You can select virtual machines to determine which of the preferred data centers (along with a specific choice of cluster or default cheapest cluster) are best fit from both cost effectiveness and capacity requirements perspective. The comparison helps you to find the right data center to place the workload from cost and capacity perspective.

Where You Find What-If Analysis – Data Center Comparison

In the left menu, click Plan > Capacity. The Capacity Plan page opens. Click What-If Analysis and in the What-If Analysis page, click the ADD button. Click COMPARE DATACENTERS in the Datacenter Comparison: Private Cloud tile.

How What-If Analysis - data center Comparison Works

This feature of Capacity Optimization lets you to compare cost across data centers within the private cloud environment. After you select the Datacenter Comparison screen, choose one or more data centers to compare the cost and run the scenario. vRealize Operations suggests which data center is most cost effective for the selected workload.

In defining the profile of your workload, you have two options:
  • Configure the workload manually by specifying CPU, memory, disk space, expected utilization, and annual projected growth.
  • Use an existing VM or VMs as templates, importing all the attributes of the selected VMs to your workload scenario. The system allows you to specify how many copies of each selected VM you want to add to the proposed workload.

When you have set the profile for comparing the workload, run the scenario to get the vRealize Operations analysis and assessment of your plan. You can select up to three data centers to compare results. Alternatively, you can save the scenario to edit or run later. A list of saved scenarios is available in the Saved Scenarios tab on the What-If analysis page.

Cost varies from one data center to another depending on cost settings, which include cost drivers such as servers, facility, power, labor, license, network, and storage.

The data center comparison feature solves this problem by allowing you to select a data center which suits your requirement, is least expensive, and has adequate capacity.