Azure VMware Solution private cloud and cluster concepts
Azure VMware Solution delivers VMware-based private clouds in Azure. The private cloud hardware and software deployments are fully integrated and automated in Azure. You deploy and manage the private cloud through the Azure portal, CLI, or PowerShell.
A private cloud includes clusters with:
- Dedicated bare-metal server hosts provisioned with VMware ESXi hypervisor
- VMware vCenter Server for managing ESXi and vSAN
- VMware NSX-T Data Center software-defined networking for vSphere workload VMs
- VMware vSAN datastore for vSphere workload VMs
- VMware HCX for workload mobility
- Resources in the Azure underlay (required for connectivity and to operate the private cloud)
As with other resources, private clouds are installed and managed from within an Azure subscription. The number of private clouds within a subscription is scalable. Initially, there's a limit of one private cloud per subscription. There's a logical relationship between Azure subscriptions, Azure VMware Solution private clouds, vSAN clusters, and hosts.
The diagram shows a single Azure subscription with two private clouds that represent a development and production environment. In each of those private clouds are two clusters.
Hosts
Azure VMware Solution clusters are based upon hyper-converged infrastructure. The following table shows the CPU, memory, disk and network specifications of the host.
| Host Type | CPU (Cores/GHz) | RAM (GB) | vSAN Cache Tier (TB, raw) | vSAN Capacity Tier (TB, raw) | Network Interface Cards | Regional availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AV36 | Dual Intel Xeon Gold 6140 CPUs (Skylake microarchitecture) with 18 cores/CPU @ 2.3 GHz, Total 36 physical cores (72 logical cores with hyperthreading) | 576 | 3.2 (NVMe) | 15.20 (SSD) | 4x 25 Gb/s NICs (2 for management & control plane, 2 for customer traffic) | All product regions |
| AV36P | Dual Intel Xeon Gold 6240 CPUs (Cascade Lake microarchitecture) with 18 cores/CPU @ 2.6 GHz / 3.9 GHz Turbo, Total 36 physical cores (72 logical cores with hyperthreading) | 768 | 1.5 (Intel Cache) | 19.20 (NVMe) | 4x 25 Gb/s NICs (2 for management & control plane, 2 for customer traffic) | Selected regions (*) |
| AV52 | Dual Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 CPUs (Cascade Lake microarchitecture) with 26 cores/CPU @ 2.7 GHz / 4.0 GHz Turbo, Total 52 physical cores (104 logical cores with hyperthreading) | 1,536 | 1.5 (Intel Cache) | 38.40 (NVMe) | 4x 25 Gb/s NICs (2 for management & control plane, 2 for customer traffic) | Selected regions (*) |
An Azure VMware Solution cluster requires a minimum number of three hosts. You can only use hosts of the same type in a single Azure VMware Solution private cloud. Hosts used to build or scale clusters come from an isolated pool of hosts. Those hosts have passed hardware tests and have had all data securely deleted before being added to a cluster.
(*) details available via the Azure pricing calculator.
Clusters
For each private cloud created, there's one vSAN cluster by default. You can add, delete, and scale clusters. The minimum number of hosts per cluster and the initial deployment is three.
You use vCenter Server and NSX-T Manager to manage most aspects of cluster configuration and operation. All local storage of each host in a cluster is under the control of vSAN.
The Azure VMware Solution management and control plane has the following resource requirements that need to be accounted for during solution sizing.
| Area | Description | Provisioned vCPUs | Provisioned vRAM (GB) | Provisioned vDisk (GB) | Typical CPU Usage (GHz) | Typical vRAM Usage (GB) | Typical Raw vSAN Datastore Usage (GB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VMware vSphere | vCenter Server | 8 | 28 | 915 | 1.1 | 3.6 | 1,925 |
| VMware vSphere | vSphere Cluster Service VM 1 | 1 | 0.1 | 5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2 |
| VMware vSphere | vSphere Cluster Service VM 2 | 1 | 0.1 | 5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2 |
| VMware vSphere | vSphere Cluster Service VM 3 | 1 | 0.1 | 5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2 |
| VMware vSphere | ESXi node 1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 9.4 | 0.4 | N/A |
| VMware vSphere | ESXi node 2 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 9.4 | 0.4 | N/A |
| VMware vSphere | ESXi node 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 9.4 | 0.4 | N/A |
| VMware vSAN | vSAN System Usage | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 6,574 |
| VMware NSX-T Data Center | NSX-T Unified Appliance Node 1 | 6 | 24 | 300 | 5.5 | 8.5 | 613 |
| VMware NSX-T Data Center | NSX-T Unified Appliance Node 2 | 6 | 24 | 300 | 5.5 | 8.5 | 613 |
| VMware NSX-T Data Center | NSX-T Unified Appliance Node 3 | 6 | 24 | 300 | 5.5 | 8.5 | 613 |
| VMware NSX-T Data Center | NSX-T Edge VM 1 | 8 | 32 | 200 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 409 |
| VMware NSX-T Data Center | NSX-T Edge VM 2 | 8 | 32 | 200 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 409 |
| VMware HCX (Optional Add-On) | HCX Manager | 4 | 12 | 65 | 1 | 3.2 | 152 |
| VMware Site Recovery Manager (Optional Add-On) | SRM Appliance | 4 | 12 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 93 |
| VMware vSphere (Optional Add-On) | vSphere Replication Manager Appliance | 4 | 8 | 33 | 4.3 | 2.2 | 84 |
| VMware vSphere (Optional Add-On) | vSphere Replication Server Appliance | 2 | 1 | 33 | 1 | 0.1 | 84 |
| Total | 59 vCPUs | 197.3 GB | 2,394 GB | 56 GHz | 38.3 GB | 11,575 GB (9,646 GB with expected 1.2x Data Reduction ratio) |
These resource requirements only apply to the first cluster deployed in an Azure VMware Solution private cloud. Subsequent clusters only need to account for the vSphere Cluster Service, ESXi resource requirements and vSAN System Usage in solution sizing.
The virtual appliance Typical Raw vSAN Datastore Usage values account for the space occupied by virtual machine files, including configuration and log files, snapshots, virtual disks and swap files.
The VMware ESXi nodes have compute usage values that account for the vSphere VMkernel hypervisor overhead, vSAN overhead and NSX-T distributed router, firewall and bridging overhead. These are estimates for a standard three cluster configuration. The storage requirements are listed as not applicable (N/A) since a boot volume separate from the vSAN Datastore is used.
The VMware vSAN System Usage storage overhead accounts for vSAN performance management objects, vSAN file system overhead, vSAN checksum overhead and vSAN deduplication and compression overhead. To view this consumption, select the Monitor, vSAN Capacity object for the vSphere Cluster in the vSphere Client.
The VMware HCX and VMware Site Recovery Manager resource requirements are optional Add-Ons to the Azure VMware Solution service. Discount these requirements in the solution sizing if they are not being used.
The VMware Site Recovery Manager Add-On has the option of configuring multiple VMware vSphere Replication Server Appliances. The table above assumes one vSphere Replication Server appliance is used.
Sizing an Azure VMware Solution is an estimate; the sizing calculations from the design phase should be validated during the testing phase of a project to ensure the Azure VMware Solution has been sized correctly for the application workload.
Tip
You can always extend the cluster and add additional clusters later if you need to go beyond the initial deployment number.
The following table describes the maximum limits for Azure VMware Solution.
| Resource | Limit |
|---|---|
| vSphere clusters per private cloud | 12 |
| Minimum number of ESXi hosts per cluster | 3 (hard-limit) |
| Maximum number of ESXi hosts per cluster | 16 (hard-limit) |
| Maximum number of ESXi hosts per private cloud | 96 |
| Maximum number of vCenter Servers per private cloud | 1 (hard-limit) |
| Maximum number of HCX site pairings | 25 (any edition) |
| Maximum number of HCX service meshes | 10 (any edition) |
| Maximum number of Azure VMware Solution ExpressRoute linked private clouds from a single location to a single Virtual Network Gateway | 4 The virtual network gateway used determines the actual max linked private clouds. For more details, see About ExpressRoute virtual network gateways If you exceed this threshold use Azure VMware Solution Interconnect to aggregate private cloud connectivity within the Azure region. |
| Maximum Azure VMware Solution ExpressRoute port speed | 10 Gbps (use Ultra Performance Gateway SKU with FastPath enabled) The virtual network gateway used determines the actual bandwidth. For more details, see About ExpressRoute virtual network gateways |
| Maximum number of Azure Public IPv4 addresses assigned to NSX-T Data Center | 2,000 |
| Maximum number of Azure VMware Solution Interconnects per private cloud | 10 |
| vSAN capacity limits | 75% of total usable (keep 25% available for SLA) |
| VMware Site Recovery Manager - Maximum number of protected Virtual Machines | 3,000 |
| VMware Site Recovery Manager - Maximum number of Virtual Machines per recovery plan | 2,000 |
| VMware Site Recovery Manager - Maximum number of protection groups per recovery plan | 250 |
| VMware Site Recovery Manager - RPO Values | 5 min or higher * (hard-limit) |
| VMware Site Recovery Manager - Maximum number of virtual machines per protection group | 500 |
| VMware Site Recovery Manager - Maximum number of recovery plans | 250 |
* For information about Recovery Point Objective (RPO) lower than 15 minutes, see How the 5 Minute Recovery Point Objective Works in the vSphere Replication Administration guide.
For other VMware-specific limits, use the VMware configuration maximum tool.
VMware software versions
The VMware solution software versions used in new deployments of Azure VMware Solution private cloud clusters are:
| Software | Version |
|---|---|
| VMware vCenter Server | 7.0 U3k |
| VMware ESXi | 7.0 U3k |
| VMware vSAN | 7.0 U3 |
| VMware vSAN on-disk format | 15 |
| VMware HCX | 4.5.2 |
| VMware NSX-T Data Center NOTE: VMware NSX-T Data Center Advanced is the only supported version of NSX Data Center. |
3.2.2 |
The current running software version is applied to new clusters added to an existing private cloud.
Host maintenance and lifecycle management
One benefit of Azure VMware Solution private clouds is that the platform is maintained for you. Microsoft is responsible for the lifecycle management of VMware software (ESXi, vCenter Server, and vSAN). Microsoft is also responsible for the lifecycle management of the NSX-T Data Center appliances and bootstrapping the network configuration, like creating the Tier-0 gateway and enabling North-South routing. You’re responsible for the NSX-T Data Center SDN configuration: network segments, distributed firewall rules, Tier 1 gateways, and load balancers.
Note
A T0 gateway is created and configured as part of a private cloud deployment. Any modification to that logical router or the NSX-T Data Center edge node VMs could affect connectivity to your private cloud and should be avoided.
Microsoft is responsible for applying any patches, updates, or upgrades to ESXi, vCenter Server, vSAN, and NSX-T Data Center in your private cloud. The impact of patches, updates, and upgrades on ESXi, vCenter Server, and NSX-T Data Center has the following considerations:
ESXi - There's no impact to workloads running in your private cloud. Access to vCenter Server and NSX-T Data Center isn't blocked during this time. It's recommended that, during this time, you don't plan any other activities like: scaling up private cloud, scheduling or initiating active HCX migrations, making HCX configuration changes, and so on, in your private cloud.
vCenter Server - There's no impact to workloads running in your private cloud. During this time, vCenter Server will be unavailable and you won't be able to manage VMs (stop, start, create, or delete). It's recommended that, during this time, you don't plan any other activities like scaling up private cloud, creating new networks, and so on, in your private cloud. If you're using VMware Site Recovery Manager or vSphere Replication user interfaces, it's recommended to not configure vSphere Replication, and configure or execute site recovery plans during the vCenter Server upgrade.
NSX-T Data Center - There's workload impact and when a particular host is being upgraded, the VMs on that host might lose connectivity from 2 seconds to 1 minute with any of the following symptoms:
Ping errors
Packet loss
Error messages (for example, Destination Host Unreachable and Net unreachable)
During this upgrade window, all access to the NSX-T Data Center management plane will be blocked. You can't make configuration changes to the NSX-T Data Center environment for the duration. However, your workloads will continue to run as normal, subject to the upgrade impact detailed above.
It's recommended that, during the upgrade time, you don't plan any other activities like scaling up private cloud, and so on, in your private cloud. Other activities can prevent the upgrade from starting or could have adverse impacts on the upgrade and the environment.
You'll be notified through Azure Service Health that includes the timeline of the upgrade. This notification also provides details on the upgraded component, its effect on workloads, private cloud access, and other Azure services. You can reschedule an upgrade as needed.
Software updates include:
Patches - Security patches or bug fixes released by VMware
Updates - Minor version change of a VMware stack component
Upgrades - Major version change of a VMware stack component
Note
Microsoft tests a critical security patch as soon as it becomes available from VMware.
Documented VMware workarounds are implemented in lieu of installing a corresponding patch until the next scheduled updates are deployed.
Host monitoring and remediation
Azure VMware Solution continuously monitors the health of both the VMware components and underlay. When Azure VMware Solution detects a failure, it takes action to repair the failed components. When Azure VMware Solution detects a degradation or failure on an Azure VMware Solution node, it triggers the host remediation process.
Host remediation involves replacing the faulty node with a new healthy node in the cluster. Then, when possible, the faulty host is placed in VMware vSphere maintenance mode. VMware vMotion moves the VMs off the faulty host to other available servers in the cluster, potentially allowing zero downtime for live migration of workloads. If the faulty host can't be placed in maintenance mode, the host is removed from the cluster. Before the faulty host is removed, the customer workloads will be migrated to a newly added host.
Tip
Customer communication: An email is sent to the customer's email address before the replacement is initiated and again after the replacement is successful.
To receive emails related to host replacement, you need to be added to any of the following Azure RBAC roles in the subscription: 'ServiceAdmin', 'CoAdmin', 'Owner', 'Contributor'.
Azure VMware Solution monitors the following conditions on the host:
- Processor status
- Memory status
- Connection and power state
- Hardware fan status
- Network connectivity loss
- Hardware system board status
- Errors occurred on the disk(s) of a vSAN host
- Hardware voltage
- Hardware temperature status
- Hardware power status
- Storage status
- Connection failure
Note
Azure VMware Solution tenant admins must not edit or delete the previously defined VMware vCenter Server alarms because they are managed by the Azure VMware Solution control plane on vCenter Server. These alarms are used by Azure VMware Solution monitoring to trigger the Azure VMware Solution host remediation process.
Backup and restoration
Private cloud vCenter Server and NSX-T Data Center configurations are on an hourly backup schedule. Backups are kept for three days. If you need to restore from a backup, open a support request in the Azure portal to request restoration.
Azure VMware Solution continuously monitors the health of both the physical underlay and the VMware Solution components. When Azure VMware Solution detects a failure, it takes action to repair the failed components.
Next steps
Now that you've covered Azure VMware Solution private cloud concepts, you may want to learn about:
Feedback
Submit and view feedback for