Public VCF as-a-Service - The fundamentals of Public VCF as-a-Service

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Public VCF as-a-Service - The fundamentals of Public VCF as-a-Service


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Objective

This guide details the fundamentals of Public VCF as-a-Service managed by OVHcloud.

Fundamental concepts

In this section, we will detail the essential foundations of Public VCF as-a-Service.

By defining these principles in a clear and concise way, we will provide the necessary foundation for effective and successful Public VCF as-a-Service use. Whether it’s for administrators looking to deploy complex infrastructures, or for users looking to access resources quickly, this exploration of Public VCF as-a-Service basics is a vital starting point.

Organizations

An organization is an administrative entity that groups together specific users, groups, and IT resources.

Users authenticate at the organization level by providing credentials established by an organization administrator when they are created or imported.

System administrators are responsible for creating and provisioning organizations, while organization administrators are responsible for managing users, groups, and catalogs specific to the organization.

Users and Groups

An organization can have a variable number of users and groups. Users can be created directly by the organization administrator or imported from a directory service (e.g. Active Directory).

Groups must be imported from the directory service. Within an organization, permissions are managed by assigning specific rights and roles to users and groups.

Virtual Data Centers (vDC)

A virtual datacentre can be used to offer computing resources (virtual machines/vApp/affinity rules) to an organization (your vDC), creating an environment managed by OVHcloud where virtualized systems can be stored, deployed and operated.

It also provides storage space for virtual CDs and DVDs. It is important to note that an organization may have multiple virtual datacentres (vDC) to meet their specific computing resource requirements (segmentation, isolation, security, etc.).

Organization Virtual Data Center Networks

A vDC network is encapsulated in a specific virtual datacentre created with Public VCF as-a-Service, and is accessible to all of that organization’s vApps. This network allows an organization's different vApps to communicate with each other seamlessly. It can be configured to be connected to an external network or kept isolated and internal to the organization.

Only system administrators have the privilege to create such networks, but organization administrators are able to manage the configurations of organization virtual datacentre networks, including the network services they offer.

vApp Networks

A vApp network is included in a vApp, and facilitates communication between the vApp’s various virtual machines.

It is possible to connect a vApp network to an organization's virtual datacentre network, which allows the vApp to communicate with other vApps within the organization.

Furthermore, if the organization’s virtual datacentre network is connected to an external network, this allows the vApp to communicate outside the organization as well.

Catalogs

Organizations use catalogs to store vApp templates and media files.

Authorized members within an organization can access these catalogs to use the vApp templates and the media files contained within them to create their own vApps.

In addition, organization administrators have the ability to copy items from public catalogs into their organization-specific catalog.

Features of Public VCF as-a-Service at OVHcloud

Below is a comparison of the features provided by OVHcloud on its 3 Public VCF as-a-Service solutions.

Advanced Network & SecurityvSAN Storage
Public VCF as-a-Service Standard
Public VCF as-a-Service Advanced

Cluster Management

All Cluster Management features are fully managed by OVHcloud.

Features
ESXi management / capacity planning
Hosts Failover / Proactive HA
DRS / Storage DRS
vMotion / Storage vMotion
Virtual Machine Management
FeaturesStandardAdvancedComments
Create VM
Manage Virtual MachinesStart, Stop, Suspend, Delete, Copy/clone...
Affinity Rules
Anti-Affinity Rules
VMware MarketplaceAllowed to deploy VMs with pre-packaged software solutions
Create VM catalogsBuild your own catalog of VM templates

Organisation / Virtual Datacenter Management

FeaturesStandardAdvancedComments
User ManagementManage users in a Public VCF as-a-Service
Identity Provider Integration - SSOIn Roadmap (via OVHcloud uIAM service)
vCPU over-allocationIn Roadmap - Allow users to adjust the quantity of vCPU/GHz for a virtual DC Possible through OVH manager or API

Networking

FeaturesStandardAdvancedComments
Routing & Switching IPv4Network segments, distributed & non distributed routing, Routed Network with/without NAT BGP/ DHCP/ DNS/ Static routes Cross virtual DC Networking on the same site. Not supported: OSPF, VRF Lite
Public IPv4 Range
Private Network - vRack supportin Roadmap
Routing & Switching IPv6in Roadmap
VPNL2VPN, VPN IPsec Policy Based Not Supported: SSL VPN, Routed based IPsec VPN
Load BalancingNot supported with native Public VCF as-a-Service network capabilities
Advanced Load Balancingin Roadmap

Security

FeaturesStandardAdvancedComments
Stateful Firewall
Distributed Firewall
Security groups
IDS / IPSin Roadmap
WAFin Roadmap

Data protection

FeaturesStandardAdvancedComments
Backup as a ServiceVeeam Managed Backup Option
Virtual Machine Snapshots1 per VM
Protection / Replication VMsin Roadmap

Storage

FeaturesStandardAdvancedComments
NFS datastore

Monitoring

FeaturesStandardAdvancedComments
Aria operationsIn Roadmap - Resource management Metrics, Dashboard, Reporting

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