Considering vCloud Director adoption - looking for input

[nahallac]

Hi there,

We have wide ranging requirements that we are looking to fulfil and would like to see if vCloud Director is the answer. Obviously I have a lot of reading to do, but I thought I would spark a discussion here and get some insight from those who have already rolled it out.

We are not a Service Provider, a consumer that at the moment vCD seems to be largely focussed on. However I was wondering if anyone has made use of it outside of an SP context?

We want a long term solution along the lines of Lab Manager. As that's now coming to end of life it seems that vCD is the logical replacement. Has anyone used it as a replacement as yet and if so how are you finding it?

Also, does anyone have insight as to whether VMware are possibly positioning it as a way of phasing out vCenter? I can't find anything online to suggest as such, so it is just a pie in the sky-ish thought...

I have more questions and will be able to describe our requirements in a fuller way, but I thought an excessively long opening post might frighten some off!

[mcowger]

I have a number of customers using it internally outside of the SP context - mostly for test/dev/qa systems.  Mostof them are like you and looking at it as a better, faster, more scalable replacement for LM.  I have one customer with over a 1000 users on it with north of 3000 VMs deployed, so you aren't alone.

As for vCenter - i highly doubt it.  vCloud is strongly dependent on vCenter server, and sits at a layer above. Even if it were intended as a replacement, given the developement effort that would need to happen, you'd bee looking at 3+ years effort.

[mcfadyenj]

I am using it in a health context primarily in dev / test / qa capacity as mentioned earlier.

It make the provisioning of complex integrated environments quite simple. There are some caveats around complex kerberos environments.

[nahallac]

Thank you both for your input. I understand that vCD has a vCenter dependency and that it would be a long term shift if it were to happen, I thought I would throw the thought out there regardless!

What source code repositories are you using and what tools (if any) are you using for your build and deployment processes? I know it has been announced that ElectricCommander is going to be closely aligned to vCloud Director, but does this just provide bells and whistles?

I am not in any way a build engineer, but I am keen to get a handle on what vCloud can do from that point of view before making an infrastructure decision.

[mcfadyenj]

vCD doesnt really get used in the same sense as a build / release process would work.

it really just glues a bunch of templates together into what it refers to as a vApp. I think if you were using vCO with vCD there would be more of a requirement for maintaining a source code repository as such.(that is if I understand exactly what you are asking).

I use vCO to automate the configuration of a vApp within vCD and really just use vCD for the vApp cloning process. I tend to look at vCD to be more like an imaging tool was to an unattended SOE project.

where vCO is more like the unattended process for creating the image (vApp)  template.

vCD acts much like ghost does in that equation and allows you to quickly replicate templates (vApps) of entire solutions.

I hope I didnt just confuse you more with that analogy 😉

[JayhawkEric]

We are a large user of Lab Manager, 2707 configuration deployments last month, and I have been looking at vCD for months now. 

We have only come across two snags in our Proof of Concept environment.  The first is the limitation of 500 vApps per organization.  The second is the vApp network does not auto connect to the organizational network when deploying a vApp from another organization.  We isolate our vApps with an internal vApp network and then they are NAT'd to the external network.  Users would have to change this network setting for each VM within a vApp unless they were in the organiztion the vApp Template was housed in.  I am currently working in vCenter Orchestrator to try and change this when a vApp is deployed.

Also, we currently use Electric Commander from Electric-Cloud to do our entire build and test process.  It rocks.  We do not have it setup in our vCD POC environment yet but I have a call with them next week on this.

[mcfadyenj]

sounds like vco would be a better candidate to deliver the vApp and add the networks.

i am not sure if electric commander could call a vco workflow. there is the amqp / soap plugins which could allow you to send messages to vco via commander

worth a look vco has the capacity to solve your issue just not sure if you can drive it easily from commander.

[JayhawkEric]

I am working with vCO but having troubles with the orginazional network.  I am able to get a list of VM's within a vApp and the vApp's internal network but not the organization network they are connected to.  Will post something on the vCO board as I assume where this needs to go to get that answer.