Extending NSX to public cloud and DR

[cbg2008]

Hi Experts,

Our scenario is below

NSX is running at both primary and Secondary DCs  (Federated NSX is in pipeline but not implemented yet)

Most of the applications are running Active/Standby between Primary and Secondary DC’s as in few are active in one DC and others are active in secondary DC but primary DC is hosting higher active applications. Plan is to leverage public cloud as well for catering burst requirements (long run) and also additional redundancy/public consumption. I came to know about few options like VMware cloud on AWS/Azure to extend similar on-premise infra to public cloud however I’d like to hear your expert advice for below

• What would be the best combination for NSX-T (Federated or solo) to extend similar infra of private cloud to extend it to public cloud, assuming Federated NSX-T can be a solution for DC/DR extension. I can share any specific details needed if above information is not helpful to conclude
• Let’s say there are some issues with primary DC like reachability from secondary DC or public cloud, can it automatically spin-off or make already provisioned VM’s in DR or public cloud with SRM? If not what could be the possibility here.
• How to synchronize VM states between DC and DR initially (may be public cloud in the long run) so as to preserve state and site recovery can be as smooth as it can.

Note: As of now applications are mostly consumed by internal staff, there may be a possibility of extending few to public (as this is for service provider) hence public cloud connectivity is came into the picture.

I am still beginner in the fascinating VMware world, please excuse if I am asking any silly questions.

[shank89]

Have a look into NSX Cloud https://www.vmware.com/au/products/nsx-cloud.html, it seems to be what you are after.

[cbg2008]

As nsx-cloud is for native public cloud policy enforcement, do we need to combine it with HCX?

[mauricioamorim · Accepted solution]

If you want VM mobility and redundancy using public clouds I would say NSX Cloud is not the best, as this is for native clouds. You can't simply take your workloads there. From what you said it seams that a VMware Cloud on a hyperscaler like VMC on AWS is the best fit. These clouds have HCX that give you the mobility you need and you can leverage replication with it or SRM or use services like DRaaS depending on what you need.

[shank89]

I tend to agree, I skipped over and only read AWS/Azure.  However if you can also use L2VPN for network extension in conjunction.

The HCX appliances also extend networks using tunneling between their appliances.

[Manuel35]

I know its VMware but it is networking inside VMware. I was wondering if any one has dealt with converting production networks onto VMware NSX VXLANs? How Painful was your experience?

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