VCD 9.0: Full Integration between IaaS and DRaaS

Full Integration between IaaS and DRaaS

Nowadays, a DRaaS platform should be positioned as a facilitating tool for the consumption of the IaaS environment on the Cloud Provider side, so it becomes relevant that the DRaaS is fully integrated with the cloud platform at both, graphical console and API level, to such an extent which encourages the consumption of IaaS by implementing planned migrations and onboarding of the end customer to the Cloud Provider.

The DRaaS platform under vCloud Director named “VMware vCloud Availability for vCloud Director” includes a web portal available for both types of users: End Customers and NOC (Cloud Provider level); additionally, the DRaaS includes orchestration tools that allow the automation of the virtual machine lifecycle in a programmatic way, based on scripts and direct use of the API at both the IaaS and DRaaS portals, in a 100% integrated way.

This DRaaS platform is native to VMware and allows you to handle the entire DRP lifecycle of each virtual machine in the environment to be replicated from the client, including operations such as:

  • Replication: totally agnostic of the storage system being used, by means of replication software previously licensed in Client side.
  • Failover: allows you to recover from disasters, either totally or partially on the Cloud Provider side.
  • DR Testing: permite pruebas de esfuerzo del DRP, sin afectar producción de ninguna manera, utilizando redes virtualizadas de lado Proveedor de Cloud (DC alterno).
  • Failback: return the replication to the client side, right after a failover occurs (scheduled or not).
  • Reverse Replication: Permanently declare the Cloud Provider as the primary site and the client as a secondary site.

As an important note, the replication of virtual machines from their native environment (on-premise) is implemented without installing additional consoles to the VMware vCenter (on the end Client side) and without requiring VPN additional to the encrypted tunnel itself that uses the solution. Also, the Cloud Provider side implementation is performed once, as a plug-in on top of vCloud Director, achieving the effect of a single effort to replicate N tenants: 1 installation (100% multi-tenant).

Under this DRaaS environment approach for masses, RPO (acceptable data loss time) of 5 minutes onwards is considered. For customers who require a solution with RPO close to zero, you can evaluate alternative solutions that support synchronism, with the cost involved, but that does not achieve the objective of economies of scale. In the case of DRaaS, the solution enables the DRP to be operated in a self-managed manner directly by the Customer, with optional intervention of the Cloud Provider at the operational level of the DRP life cycle described above.

The DRaaS solution includes the connectivity components between the on-premise and the Cloud Provider, achieving encrypted communication between both sides of the replication, and at no additional cost to the client, requiring only Internet or MPLS connectivity (L2/L3) in between.

The IaaS platform (vCloud Director) in turn already has integrated the DRaaS component through a plugin that optionally enables it for each tenant, based on assigned permissions.

This IaaS/DRaaS solution (based on VCD/vCAV) no longer requires some Windows-based components, not even for database, since it already includes vPostgreSQL internally (although it supports external MS/SQL and Oracle databases, if preferred). Appliances are using open-source Linux/Photon OS, including those of RabbitMQ (internal messaging bus) and Cassandra (NoSQL database) in use by the platform. As a side note, vSphere 6.5 also no longer requires Windows components, and in fact the use of vCenter over Windows is depreciated (as expected).

Additional Use cases under the IaaS Platform:

  • Operations as a Service (OPS-aaS)
  • Self-service Networking & Security as a Service (NSX-aaS)
    • Security & Compliance
    • Application Continuity
    • Automation
  • Disaster Recovery as a Service (DR-aaS)
  • Customer Onboarding: Hybrid Cloud & Workload Migration
  • Private Cloud & Automation as a Service
  • Backup as a Service (B-aaS)
  • App Modernization a a Service (AppM-aaS)
  • Mobility & Desktops as a Service (MSP & in-house)

Post Author: Fernando Escobar

CTO Ambassador (VMware’s Office of the CTO), VMware vExpert Cloud, VMware vExpert core, SDDC Trusted Advisor, Cloud Architect

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