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Raspoutitsa
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Multiple Vcenter and best practice

Dear all,

I need an advice about my Vcenter 6.0 architecture.

We have twenty sites accross the world, each one have his proper Vcenter Server.

Each Vcenter Server is unique on each site we have no cluster, no HA and no DRS, I know it's not the best case.

I would like to create a new "super" vcenter wich it will superseed the other ones (but we will keep local vcenter). The goal is to have all VM informations in one space and on the other hand to have always at least one Vcenter available.

Is my plan possible ?

Thanks.

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mprazeres183
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Hi again,

Well we use a product called Turbonomic for that.
We tryied it in Linked mode but we use some T1 and T3 satelite connection on some of the countryies and to use it with a linked mode it was a nightmare.

vCenter will always connect in the background to each vCenter to get the status, and let's say you install a new Host somewhere or in multiple locations you will have to acknowledge the new SSL Certification again and again, and if you choose next time another vCenter as the starting point, you will have to do that again. As it only stores whatever you do from the vCenter you are accessing it.

This is not the solution you wan't to go, if you are big. Then you usually work with a software provider as we do it to get the benefit of a global vCenter (without calling it that way).

But it can work for 90% of the customers, it won't work for the big companies if they want it to work as a fluent and speedy way.

Check my blog, and if my answere resolved the issue, please provide a feedback. Marco Frias - VMware is my World www.vmtn.blog

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mprazeres183
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Hi Raspoutitsa

There is a great Blog for that, please check this site: How to properly architect and deploy vCenter 6.0 - Jonathan McDonald - VMware Blogs

When you go to the Enhanced Linked Mode section you will find how you can handle this.

However here are my 2 cents on this.

We run 180 Sites Worldwide (Governament Sites).
All our sites are are as you said also vCenter installations, but I would never use Enhanced Linked Mode for that. There are a lot of things that you do not want to run in to.

Like disconnections, due to network problems. the vCenters who maight not be responsive and so on.
Whenver you use Enhanced Linked mode, you do not have vCenters locally they become all the part of your so called "super" vCenter, because it dosn't matter to wich you connect, you will always see all vCenters attached and be able to manage them

However, you are saying that you are not using the features of the vCenter, like HA, DRS and so on. So if this case it maight work for you.
It's someting you could test without breaking your current installation.

You can just install on each Worlwide location a VCSA and install it as on the BLOG that I posted.
Then you can enable the Enhanced Linked Mode and maybe just add 1 Host to each vCenter and test the connectivity, if this is ok for you, you can then just connect each other Host to the vCenter on their location and then just delete the "OLD" vCenters you where using.

Best luck,
Marco

Check my blog, and if my answere resolved the issue, please provide a feedback. Marco Frias - VMware is my World www.vmtn.blog
Raspoutitsa
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Thank you for your reply, I am checking your link.

As I understand, you have, like me, several vcenter but you don't use Linked mode.

I cannot imagine that you have to connect on each Vcenter to retrieve information like VM status or alarm.So, how do you get a global vision of yours Virtual Machine network ?

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mprazeres183
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Hi again,

Well we use a product called Turbonomic for that.
We tryied it in Linked mode but we use some T1 and T3 satelite connection on some of the countryies and to use it with a linked mode it was a nightmare.

vCenter will always connect in the background to each vCenter to get the status, and let's say you install a new Host somewhere or in multiple locations you will have to acknowledge the new SSL Certification again and again, and if you choose next time another vCenter as the starting point, you will have to do that again. As it only stores whatever you do from the vCenter you are accessing it.

This is not the solution you wan't to go, if you are big. Then you usually work with a software provider as we do it to get the benefit of a global vCenter (without calling it that way).

But it can work for 90% of the customers, it won't work for the big companies if they want it to work as a fluent and speedy way.

Check my blog, and if my answere resolved the issue, please provide a feedback. Marco Frias - VMware is my World www.vmtn.blog
Raspoutitsa
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Thanks for your help.

Best regards.

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