---
name: vmwaresolutions-vc_planning
title: Planning for VCF for Classic - Automated
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: 2025-10-30
---

> ## 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.

# Planning for VCF for Classic - Automated
{: #vc_planning}

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}

Plan your instance based on the IBM Cloud® data center location, your workload capacity requirements, and add-on services requirements. Review the following requirements before you order your VMware Cloud Foundation for Classic - Automated instance.

New deployments of multizone instances are not supported.
{: note}

## Account requirements
{: #vc_planning-account-req}

The account that you are using must meet certain requirements. For more information, see [Signing up for required accounts](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-signing_required_accounts&format=markdown).

## Licensing considerations
{: #vc_planning-licensing}

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

## IBM Cloud data center availability
{: #vc_planning-dc-availability}

The VCF for Classic - Automated deployment has strict requirements for the physical infrastructure. Therefore, you can deploy instances only in IBM Cloud data centers that meet the requirements. The following IBM Cloud data centers are available for VCF for Classic - Automated deployment.

| Data center | Pod   | Server options |
|:----------- |:----- |:-------------- |
| CHE01       | 01    | Cascade Lake |
| OSA21       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| OSA22       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
| OSA23       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
| SNG01       | 02    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| SYD01       | 01-02 | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
| SYD04       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| SYD05       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| TOK02       | 01-02 | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| TOK04       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| TOK05       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
{: caption="Available IBM Cloud data centers for Automated instances - Asia Pacific" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="Asia Pacific"}
{: tab-group="Data centers for Automated instances"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}
{: #simpletabtable-cr-ap}

| Data center | Pod   | Server options |
|:----------- |:----- |:-------------- |
| AMS03       | 01-02 | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
| FRA02       | 01-03 | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| FRA04       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| FRA05       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
| LON02       | 01-02 | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
| LON04       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
| LON05       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
| LON06       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| MAD02       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
| MAD04       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
| MAD05       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| PAR01       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
{: caption="Available IBM Cloud data centers for Automated instances - Europe" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="Europe"}
{: tab-group="Data centers for Automated instances"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}
{: #simpletabtable-cr-eur}

| Data center | Pod   | Server options |
|:----------- |:----- |:-------------- |
| MON01       | 01-02 | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| TOR01       | 01-02 | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
| TOR04       | 01    | Cascade Lake |
| TOR05       | 01    | Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| WDC04       | 01-05 | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| WDC06       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| WDC07       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
{: caption="Available IBM Cloud data centers for Automated instances - NA East" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="NA East"}
{: tab-group="Data centers for Automated instances"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}
{: #simpletabtable-cr-naeast}

| Data center | Pod          | Server options |
|:----------- |:------------ |:-------------- |
| DAL09       | 01-02, 05-06 | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
| DAL10       | 01-04        | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| DAL12       | 01-02        | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| DAL13       | 01-03        | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| DAL14       | 01           | Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
{: caption="Available IBM Cloud data centers for Automated instances - NA South" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="NA South"}
{: tab-group="Data centers for Automated instances"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}
{: #simpletabtable-cr-nasouth}

| Data center | Pod   | Server options |
|:----------- |:---   |:-------------- |
| SJC03       | 01-02 | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
| SJC04       | 01    | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake, Sapphire Rapids |
{: caption="Available IBM Cloud data centers for Automated instances - NA West" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="NA West"}
{: tab-group="Data centers for Automated instances"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}
{: #simpletabtable-cr-nawest}

| Data center | Pod | Server options |
|:----------- |:--- |:-------------- |
| SAO01       | 01  | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
| SAO04       | 01  | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
| SAO05       | 01  | Cascade Lake, SAP-certified Cascade Lake |
{: caption="Available IBM Cloud data centers for Automated instances - South America" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="South America"}
{: tab-group="Data centers for Automated instances"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}
{: #simpletabtable-cr-sa}

## Backup of management components
{: #vc_planning-backup-mgmt-components}

You are responsible for the maintenance and availability of all instance components. It is recommended that you plan for backup or high availability of all management components. For more information, see [Backing up components](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-solution_backingup&format=markdown).

## Services for Automated instances
{: #vc_planning-addon-services}

You can order services for your instance based on your needs, for example, disaster recovery. For more information, see [Ordering services for Automated instances](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vc_addingservices&format=markdown).

Add-on services support varies between instance types and versions.

If you want to migrate your F5 BIG-IP or Veeam services from VMware NSX-V to VMware NSX-T, open an IBM Support ticket by following the steps in [Getting help and support](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-trbl_support&format=markdown).
{: note}

## Capacity considerations
{: #vc_planning-capacity-considerations}

For more information about capacity considerations, see [Scaling capacity](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-solution_scaling&format=markdown).

## Related links
{: #vc_planning-related}

* [VCF for Classic - Automated overview](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vc_vcenterserveroverview&format=markdown)
* [Ordering Automated instances](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vc_orderinginstance-req&format=markdown)
* [Expanding and contracting capacity for Automated instances](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vc_addingservers&format=markdown)
* [Ordering services for Automated instances](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vc_addingservices&format=markdown)