VCP-VVF Administrator · Exam 2V0-16.25 · VMware vSphere Foundation 9.0

Exam 2V0-16.25 asks whether you can deploy, configure and run VMware vSphere Foundation 9.0, for both virtual machines and Supervisor workloads. Read its blueprint and it has two halves: vSphere fundamentals in depth, then VVF deployed, managed, operated and consumed. Both are hands-on, so this workbook is 138 lab tasks in build order, every one mapped to an objective.

FirstWhat this exam actually is

Facts from the published exam guide, last updated 15 August 2025:

Source: the official exam guide for 2V0-16.25, published by Broadcom. Read it yourself before you book. Everything below is written against the objectives in that document.

SecondWhere the objectives actually are

VCF Operations dominates. Objective 4.3 lists nineteen of the forty-eight sub-objectives in the blueprint, about two in every five. They include costing and pricing, service discovery, Explore Logs and log dashboards, none of which appear in the VCF Administrator exam. One sub-objective, the components and deployment options of VCF Operations for logs, is listed twice in the guide.

ThirdHow it differs from the VCP-VCF Administrator exam

The two professional Administrator exams share a frame. Both test Sections 2 and 4 only, and both start from the same vSphere and vSAN fundamentals, so this workbook shares many of its compute and storage tasks with the VCP-VCF Administrator lab tasks. The difference is what sits on top. VCF adds NSX, workload domains, fleet management and VCF Automation. VVF has none of those. Instead it goes deeper on vCenter itself, on VCF Operations and VCF Operations for logs, and on consuming the Supervisor directly through the VM Service and VKS.

FourthWhere to run these tasks

• A nested lab covers sections B to K comfortably, and most of P to S once VCF Operations is deployed.
• VMware Hands-on Labs, free in a browser, for deployment, the Supervisor and VCF Operations. Search by topic and check each lab runs version 9.0.
• A work environment, for whatever your role already authorises.

Where you cannot run a task, write the procedure out in order instead. Several sub-objectives say “describe” or “identify” rather than “configure”, and a written procedure is exactly what they test.

Workbook138 tasks, in build order

Section A is on paper. Sections B to K build the Section 2 fundamentals. Sections L to T are Section 4: deploying VVF and a Supervisor, managing identity, licences, certificates and lifecycle, operating with VCF Operations and VCF Operations for logs, and consuming the Supervisor. Section U is a timed run. Numbers in grey at the right are the objectives.

Written tasks. Objective 2.1 is entirely here.

1. 1Write the principles of virtualization in your own words: abstraction, isolation, encapsulation and hardware independence.2.1›
2. 2List five use cases for virtualization and what each gains from it.2.1›
3. 3Write the value proposition of virtualization for three audiences: the business, the operations team and the application owner.2.1›
4. 4List the components of a VVF 9.0 deployment, and mark what VCF adds that VVF does not include.4.1›
5. 5Draw a VVF environment on one page: hosts, vCenter, vSAN, the Supervisor, VCF Operations and VCF Operations for logs.4.1›

The compute layer.

1. 6Install ESX on a host and set its management network, DNS name and NTP source from the console.2.2›
2. 7Deploy a vCenter appliance and record the size you chose and why.2.2›
3. 8Create a datacenter object and add two hosts to it.2.2›
4. 9Configure NTP and DNS consistently on every host, then check them from the vSphere Client.2.2›
5. 10Configure a VMkernel adapter for vMotion on each host.2.2›
6. 11Put a host into maintenance mode and back out, recording what happens to its virtual machines.2.2›
7. 12Back up the vCenter appliance using file-based backup to an SFTP target.2.2›

Configure a cluster and know what each setting does.

1. 13Create a cluster and move hosts into it.2.2›
2. 14Turn on vSphere HA and set admission control to tolerate one host failure.2.2›
3. 15Turn on vSphere DRS and compare the automation levels.2.2›
4. 16Create a VM-to-host affinity rule and a VM-to-VM anti-affinity rule, then test both.2.2›
5. 17Configure Enhanced vMotion Compatibility on the cluster and record the baseline chosen.2.2›
6. 18Create a resource pool with shares, a reservation and a limit, and place virtual machines in it.2.2›
7. 19Manage the cluster with a vSphere Lifecycle Manager image and check host compliance against it.2.2›

Deploy, configure and manage virtual machines through vCenter.

1. 20Create a virtual machine from scratch and install a guest operating system.2.2›
2. 21Install or update VMware Tools and record what it adds.2.2›
3. 22Convert the virtual machine into a template, then deploy two virtual machines from it with a customisation specification.2.2›
4. 23Hot add CPU and memory to a running virtual machine, after enabling it.2.2›
5. 24Take a snapshot, change the virtual machine, revert, then delete the snapshot. Record why a snapshot is not a backup.2.2›
6. 25Clone a running virtual machine.2.2›
7. 26Migrate a running virtual machine with vMotion, then move its disks with Storage vMotion.2.2›
8. 27Open a virtual machine console, read its events and change its virtual hardware.2.2›

The everyday work the blueprint calls day 2.

1. 28Create an alarm on a datastore for low free space, and test it.2.2›
2. 29Create tag categories and tags, and use them to organise and search virtual machines.2.2›
3. 30Create a scheduled task, such as a snapshot or a power operation, and confirm it ran.2.2›
4. 31Check host configuration against the cluster configuration and fix a host that has drifted.2.2›
5. 32Use events, tasks and performance charts to find what changed on a host in the last day.2.2›
6. 33Export a virtual machine as OVF and import it again.2.2›

Objective 2.2 names them on their own.

1. 34Create a content library, add a template to it, and deploy from the library.2.2›
2. 35Add an OVF template and an ISO to the library, and mount the ISO on a virtual machine from it.2.2›
3. 36Publish the library and subscribe to it from a second vCenter or library.2.2›
4. 37Check out a VM template from the library, change it, and check it back in as a new version.2.2›
5. 38Write when you would use a subscribed library with download on demand.2.2›

Objective 2.2: securing workloads and infrastructure with encryption.

1. 39Configure a key provider, such as the vSphere Native Key Provider, and back it up.2.2›
2. 40Encrypt a virtual machine with the encryption storage policy.2.2›
3. 41Add a virtual TPM to a virtual machine and record what it needs.2.2›
4. 42Set encrypted vMotion on a virtual machine and record the options.2.2›
5. 43Turn on vSAN data-at-rest encryption for a cluster.2.2›
6. 44Write what happens to encrypted virtual machines if the key provider is unavailable.2.2›

Storage outside vSAN, and the policies that place workloads on it.

1. 45Create a VMFS datastore on a block device and record its version.2.3›
2. 46Mount an NFS datastore on every host in the cluster.2.3›
3. 47Increase the size of a VMFS datastore.2.3›
4. 48Tag two datastores and create a tag-based storage policy that only matches one of them.2.3›
5. 49Deploy a virtual machine with that policy and confirm where it was placed.2.3›
6. 50Write the difference between thin and thick provisioned disks and change one disk between them.2.3›

Know which architecture fits and how a cluster is formed.

1. 51Write the difference between vSAN ESA and vSAN OSA: how each uses devices and what each needs.2.3›
2. 52Given a scenario with existing SAS and SATA hardware, decide ESA or OSA and justify it.2.3›
3. 53Configure the vSAN VMkernel network on every host.2.3›
4. 54Turn on vSAN on a cluster and claim the devices.2.3›
5. 55Read the vSAN datastore capacity and account for raw against usable.2.3›
6. 56Run vSAN Skyline Health and clear the warnings you can.2.3›

The vSAN sub-objectives with the most questions behind them.

1. 57Create a storage policy with RAID-1 and failures to tolerate of 1, and apply it to a virtual machine.2.3›
2. 58Create a RAID-5 policy and a RAID-6 policy, and record the minimum host count for each.2.3›
3. 59Compare the capacity one virtual machine consumes under RAID-1, RAID-5 and RAID-6.2.3›
4. 60Change the policy on a running virtual machine and watch the resynchronisation.2.3›
5. 61Configure fault domains so a rack failure is survived, and write what it changes.2.3›
6. 62Write the resilience and data availability options in vSAN: failures to tolerate, fault domains, stretched clusters, data protection.2.3›
7. 63Write the purpose of each vSAN space efficiency feature: deduplication, compression, erasure coding, thin provisioning, UNMAP.2.3›
8. 64Write which space efficiency features apply to ESA and which to OSA, checked against the 9.0 documentation.2.3›

Objective 2.4 is one sub-objective: tell the components apart.

1. 65Write the difference between a standard switch, a distributed switch, a port group, an uplink and a VMkernel adapter.2.4›
2. 66Create a distributed switch, add hosts to it and migrate their VMkernel adapters.2.4›
3. 67Create distributed port groups with VLAN IDs and set the teaming policy.2.4›
4. 68Set the MTU on the distributed switch and confirm it end to end with vmkping.2.4›
5. 69Turn on Network I/O Control and set shares for vSAN, vMotion and virtual machine traffic.2.4›
6. 70Write which networking a Supervisor uses in VVF, and which load balancers pair with it.2.4›

Objective 4.1: components and the deployment itself.

1. 71Deploy the VCF Installer appliance and record that it deploys vSphere Foundation as well as VCF.4.1›
2. 72Gather the VVF wizard inputs: VCF Operations, vCenter, storage, ESX hosts, networks and the distributed switch.4.1›
3. 73Write the distributed switch profiles the wizard offers and when each fits.4.1›
4. 74Run the installer validation, fix one failure, and run it again.4.1›
5. 75Deploy VVF, or walk every step in a hands-on lab, and record what each step created.4.1›
6. 76Write how an existing vSphere environment is converged to VVF instead of deployed new.4.1›

Objective 4.1: configure the Supervisor.

1. 77Choose the Supervisor networking for a VVF cluster: distributed switch with the Foundation Load Balancer or Avi.4.1›
2. 78Deploy or prepare the load balancer the Supervisor will use.4.1›
3. 79Enable the Supervisor on a cluster with distributed switch networking.4.1›
4. 80Create a vSphere namespace with resource limits, storage policies and VM classes.4.1›
5. 81Add a content library of Kubernetes releases and one of VM images to the Supervisor.4.1›
6. 82Write the difference between a single-zone and a three-zone Supervisor.4.1›

Objective 4.2, first three sub-objectives.

1. 83Configure the vCenter identity source or an external identity provider, and sign in with a directory account.4.2›
2. 84Map a directory group to a role, and test the access it gives.4.2›
3. 85Create a custom role in vCenter with only the privileges a VM operator needs, and assign it on one folder.4.2›
4. 86Record the local break-glass accounts and test one.4.2›
5. 87Add licences in VCF Operations and assign them to the components that need them.4.2›
6. 88Read the licence usage view and record what is reported and when.4.2›
7. 89Write the vCenter certificate modes: VMCA as the CA, VMCA as a subordinate, or custom certificates.4.2›
8. 90Replace the vCenter machine certificate with a CA-signed certificate, and set an expiry alarm.4.2›

Objective 4.2: keeping VVF current.

1. 91Configure the software depot, online or offline, and download a bundle.4.2›
2. 92Write the upgrade order for VVF: VCF Operations, then vCenter, then the hosts through the cluster image.4.2›
3. 93Upgrade vCenter, or walk through it in a hands-on lab, and record the downtime.4.2›
4. 94Run a remediation precheck on a cluster image and remediate the cluster to a new version.4.2›
5. 95Write what to check after an upgrade, including the vSAN on-disk format.4.2›

Objective 4.3, the largest in the blueprint.

1. 96Write the use cases for VCF Operations and for VCF Operations for logs.4.3›
2. 97Write the cluster components of VCF Operations, the collectors, and the deployment options.4.3›
3. 98Write the cluster components and deployment options of VCF Operations for logs.4.3›
4. 99Pick one virtual machine and list three metrics, three properties and three log events for it. Write the difference.4.3›
5. 100Connect VCF Operations to vCenter and vSAN, and confirm data arrives.4.3›
6. 101Integrate VCF Operations for logs with VCF Operations, and send vCenter and ESX logs to it.4.3›
7. 102Add one more integration, such as a management pack, and record what it adds.4.3›

Building content in VCF Operations.

1. 103Create a custom list view of virtual machines with chosen metrics and properties.4.3›
2. 104Create a report from that view and schedule it.4.3›
3. 105Create a dashboard with three widgets that interact.4.3›
4. 106Share the dashboard with a group of users.4.3›
5. 107Create a symptom definition and an alert definition built on it.4.3›
6. 108Configure an email notification for that alert, then trigger it.4.3›
7. 109Create a VCF Operations policy, change one threshold, and apply it to a custom group.4.3›
8. 110Write how policy inheritance works, and test which policy an object gets.4.3›

Log events, Explore Logs and log dashboards.

1. 111Search log events in VCF Operations for one host and filter them by time and text.4.3›
2. 112Use Explore Logs to group events by a field and find the busiest source of errors.4.3›
3. 113Create a log dashboard in VCF Operations for logs and share it.4.3›
4. 114Create a log query alert for a specific event.4.3›
5. 115Write how long logs are kept and what decides it.4.3›

The rest of objective 4.3.

1. 116Configure cost drivers in VCF Operations and read the cost of one cluster.4.3›
2. 117Create a pricing policy and read the price of one virtual machine.4.3›
3. 118Monitor a vSAN cluster in VCF Operations: capacity, performance and health.4.3›
4. 119Configure service discovery and record which services it found and how they connect.4.3›
5. 120Set up application monitoring on one virtual machine and confirm its services are discovered.4.3›
6. 121Group the virtual machines of one application and monitor them together.4.3›
7. 122Turn on a security hardening compliance benchmark and read the result.4.3›
8. 123Fix one non-compliant setting and confirm the score changes.4.3›

Objective 4.4: Supervisor services, VM Service, VKS, vSphere Pods and Orchestrator.

1. 124Write how Supervisor-based services are deployed in VVF, and list the ones available.4.4›
2. 125Install one Supervisor service and confirm it is running.4.4›
3. 126Deploy a virtual machine with the VM Service from a YAML specification.4.4›
4. 127Deploy a VKS cluster in the namespace and log in to it with kubectl.4.4›
5. 128Deploy a workload into the VKS cluster and expose it through the load balancer.4.4›
6. 129Check which Supervisor networking supports vSphere Pods in 9.0, and deploy one where you can.4.4›
7. 130Write the use case for VCF Operations Orchestrator.4.4›
8. 131Run a simple Orchestrator workflow and record what it automated.4.4›

Do this section twice in the last week, timing yourself.

1. 132Configure a cluster with HA, DRS and one affinity rule. 15 minutes.2.2›
2. 133Encrypt a virtual machine and add a vTPM. 10 minutes.2.2›
3. 134Create three vSAN policies and apply them to three virtual machines. 15 minutes.2.3›
4. 135Enable a Supervisor and create a namespace. 30 minutes, or walk through it in a lab.4.1›
5. 136Replace the vCenter certificate and assign a licence. 15 minutes.4.2›
6. 137Build a view, a report, a dashboard and an alert in VCF Operations. 25 minutes.4.3›
7. 138Deploy a VM with the VM Service and a VKS cluster. 25 minutes.4.4›

How to use itFive weeks, if that is what you have

Exam details are from the published Broadcom exam guide for 2V0-16.25, last updated 15 August 2025, and were checked on 5 October 2026. Broadcom revises blueprints regularly, so confirm the current version before you book. Tasks here are my own, written from the published objectives; they are not exam content.