Google Cloud Adds Self-Managed VMware Cloud Foundation on Bare Metal

Google Cloud has launched a self-managed version of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.x on bare metal, which is now generally available. This option grants customers root access to ESXi, vCenter, and NSX in 22 regions. The new model provides an alternative to the existing Google-managed VMware Engine service, which runs VCF 5.2 on ve1 and ve2 node families and manages the stack with role-based vCenter privileges.

The self-managed option allows customers or their partners to handle upgrades and patches using VCF Operations, while maintaining their own portable VCF subscriptions. According to Google, the bare-metal ESXi nodes are provisioned with spread placement, VMkernel interfaces, and Cloud DNS records are configured, and the VCF Installer appliance is deployed with a pre-validated configuration.

Storage is vSAN on local NVMe, with NetApp Volumes as an external datastore option. The self-managed deployment costs up to 40% less for server TCO and up to 39% less for storage TCO compared to other options, although baseline and methodology details are not provided. This release marks Google's entry into the customer-operated VCF on bare metal market, joining AWS and Oracle, who have had similar offerings since 2020 and 2025, respectively.

The new model gives customers full control over their VCF estate, but requires them to manage patches and updates. Google is offering a list of fifteen launch partners to help manage the stack for customers who prefer not to handle these responsibilities. The announcement does not provide pricing, SLA, or a migration path from the existing VMware Engine VCF 5.2 to the new self-managed 9.x stack.

Google anticipates more regions will be added in future quarters and recommends customers contact their account teams or authorized partners for assistance.