5.8
Table Of Contents
- vCloud Suite Architecture Overview and Use Cases
- Contents
- About this book
- Introduction to vCloud Suite
- Architecture Overview
- Conceptual Design of a vCloud Suite Environment
- vCloud Suite Components in the Management Cluster
- Software-Defined Data Center Core Infrastructure
- Delivering an Infrastructure Service
- Delivering Platform as a Service
- Deploying vCloud Suite
- Install vCloud Suite Components
- Update vCloud Suite Components
- External Dependencies for Deploying vCloud Suite
- System Requirements of vCloud Suite Components
- Security Considerations
- Licensing
- vCloud Suite Licensing Model
- Activating vCloud Suite Components in the vSphere Web Client
- Activating vCloud Suite Components in the vSphere Client
- Add the vCloud Suite License by Using the vSphere Client
- Assign the vCloud Suite License to vSphere in the vSphere Client
- Assign the vCloud Suite License to vCenter Operations Management Suite in the vSphere Client
- Assign the vCloud Suite License to vCloud Networking and Security in the vSphere Client
- Assign the vCloud Suite License Key to vCenter Site Recovery Manager
- Activating vCloud Suite Components by Using Their Own Licensing Interfaces
- Monitoring License Usage for vCloud Suite
- vCloud Suite Use Cases
- Index
ESXi and vCenter Server Design Considerations
Design decisions for the virtualization component of the software-defined data center must address the
deployment and support specifics of ESXi and vCenter Server.
Consider the following design decisions when planning the deployment of ESXi hosts.
ESXi
n
Use a tool such as VMware Capacity Planner to analyze the the performance and use of existing servers.
n
Use supported server platforms that are listed in the VMware Compatibility Guide at
http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.
n
Verify that your servers meet the minimum required system requirements for running ESXi.
n
To eliminate variability and achieve a manageable and supportable infrastructure, standardize the
physical configuration of the ESXi hosts.
n
You can deploy ESXi hosts either manually or by using VMware Auto Deploy. One valid approach is to
deploy the management cluster manually, and implement Auto Deploy as your environment grows.
vCenter Server
n
You can deploy vCenter Server as a Linux-based virtual appliance or in a 64-bit Windows virtual
machine.
NOTE vCenter Server on Windows scales up to support up to 10,000 powered-on virtual machines. The
vCenter Server Virtual Appliance is an alternative choice that comes pre-configured and enables faster
deployment method along with reduced Microsoft licensing costs. When using an external Oracle
database, the vCenter Server Virtual Appliance can support a maxium of 3,000 virtual machines.
n
Provide sufficient virtual system resources for vCenter Server.
n
Deploy the vSphere Web Client and the vSphere Client for user interfaces to the environment. Deploy
the VMware vSphere Command-Line Interface, VMware vSphere PowerCLI, or VMware vSphere
Management Assistant for command-line and scripting management.
Network Design Considerations
As virtualization and cloud computing become more popular in the data center, a shift in the traditional
three-tier networking model is taking place. The traditional core-aggregate-access model is being replaced
by the leaf and spine design.
n
The network must be designed to meet the diverse needs of many different entities in an organization.
These entities include applications, services, storage, administrators, and users.
n
The network design should improve availability. Availability is typically achieved by providing
network redundancy
n
The network design should provide an acceptable level of security. Security can be achieved through
controlled access where required and isolation where necessary.
n
Simplify the network architecture by using a leaf and spine design.
n
Configure common port group names across hosts to support virtual machine migration and failover.
n
Separate the network for key services from one another to achieve greater security and better
performance.
Network isolation is often recommended as a best practice in the data center. In a vCloud Suite
environment, you might have several key VLANs, spanning two or more physical clusters.
Chapter 2 Architecture Overview
VMware, Inc. 17