #vc_orderinginstance-vsan-storage-archi}

Review the following considerations for the vSAN storage architecture:

* For **Sapphire Rapids** servers, both vSAN ESA and vSAN OSA are available. For **Cascade Lake** servers, only vSAN OSA is available.
* vSAN ESA requires a minimum of 3 bare metal servers. vSAN OSA requires a minimum of 4 bare metal servers.
* For both vSAN ESA and vSAN OSA, you can select the size and number of **vSAN capacity disks**. For vSAN OSA, the size and number of **vSAN cache disks** are selected by default.
* For vSAN ESA, the **Enable vSAN compression** option is available. For vSAN OSA, the **Enable vSAN deduplication and compression** option is available.
* vSAN ESA is selected by default with the 25 Gb uplink speed. If you select the 10 Gb uplink speed, the vSAN storage architecture is changed to vSAN OSA, because vSAN ESA is not compatible with the 10 Gb uplink speed.
* For vSAN ESA, the 25 GB network interfaces are configured with LACP.

Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP™) for VMware® offering support will end on 31 December 2026, after which the KMIP for VMware service will no longer work. Migrate to [IBM® Key Protect for IBM Cloud®](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/key-protect?format=markdown).
{: deprecated}

#### Size for vSAN capacity disks
{: #vc_orderinginstance-vsan-storage-typesize-capdisks}

Select an option for the capacity disks that you need.

#### Number of vSAN capacity disks
{: #vc_orderinginstance-vsan-storage-number-capdisks}

Specify the number of capacity disks that you want to add.

#### Size for vSAN cache disks
{: #vc_orderinginstance-vsan-storage-size-cachedisks}

Review the **Size for vSAN cache disks** value.

#### Number of vSAN cache disks
{: #vc_orderinginstance-vsan-storage-number-cachedisks}

Review the **Number of vSAN cache disks** value.

#### Enable vSAN deduplication and compression
{: #vc_orderinginstance-vsan-storage-enable-comp}

vSAN storage depends on the number of servers and your total disk capacity, and the use of deduplication and compression.

The amount of storage reduction from deduplication and compression depends on many factors, including the type of data stored and the number of duplicate blocks. Larger disk groups tend to provide a higher deduplication ratio. For more information, see [Using deduplication and compression](https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vsan/vsan/7-0/vsan-adminstration-7-0/increasing-space-efficiency-in-a-vsan-cluster/using-deduplication-and-compression-in-vsan-cluster.html){: external}.
{: note}

#### Enable vSAN compression (vSAN ESA only)
{: #vc_orderinginstance-vsan-storage-enable-comp-esa}

vSAN storage depends on the number of servers and your total disk capacity, and the use of deduplication. For Sapphire Rapids servers, both vSAN ESA and vSAN OSA are available. However, the **Enable vSAN compression** option is available only for vSAN ESA. For more information, see [Storage architecture](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vc_orderinginstance-consold-cluster&format=markdown#vc_orderinginstance-vsan-storage-archi).

#### vSAN license (BYOL only)
{: #vc_orderinginstance-vsan-storage-license}

Bring Your Own License (BYOL) is no longer supported except for migrations or upgrades of existing BYOL clusters. Add a host to a BYOL cluster only if you are upgrading or migrating an existing BYOL cluster.
{: attention}

If you are a BYOL user, provide your own vSAN license key. Toggle the **BYOL** switch to **Enabled** and enter your license key.

If your initial cluster is a vSAN cluster, any additional vSAN clusters use the same vSAN license and have the same configuration as the initial one. This statement is also true for any initial or extra clusters in the instance for which you select vSAN. The first time, you must provide the vSAN license and the edition. The next time that you select vSAN for a new cluster, the license you initially chose will be reused.

## Networking type
{: #vc_orderinginstance-public-private-network}

Select **Public and private network** or **Private network only**.

## Uplink speed
{: #vc_orderinginstance-uplink}

| Data center | Pod |
| :----------- | :--- |
| SYD04 | 01 |
| SYD05 | 01 |
| TOK02 | 02 |
| TOK04 | 01 |
| TOK05 | 01 |
{: caption="Available locations for 25 Gb uplink speed - Asia Pacific" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="Asia Pacific"}
{: tab-group="Data centers"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}

| Data center | Pod |
| :----------- | :--- |
| AMS03 | 01-02 |
| FRA02 | 02 |
| FRA04 | 01 |
| FRA05 | 01 |
| LON04 | 01 |
| LON06 | 01 |
| MAD02 | 01 |
| MAD04 | 01 |
| MAD05 | 01 |
| PAR04 | 01 |
| PAR05 | 01 |
| PAR06 | 01 |
{: caption="Available locations for 25 Gb uplink speed - Europe" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="Europe"}
{: tab-group="Data centers"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}

| Data center | Pod |
| :----------- | :--- |
| TOR04 | 01 |
| TOR05 | 01 |
| WDC04 | 05 |
| WDC06 | 01 |
| WDC07 | 01 |
{: caption="Available locations for 25 Gb uplink speed - NA East" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="NA East"}
{: tab-group="Data centers"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}

| Data center | Pod |
| :----------- | :--- |
| DAL10 | 03 |
| DAL13 | 02 |
| DAL14 | 01 |
{: caption="Available locations for 25 Gb uplink speed - NA South" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="NA South"}
{: tab-group="Data centers"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}

CONTENT:

You must manage the IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions components that are created in your IBM Cloud account only in the VMware Solutions console, not the IBM Cloud infrastructure customer portal, or any other means outside of the console. If you change these components outside of the VMware Solutions console, the changes are not synchronized with the console.
{: important}

## VLANs
{: #vc_orderinginstance-vlans}

Network settings are based on your selection of **Order new VLANs** or **Select existing VLANs**.

One public VLAN and two private VLANs are required for your instance order. The two private VLANs are trunked into each IBM Cloud bare metal server.

### Order new VLANs
{: #vc_orderinginstance-new-vlans}

Select to order one new public VLAN and two new private VLANs.

### Select existing VLANs
{: #vc_orderinginstance-existing-vlans}

Depending on the IBM Cloud data center that you selected, existing public and private VLANs might be available.

When you select to reuse existing public and private VLANs, specify the VLANs and subnets:
* **Public VLAN** is for public network access. If you select the **Allocate a new one** option for this field, a new public VLAN is allocated automatically. This field is only available on the **Public and private network** tab.
* **Public primary subnet** is assigned to physical hosts for public network access. If you select the **Auto assigned** option for this field, a new public primary subnet is selected automatically, and a new one is created if necessary. This field is only available on the **Public and private network** tab.
* **Private VLAN** is for connectivity among the data centers and services within the IBM Cloud. If you select the **Allocate a new one** option for this field, a new private VLAN is allocated automatically.
* **Private primary subnet** is assigned to physical hosts for management traffic. If you select the **Auto assigned** option for this field, a new private primary subnet is selected automatically, and a new one is created if necessary.
* **Secondary private VLAN** is for VMware features such as vSAN. You can select an existing secondary private VLAN or select to allocate a new one.

Ensure that the firewall configuration on the selected VLANs does not block the management data traffic. Also, ensure that all the VLANs that you select are in the same pod. ESXi servers cannot be provisioned on mixed-pod VLANs.
{: important}

Optionally, use **Advanced settings** to configure portable subnets for VLANs.

Use the **Public VLAN**, **Private VLAN**, or **Secondary private VLAN** tabs to specify the **Portable subnet** for each applicable purpose. If you select the **Allocate a new one** option for this field, a new portable subnet is allocated automatically.

#### Portable subnets notes
{: #vc_orderinginstance-existing-vlans-notes}

* Complete the **Public VLAN**, **Private VLAN**, or **Secondary private VLAN** settings before you can configure portable subnets.
* The number of portable subnets is displayed under **Advanced settings** after you save the portable subnet settings. Click **Portable subnets settings** to edit the settings.
* The saved portable subnet settings are cleared if you change the **Public VLAN**, **Private VLAN**, or **Secondary private VLAN** settings.

IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions takes control of the entire subnet and you can't use any IP addresses in the subnet.
{: important}

## Related links
{: #vc_orderinginstance-consold-cluster-related}

* [Gateway cluster configuration](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vc_orderinginstance-addl-clusters&format=markdown#vc_orderinginstance-addl-clusters-gate)
* [Procedure to order Automated instances](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vc_orderinginstance-procedure&format=markdown)