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What is VMware Cloud Foundation and what are its key features
VMware Cloud Foundation delivers an integrated hybrid cloud experience with a flexible software-only solution that includes vSphere, cloud management platform, and NSX. Built on open standards and delivered as a service, Cloud Foundation provides a consistent platform for applications to run seamlessly across any type of cloud — private, public, or hybrid. It also enables IT organizations to manage the same infrastructure used by their developers in an end-to-end way with vRealize Operations Manager and vRealize Orchestrator.
Key features include:
VMware vSphere – Fast, easy and flexible way to manage VMware environments deployed in the cloud. Manage VMware workloads at scale with rich APIs, integration and automation. Automate deployments using the vSphere API or automate your VMware infrastructure with Orchestrator.
VMware NSX – Open standard software-based network operating system delivering advanced controls, security and visibility across all layers of an application. Deploy without custom code to deliver enhanced control, optimized performance and secure application delivery in hybrid clouds.
vRealize Operations – Administer and automate your VMware environment as a service. Leverage the power of integrated, real-time operations and analytics to boost infrastructure utilization, reduce operational overhead and drive application innovation.
VMware vRealize Log Insight – Visualize your virtual infrastructure at scale with advanced performance insights across hardware and software. Align logging with the right view in dual data and log stores to derive actionable intelligence from your logs.
VMware vRealize Log Insight Container – Analyze, troubleshoot and monitor applications running on the cloud. Delivered as a service via Docker container with containers-as-a-service.
How does VMware Cloud Foundation pricing compare to other cloud providers
VMware Cloud Foundation pricing is available upfront, at a fixed monthly price. Customers pay for the number of virtual machines they need and run, not dependent on the amount of compute resources they will consume. This gives customers certainty about their cloud cost and investment path in advance of their actual needs. VMware Cloud Foundation pricing is also more predictable than other commercial approaches to cloud because it leverages other VMware IP as a service offerings, such as vSphere, NSX and vSAN. All VCF components are included in the price. The total price for VCF does not change over time.
The total cost of ownership (TCO) for an on-premises infrastructure is a combination of both capital and operating expenses. Capital expenses include all costs associated with procuring, deploying and operating your data center hardware. Operating expenses include the cost to power and cool the hardware, labor to manage it, and additional software required to connect it together. TCO is the sum of these two costs.
As you’re looking at your TCO, there are a few different scenarios you should consider:
What are the benefits of using VMware Cloud Foundation over alternative solutions
Supporting any workload, from any application in any cloud, vCloud Foundation reduces the risk of vendor lock-in by enabling application owners to choose where their applications run and how they run. It seamlessly transitions workloads horizontally, between on-premises environments and public clouds without any change in application behavior or performance. Administrators can focus on business innovation instead of infrastructure management. Cloud Foundation enables customers to buy only the cloud resources they need and deploy them without having to manage infrastructure themselves.
VMware Cloud Foundation aims to make it easy for customers to choose the infrastructure services they need and deploy them quickly, from VMware vSphere, Microsoft Azure or other public clouds. It provides a flexible, vendor-agnostic platform for delivering Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), storage and virtualized applications. Cloud Foundation is a software-only solution that enables application owners to choose what cloud resources they need, deploy them at the speed of business and pay only for what they consume.
How does VMware Cloud Foundation licensing work
Roles are also assigned to admins to help ensure that every vSphere administrator has the right set of permissions for their specific needs. A separate license file is sent to the customer for vCloud Suite, which can be purchased as needed or as part of a bundle discount.
In the same way that Federal Government agencies are assigned roles to provide governance and support for their IT activities, vCloud Hybrid Service is assigned roles that can be used by a customer’s IT department, according to VMware. The following groups all have the rights they need to run hybrid cloud operations, no matter which file type they are using:
The vCloud Director team (includes all three licenses): Creates and maintains virtual machines and virtual networks in a vSphere environment.
The vCloud Automation Center team (includes the vCAC feature license): Deploys or updates applications to a vSphere environment and monitors the operational health of virtual machines.
The vCloud Air Network team (includes all three licenses): Provides self-service access to both internal and external users.
The vCloud Air Network team (includes the vCAC feature license): Provides mobility services for applications in a vSphere environment.
All other teams: Deploy individual virtual machines, create VM templates and deploy templates to a specific environment from within the service catalog or from an external network.
The vCloud Suite licensing model is meant to simplify the process of getting hybrid cloud capabilities into a customer’s environment, VMware said. The four main components of this model are as follows:
Do you need a separate license for every workload you want to run on VMware Cloud Foundation
No, VMware Cloud Foundation uses a single license for all workloads. Customers are billed on a per VM basis, with no additional charges for vSAN, NSX or vCenter Server. They pay for the number of VMs that they run, not the amount of compute resources they consume.
NOTE: All pricing is in USD. VMware Cloud Foundation minimum charges are applied on a per-VM basis. Customers must purchase the appropriate number of vCPU/vRAM units (based on the compute resource level) in order to deploy workloads on VMware Cloud Foundation.
VMware Cloud Foundation minimum charges include: 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 400 GB disk and 100 Mbps bandwidth per host. For information on VMware Cloud Foundation pricing, please see the VMware Cloud Foundation pricing page.
