The VMware Cloud (VMC) on AWS Design and Deploy Service is intended to create a baseline VMC on AWS environment that is suitable for generic workloads or as a disaster recovery target. The goal is to create a public cloud platform that provides a seamless management experience alongside their traditional on-prem vSphere environments and secondly to assist our clients with education, discovery, deployment, and migration services around VMC.

The VMware Site Recovery Deployment Service provides the deployment of VMware Site Recovery for VMC (VSR): architecture, installation, and implementation. AHEAD concentrates on designing and delivering a highly available replication and failover orchestration solution, working closely with Client staff to plan the project, conduct meetings, and gather the information to baseline the project’s configuration design and implementation requirements.

Important Notes

• VMC SDDC - this deploys up to one software defined data center up to three hosts
• Hybrid Link Mode with one on-premises vCenter
• One Site Recovery instance with up to 10 VM guests, 3 protection groups, and 1 recovery plan

Service Overview

• Project management of the in-scope installation and configuration tasks.
• Configuration, implementation, and testing of the hardware and software components within Client’s existing environment.
• Verification of the installation and configuration results.
• Reviewing the acceptance requirements with Client assigned resource(s).
• Providing the completed Configuration Guide.
• Conducting product Functional Overview to familiarize Client’s staff with the implemented solution, demonstrating the normal operations as installed in their environment. The Functional Overview relates to the Client’s environment and is not a substitute for formal training.

Design and Planning

• Presents VMC solution and component overview.
• Discusses SDDC and Hybrid Cloud concepts.
• Discuss and review current environment, uses cases, and project objectives, which may include high-level SDDC and network design.
• Defines project critical success factors.
• Gathers any existing relevant documentation (AWS account information, AWS connectivity details, network diagrams, configuration files, screenshots, etc.) from Client staff.
• Collaboratively develop a design relevant to the in-scope devices and tasks with Client staff, including:
  • Identify business continuity and disaster recovery objectives.
  • Select relevant AHEAD, industry, and Client configuration standards and/or best practices.
  • Ascertain design of network infrastructure high-availability features.
• Facilitates interactive workshop focusing on architecture, administration, and operational best practices including solution knowledge transfer.
• Application discovery/mapping (VM level) Workshop.
  • Client to provide information and details for application/VM mapping, which will be used to create the recovery plans for in-scope VMs.
  • AHEAD will not perform any application-level discovery or assessment.
• Assess site connectivity options for VSR to VMC:
  • Internet connectivity.
  • WAN connectivity between the data center and VMware Cloud on AWS.
  • Shared Services (AD, DNS, NTP, Monitoring and Management Tools, etc).

Implementation

• Onboarding
• Deploy a new SDDC:
• Configures Hybrid Linked Mode (HLM) between Cloud vCenter and on-premises vCenter.
• Create and configure AWS Transit Gateway (if needed).
• Review challenges with the current environment identified by AHEAD and communicate to Client which issues will not allow the project to successfully continue.
• Per design, perform Site Recovery deployment.
• Verifies the installation and configuration results.

Solution Testing

• Execute AHEAD’s standard networking test plan and verify working order of the in-scope devices.
• Verifies the installation and configuration results.
• Performs VSR test failover for up to one (1) recovery plan with up to 10 VMs with no more than three (3) protection groups total. This test will be completed within one (1) 8-hour event.
• Reviews the acceptance requirements with Client-assigned resources.
• Provides the applicable documentation to the Client team (see Service Deliverables).

Service Deliverables

The following deliverables are provided in connection with this Service:

• High level Project Plan.
• VMC on AWS As-built documentation.
• Failover test results, which may include a basic functional overview to demonstrate the software capabilities.
• Configuration Guide, in Microsoft Word or Excel format, documenting the implementation described in the Service Scope section above.
• Project Completion Form.