As vSphere and VCF environments scale in complexity, lifecycle management is longer be an afterthought. For years, vSphere administrators relied on vSphere Update Manager (VUM) to patch and upgrade ESXi hosts. Starting with vSphere 7 and solidifying its position in vSphere 8, VMware introduced vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM), changing the update methodology.
With VUM and baseline-centric approaches deprecated in vSphere 8, transitioning to vLCM is no longer just recommended—it is required before moving to version 9. This article covers the technical differences, the transition process, and the gotchas every vSphere admin needs to know.
