1. Build a hybrid SDDC by extending your on-premises VMware deployment to Oracle Cloud
  2. Architecture

Architecture

Oracle Cloud VMware Solution uses VMware HCX to provide application mobility and workload migration from your on-premises SDDC to Oracle Cloud VMware Solution.

HCX offers various services based on the type of the license purchased (Advanced or Enterprise). With Oracle Cloud VMware Solution, HCX is an add-on service with a separate license that is not included in monthly universal credit billing. Universal credits cover software licenses for vSphere, VMware vSAN, and VMware NSX.

HCX uses the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure FastConnect service for connectivity between your on-premises network and Oracle Cloud VMware Solution. FastConnect provides low-latency, high-throughput network connectivity with 1-Gbps and 10-Gbps port speeds, which helps to deliver seamless experience in hybrid cloud operations.

A typical operation for cloud administrators is to perform a live migration of VMs (by using vMotion), which requires a speed of 250 Mbps. However, with HCX WAN optimization, vMotion migrations can be performed at a lower speed of around 100 Mbps.

Review the High-Level Steps for Setting Up the Architecture

Following are the high-level steps for setting up VMware HCX with Oracle Cloud VMware Solution. These steps assume that network connectivity is already in place:

  1. Prepare for implementation:
    1. Deploy HCX Enterprise Manager at the source (on-premises) and in Oracle Cloud VMware Solution.
    2. Perform the initial configuration.
  2. Establish the hybrid state. At this stage, an SD-WAN tunnel is built.
    1. Pair the on-premises HCX Manager with the Oracle Cloud VMware Solution HCX Manager.
    2. Create the service mesh and interconnects. As an outcome of the service interconnect, HCX-IX, HCX-WAN-OPT, and HCX-NET-EXT appliances are deployed at the source and remote sites.
  3. Extend the network by stretching networks over FastConnect and the internet.
  4. Perform vMotion migration, bulk migrations, and cross-vCenter migration.
This diagram illustrates the architecture resulting from these steps:Description of hcx_ocvs_topology.png follows
Description of the illustration hcx_ocvs_topology.png

Understand HCX Services

The following HCX services are available for hybrid deployment in Oracle Cloud VMware Solution:

  • HCX Enterprise Manager: System management component on the on-premises side, which is always deployed as “source” (your on-premises network or another SDDC platform).
  • HCX Cloud/Enterprise Manager: System management component on the cloud side, which is always deployed as “destination” (Oracle Cloud VMware Solution).
  • HCX-IX: This interconnect service supports management, migration, replication, and disaster recovery operations. It’s deployed as a virtual appliance on the on-premises SDDC and Oracle Cloud VMware Solution.
  • HCX-WAN-OPT: This WAN optimization service works with the interconnect (HCX-IX) service to improve the network performance through a combination of deduplication, compression, and lineconditioning techniques. It’s deployed as a virtual appliance on the on-premises SDDC and Oracle Cloud VMware Solution.
  • HCX-NET-EXT: This network extension service helps stretch the layer 2 network between the on-premises SDDC and Oracle Cloud VMware Solution. It’s deployed as a virtual appliance on the on-premises SDDC and Oracle Cloud VMware Solution.