The cloud deployment architecture of VMware Cloud Director Availability relies on symmetrical replication operations between cloud environments. Deploying multiple VMware Cloud Director Availability instances under one VMware Cloud Director™ allows granular access to multiple provider virtual data centers (PVDC) representing separate sites.

Test and Development Deployment

In a test and a development environment, you can deploy the simplest architecture. In the cloud site, a single Combined Appliance hosts the Tunnel Service, the Manager Service, the Cloud Service, and the Replicator Service.

The components with no color in the diagrams represent existing components in the VMware Cloud Director environments. The colored components represent the VMware Cloud Director Availability services deployed during the installation and initial configuration. The color of the components indicates which services participate for each replication direction. VMware Cloud Director Availability always places the replication at the destination site. For example, a protection from Cloud Site 1 to Cloud Site 2 uses the VMware Cloud Director Availability services of Cloud Site 2.

Production Deployment

In a production environment, you deploy and configure a Cloud Tunnel Appliance, a Cloud Replication Management Appliance and one or more Cloud Replicator Appliances.

For information about the network connectivity between the services and the cloud sites, see Network Requirements and for information about each service, see Services.

Deploying Multiple VMware Cloud Director Availability Instances in VMware Cloud Director

In a production cloud site, you can deploy one or more VMware Cloud Director Availability instances, distributed in Provider VDCs.
  • Each VMware Cloud Director Availability instance connects to one vCenter Server Lookup service for one Single Sign-On (SSO) domain and can access all the organization virtual data centers (OrgVDC) of the organizations, part of the PVDC.
  • A single VMware Cloud Director instance manages all VMware Cloud Director Availability instances, for both a replication source or a replication destination. Each VMware Cloud Director Availability instance registers as a plug-in with its local site name in VMware Cloud Director.
  • In VMware Cloud Director Availability, each PVDC represents a cloud site and the replication traffic can transit directly and securely between each site. In each VMware Cloud Director Availability instance, the service provider controls the accessible PVDC for that instance.
  • In SSO domain 1, VMware Cloud Director Availability instance 1 connects to vCenter Server Lookup service 1 and can access the organization virtual data centers of organizations X and Y, part of PVDC A and B, respectively.
  • In SSO domain 2, VMware Cloud Director Availability instance 2 connects to vCenter Server Lookup service 2 and can access the organization virtual data centers of organizations X and Y, part of PVDC C and the organization virtual data center of organization X, part of PVDC D.
  • In SSO domain N, VMware Cloud Director Availability instance N connects to vCenter Server Lookup service N and can access the organization virtual data center of organization Z, part of PVDC N.