The designs discussed in this reference architecture can be deployed in the data center to meet target design and scale objectives. Two design configurations are possible, a compact Two-Pod configuration and a Three-Pod configuration.
Three-Pod Configuration The Three-Pod design completely separates the vCloud NFV functional blocks by using a Management Pod, Edge Pod, and Resource Pod for their functions. The initial deployment of a Three-Pod design consists of three vSphere clusters, respectively one cluster per Pod. Clusters are scaled up by adding ESXi hosts, whereas Pods are scaled up by adding clusters. The separation of management, Edge, and resource functions in individually scalable Pods allows the CSPs to plan capacity according to the needs of the specific function that each Pod hosts. This provides greater operational flexibility.
Two-Pod Configuration The vCloud NFV OpenStack Edition facilitates combining the Edge and resource functionality in a single, collapsed Pod that provides a small footprint. CSPs can use a Two-Pod design to gain operational experience with the vCloud NFV OpenStack Edition platform. As demand grows, they can scale up and scale out within the Two-Pod construct.