// VCF JSON Builder

VCF JSON Builder

Build, validate and export the VCF Installer JSON specification for VCF 9.1.1 / 9.1 (VCF Management Services runtime, License Server, Identity Broker) or VCF 9.0.x (Fleet Management and Collector appliances). Covers vCenter, NSX, ESX hosts, DVS, vSAN ESA/OSA, VMFS-FC and NFS principal storage, VCF Operations and VCF Automation, with real-time validation, import of existing specs and JSON export.

VCF 9.0.2 Real-time validation Dynamic ESX host list NSX 3-node cluster SDDC Manager VCF Operations Import existing JSON

Import existing JSON

Drop a VCF installer JSON file here or click to browse

— or —

Environment Planner

Enter your naming convention, domain, and IP scheme once — every hostname, VLAN, subnet, and port group is pre-filled automatically

Pre-fill all fields

Naming & Identity

Instance Prefix

Drives all names: datacenter, cluster, DVS, pool, instance

Domain Suffix

Appended to every FQDN

ESX Hostname Base

Prefix only — the tool appends the number and prefix, e.g. esx → esx01-m01, esx02-m01, …

Hosts

Number of ESX Hosts

VCF requires a minimum of 4 for production, 3 for PoC

VCF Version

Applied to all build version fields

Networking — IP Ranges & VLANs

Management Network

Gateway assumed at .1

vMotion Network

Gateway assumed at .1

vSAN Network

Gateway assumed at .1

VM Management Network

Gateway assumed at .1

Overlay / TEP Network

NSX host tunnel endpoints (.11–.40 pool)

Management VLAN

vMotion VLAN

vSAN VLAN

VM Management VLAN

Transport / TEP VLAN

Preview — what will be generated

Fill in the fields above to see a preview of what will be generated.

Passwords and SSL thumbprints are never generated — you must enter those manually

SDDC Instance name, workflow type, version

SDDC ID *

VCF Instance Name *

Workflow Type

Target release

VCF Version *

DNS & NTP Nameservers and time sources

DNS Subdomain *

Management Pool Name

Nameservers

Primary DNS *

Secondary DNS

NTP Servers

Primary NTP *

Secondary NTP

Cluster & Datacenter vSphere inventory names

Datacenter Name *

Cluster Name *

CEIP Customer Experience Improvement Program

Enable CEIP (Customer Experience Improvement Program)

ESX Host Inventory 0 hosts configured

Retrieving the SSL Thumbprint
From your workstation:
openssl s_client -connect <hostname>:443 2>/dev/null | openssl x509 -fingerprint -sha256 -noout
From the ESX shell directly: openssl x509 -in /etc/vmware/ssl/rui.crt -fingerprint -sha256 -noout

Global Password Apply one password to all appliances at once

Set a single root/admin password that will be applied to vCenter, SDDC Manager, NSX Managers, VCF Operations, Fleet Management, and Collector. You can still override individual passwords after applying.

Global Password

apply

vCenter Server Deployment configuration and credentials

vCenter FQDN *

VM Size

SSO Domain *

Credentials

Root Password *

Admin SSO Password *

SDDC Manager Management plane credentials

Hostname *

Credentials

Root Password *

SSH Password *

Local User Password *

Distributed Virtual Switch VDS name, uplinks, transport zones

DVS Name *

MTU

vmnic → Uplink Mapping

NSX Uplink Teaming Policy

Load Balancing Policy

Active Uplinks (derived from uplink roles above)

NSX Overlay Transport Zone

Overlay Zone Name

Transport Type

Network Segments VLAN IDs, subnets, gateways, port groups

NSX Manager Cluster 3-node cluster · hostname and credentials per node

Cluster VIP & Sizing

VIP FQDN *

Appliance Size

NSX Shared Credentials Root, admin, and audit passwords applied to all managers

Root Password *

Admin Password *

Audit Password *

TEP & Transport Overlay TEP pool, transport VLAN

Transport VLAN ID *

TEP Pool Name

TEP Pool Description

TEP CIDR *

TEP Gateway *

TEP IP Range

Start IP *

End IP *

Storage Type Select the principal storage for the management domain

Datastore Name *

Failures to Tolerate

ESA Options

Enable Deduplication & Compression (vSAN ESA)

VCF Operations 3-node cluster — master, replica, data

Admin Password *

Appliance Size

VCF Management Services & License Server VCF 9.1+ — vspClusterSpec, licenseServerSpec, vidbSpec

VCF 9.1 replaces the Fleet Management and Collector appliances with the VCF Management Services runtime (fleet lifecycle, SDDC lifecycle, software depot, identity broker, Salt, telemetry) plus a dedicated License Server. The services runtime needs a pool of 12–30 consecutive IPs on the VM Management network and three FQDNs (platform, instance, fleet). All FQDNs must be lowercase with forward and reverse DNS.

Platform FQDN *

Instance FQDN *

Fleet FQDN *

IP pool start *

IP pool end *

Minimum 12 addresses (up to 30 for scale-out)

Size

Internal cluster CIDR

System user password *

License Server FQDN *

Identity Broker (VIDB) FQDN

Leave empty to omit vidbSpec (existing Identity Broker or Workspace ONE Access).

Fleet Management VCF Operations Fleet Management appliance

Hostname *

Root Password *

Admin Password *

Operations Collector Remote collector appliance

Hostname *

Root Password *

Appliance Size

VCF Operations Collector is always deployed as Small

VCF Automation Optional post-deployment component — requires successful VCF base deployment

Include VCF Automation in this deployment

VCF Automation has post-deployment prerequisites. It requires a completed and healthy VCF base deployment before it can be configured. Disable to exclude it from the JSON spec.

Include

VCF Automation is deployed as a 3-node cluster on the VM Management network. Each node requires a dedicated IP address, plus one additional IP reserved for upgrades. All 4 IPs must be pre-allocated and reachable before deployment.

Appliance FQDN *

Node Prefix

Used to name cluster nodes internally

Cluster Node IP Addresses

Node 1 IP *

Primary cluster node

Node 2 IP *

Secondary cluster node

Node 3 IP *

Tertiary cluster node

Upgrade Reserve IP *

Reserved for rolling upgrades — keep unused

Internal Cluster Network

Internal Cluster CIDR

Internal pod network — must not overlap any production range

Credentials

Admin Password *