5.1

Figure 1-1. vCloud Director Architecture Diagram
vCloud Director Server Group
vCloud Director
Server
Cell
vCloud Director
Database
VMware vCloud Director
VMware vSphere
vCenter
Database
vShield
ger
vShield
ger
vShield
Manager
vCenter
Database
vCenter
Database
vCenter
vCenter
vCenter
ESX/ESXi
ESX/ESXi
ESX/ESXi
ESX/ESXi
ESX/ESXi
The vCloud Director installation and configuration process creates the cells, connects them to the shared
database, and establishes the first connections to a vCenter server, vShield Manager, and ESX/ESXi hosts. A
system administrator can then use the vCloud Director Web console to connect additional vCenter servers,
vShield Manager servers, and ESX/ESXi servers to the vCloud Director server group at any time.
Configuration Planning
vSphere provides storage, compute, and networking capacity to vCloud Director. Before you begin installation,
consider how much vSphere and vCloud Director capacity you need, and plan a configuration that can support
it.
Configuration requirements depend on many factors, including the number of organizations in the cloud, the
number of users in each organization, and the activity level of those users. The following guidelines can serve
as a starting point for most configurations:
n
Allocate one vCloud Director server (cell) for each vCenter server that you want to make accessible in
your cloud.
n
Be sure that all vCloud Director servers meet at least the minimum requirements for memory, CPU, and
storage detailed in “vCloud Director Hardware and Software Requirements,” on page 9.
n
Configure the vCloud Director database as described in “Installing and Configuring a vCloud Director
Database,” on page 14.
vCloud Director Installation and Upgrade Guide
8 VMware, Inc.