How Hybrid Cloud Works Using VMware vCloud Connector

A hybrid cloud is an opportunity to quickly expand available computing power due to the resources of a cloud provider, transfer loads from the local infrastructure to the cloud, migrate virtual machines to the IaaS provider cloud and vice versa. Today, more and more of our cloud projects are launched in the hybrid cloud model.

A few words about VMware vCloud Connector

This tool allows you to combine public clouds (vCloud Director), as well as remote and local infrastructures based on vSphere, with the ability to manage them as a whole. Using a single user interface, you can connect to multiple cloud platforms at once, start and stop virtual machines, while checking their performance. And in addition to moving virtual stations between the clouds, you can transfer virtual containers (vApps), templates (Templates) and perform many other actions that are typical for hybrid cloud environments.



vCloud Connector allows you to combine in a hybrid cloud a combination of various types of bundles of cloud and on-premises infrastructures.

For instance:

• A combination of the vSphere on-premises infrastructure with the vCloud Director public / private cloud.
• A bunch of private and public clouds vCloud Director.
• A combination of the local vSphere infrastructure with the remote vSphere infrastructure.
• A bunch of two private clouds vCloud Director.

Let's analyze the following hybrid cloud scenario using the IT-GRAD cloud as an example .

Using the vCloud Connector to connect the local infrastructure (vSphere) and the public cloud of the IaaS provider (vCloud Director)

We need to combine our site with the IT-GRAD cloud to expand the existing infrastructure and copy virtual machines. For convenience, instead of vSphere, we will use the vCenter Server Appliance and virtual ESXi, in which we will create a virtual data center. Such a vSphere will act as our local platform where the company's virtual machines are located.

VCloud Connector Components

Let's figure out which components of vCloud Connector we have to work with.

• vCloud Connector UI (often referred to as vCloud Connector Client) is a user management interface that integrates with the vSphere Client management environment.
• vCloud Connector Server is a management server. Coordinates vCloud Connector activity, controls vCloud Connector Nodes nodes. Typically, a single vCloud Connector Server is required to communicate across multiple cloud infrastructures.
• vCloud Connector Node is a tool through which redirected data flows from one cloud to another. With vCloud Connector Node, you are connected to the end infrastructure. It is installed on at least two (or more) parties.

Now we will schematically display our scenario.



It turns out that to deploy a hybrid cloud, on the client side, you need to deploy and configure:

• vCenter Server Appliance, virtual ESXi,
• vCloud Connector Server,
• vCloud Connector Node.

On the side of IT-GRAD, a vCloud Connector Node has already been deployed.

What a network topology looks like before deploying a hybrid cloud.

vCenter Server Appliance

vCloud Connector is available as a plugin for vCenter Server. Therefore, we will use the virtual vCenter Server, which will be available during the installation of the vCenter Server Appliance. You can also connect to it using vSphere Client (this will be necessary to manage the hybrid cloud).

vCenter Server Appliance is a virtual module, which is a ready-made virtual machine with installed Linux OS that implements all the necessary services similar to VMware vCenter Server.

In the client infrastructure, deploy the vCenter Server Appliance, vCloud Connector Server, and vCloud Connector Node.



Create a new vApp on the client side



Next, we will perform the following steps (these steps are described in more detail in this article ).

• Connect to the vCloud Connector Server client.
• Connect to the vCloud Connector Node client.
• Register vCloud Connector Node in vSphere client.
• Register the vCloud Connector Node in the vCloud Connector Server on the client side.
• We register vCloud Connector Node IT-GRAD in vCloud Connector Server on the client side.
  
  
  
  In order to connect the two infrastructures and build a hybrid cloud, we will register the vCloud Connector Node already deployed on the IT side of the company in the vCloud Connector Server on the client side of the company. This is how the client company’s vCloud Connector Server console looks after the registration steps completed.
  
  
• Next, register the vCloud Connector with the vCenter Server Appliance

Connecting external cloud environments to a hybrid cloud

Now, in the vSphere Client management console, in the Administration panel in the Solutions and Applications section, the registered vCloud Connector plug-in is available.



We click on the vCloud Connector icon, after which the control panel for cloud infrastructures opens. Using the + button, you can connect vSphere Cloud / Infrastructure registered in vCloud Connector Server.





Using the vCloud Connector console, you can get information about any connected cloud / infrastructure.



In vCloud Connector, you can view the contents of the cloud infrastructure, whether it is based on vSphere or vCloud Director. Moreover, the content is divided into three categories: templates, virtual containers (vApps), virtual machines.

Copying virtual machines between clouds, inside a hybrid cloud

Using vCloud Connector, you can copy any type of object from one site to another. Recall that according to the scenario, the client’s company needs to expand its local infrastructure into the public cloud of the IT-GRAD provider. The remote site will be used to store part of the virtual machines. Let us consider in practice how a single virtual machine is copied. To do this, on the client company’s side, go to the “virtual machines” tab and select the necessary object. Before copying, the machine must be turned off by pressing the Power Off button. Next, run the copy wizard.



In the window for selecting the target site, we indicate the public cloud of the IT-GRAD company, give a name to the template, and also indicate the directory in which the object will be placed. Click the "Next" button.



After we specify the virtual data center,



in the Ready to complete window, when you click the validation button, you can perform a check that allows you to evaluate the ability to copy the selected item. If a warning message is displayed during validation, pay special attention to this. Before you start copying, you must fulfill all the relevant requirements. Otherwise, the execution of the procedure itself may end with errors or not complete at all.



In the task section you can always track the status of the action being performed. We are interested in the success of copying a virtual machine template. To do this, go to the tasks and see the status. As you can see in the figure below, copying the object was successful.



Using the search function, you can find the copied object. Enter the value vm1 in the search bar, this is the name of the copied template.


We will use the found virtual machine template for further deployment. To do this, go to the templates and start copying. In the wizard window that opens, you must specify the name of the object, and to complete the picture, fill in the Description field.

Next, a virtual data center is selected and the network configuration is determined.



In the ready window, you can see the total information about the deployment object.



To determine the success of deploying an object based on a template, go to the already familiar taskbar (Tasks). The status of the deployment task from the template is set to completed.



For greater reliability, we switch to the IT-GRAD cloud, go to the virtual machines section and find the newly created object.


The virtual machine was successfully copied from our local vSphere infrastructure to the IT-GRAD public cloud.

In more detail about how to create and work with hybrid clouds, we will tell you on the pages of the first blog about corporate IaaS.