In two-pod design, the Management pod is implemented as a cluster, governed by the first vCenter Server instance. The use of a cluster allows the components of the pod to benefit from cluster features such as resource management, high availability, and resiliency, to form the foundation of a carrier grade VIM. A second vCenter Server instance is deployed in the Management pod to oversee the Edge / Resource pod.
Two-Pod vCenter Server Design Each vCenter Server instance is a virtual appliance that is deployed with an embedded database. The vCenter Server Appliance is pre-configured, hardened, and fast to deploy. Use of the appliance allows for a simplified design, eases management, and reduces administrative efforts. The vCenter Server Appliance availability is ensured by using a three-node cluster. This consists of one active node that serves client requests, one passive node as backup in the event of failure, and one quorum node referred to as the witness node. Replication between nodes ensures that the vCenter Server Appliance data is always synchronized and up-to-date.
Two-Pod Virtual Networking Design with VMware NSX Manager Each NSX Manager has a 1:1 relationship with vCenter Server. Therefore, two NSX Managers are created in the management cluster. Figure 7 shows how the NSX Manager is used in a two-pod design.
Two-Pod vCloud Director Design vCloud Director connects to the vCenter Server instance that manages the Edge / Resource pod for storage and compute resources. vCloud Director is also connected to the NSX Manager instance associated with the Edge / Resource pod networking. Figure 8 illustrates the vCloud Director cell design and its association with other Management pod components.