Point Of View “Private Cloud Migration On to Azure Considerations - Azure VMware Solution(AVS)”

Interestingly I have been engaged in Private Cloud(based on VMware software defined data centre suit of products) migration discussions to Azure and in specific to scenarios where there are deadlines. ;)

Deadlines as we know are always a mode of necessity and urgency; looks for immediate solution that, with minimum intervention and disruption can do the job for us.The solution here is obvious which is within VMware ‘Cloud Infrastructure Services’ portfolio of services designed for ‘Public Cloud’ hosting and is our viable options

Different names - a.) ‘Azure VMware Solution’ for Azure, b.) ‘Google Cloud VMware Engine’ for GCP and c.) ‘VMware Cloud on AWS’; the basic principal and enablement criteria which fits the bill, remain the same and that is, “VMware software stack running on dedicated bare-metal servers on Cloud” and enabling that needed extension from On-Prem data centre’s to Cloud. 

In this article I thought exploring ‘Azure VMware Solution’ for Azure not specifically from detailed technical review perspective (as there are many reviews out there) but more focussing on benefits and in specific limitations to be considered when opting for AVS. I also would like to attract view and comments on it(AVS) being the right solution but in what scenario’s and what all to be considered(under the hood of fine prints) when designing and deciding it(AVS) to be the solution of choice.

Azure VMware Solution(AVS)

AVS is a VMware software defined data centre (SDDC) infrastructure hosted on Azure and in a way aims at leveraging global Azure cloud services ecosystem. It enables a mechanism to accelerate organisation’s Public cloud journey with seamless migration propositions and/or opportunities to extend existing VMware workload from Private Cloud to Azure for hosts of uses cases and scenario’s and sometime even to train existing resources on Azure, break the dilemma and just begin that long awaited ‘Public Cloud’ journey. 

Diving straight…

Benefits: Azure VMware Solution(AVS)

• Ease of migration: One of the key benefits of AVS is that it enables customers to easily migrate(with caveat ;) which i will explore in limitations) their existing VMware workloads to the cloud, without having to re-architect their applications and the hassle of learning new tools and processes. This can be especially useful for businesses that are looking 1. to take advantage of the scalability and flexibility of the cloud, 2. to get rid of their aging infrastructure, but do not want to insure the cost and complexity of re-architecting their existing applications.
• Data Center extensions & Disaster Recovery (Hybrid is the word here :))
• Familiarity (Anyway it is VMware ;)) & reduced learning curve (Happy IT Staff :))
• Integrations with Azure native services (that’s the purpose and end goal ;))
• Availability in most of the Azure regions (global reach aha!!!)
• Managed Service (In a way!!!): The platform is maintained as Microsoft is responsible for lifecycle management of VMware Software(ESXi, vCenter Server, & vSAN) and also NSX-T Data Center appliances. Microsoft is also responsible for patching, updates, or upgrades to ESXi vCenter Server, vSAN and NSX-T Data Center.
• Existing Backup solutions will work as is (probably!!!): Commvault, Veritas, and Veeam for sure including any backup solution that uses VMware vStorage API for Data Protection (VADP) 
• Licensing Benefits (with Azure Hybrid Benefits)

Limitations & Point Of Considerations: Azure VMware Solution(AVS)

• Third Party Integrations: AVS has limited support for third party integrations and may not be compatible with all the configurations or settings. Thus during the plan and design phase when choosing options, it is essential to be cognisant of what third party integrations and tools we have in an existing environment and will that going to work as is. Recommendation is check compatibilities…
• VMware Product versions & Tools compatibility: This is an important one as organisation have to upgrade their existing VMware product version and tools to AVS supported versions before any migration as that would be essential in cross site communications. For example: AVS does not support NSX-V as NSX-T Data Center is the only supported version of NSX Data Center. This could be one of the major challenge with organisations running NSX-V and its older version and an upgrade to NSX-T would be a major upgrade which comes with it own challenges…
• Data Security and Compliance: Another important consideration as Organisations should evaluate their specific security requirements and ensure that AVS meet their needs for data security and compliance. There are limitations with vSAN (Disclaimer!!! - encryption, fault tolerance, RAID configuration, alerting & monitoring ?) however vSAN did provide the ability to encrypt data at rest which can help meet security and compliance requirements.
• Costs: On the offer there are different cluster options available for AVS, with varying numbers of hosts and associated costs. But, in addition to the cost of the cluster, organisations may also need to consider additional costs i:e for storage and data transfer, which can vary depending on usage. 

Verdict (Obviously not as in Law :) )

I would say that no doubt Azure VMware Solution(AVS) is a powerful solution and in specific for Private Cloud based on VMware SDDC scenarios which can definitely be useful for organisations looking to quickly migrate some of the existing VMware workloads on to Azure or any other Cloud provider. However, this needs some careful planning and looking between the cracks for evaluating the needs and considering all the associated limitations and cost associated with AVS solution.

The attempt above is just to mention and highlight some, if not all the considerations with a balance of benefits but more so to instil some thought process which should go in planing the AVS route towards the journey to Public Cloud and better leverage global ecosystem of which ever Cloud Provider (Azure, GCP, AWS) organisation attempt to use. 

Please share your thoughts and add to comments many more limitations, experiences, considerations, and any missed points to have a wholesome discussions around Private Cloud migrations. 

#privatecloud #vmware #cloudmigrations #AzureVmwareSolution