UPDATED 08:00 EDT / JULY 15 2020

CLOUD

VMware makes its Cloud on AWS service more accessible

Virtualization software company VMware Inc. announced some new updates today that it says should make it easier and more affordable for enterprises to migrate and run their applications on the VMware Cloud on AWS hybrid cloud service.

VMware Cloud on AWS is a hybrid cloud service that runs VMware’s software-defined data center stack in Amazon Web Services Inc.’s public cloud. It’s used for managing virtual machines and orchestrating software containers that host the components of modern applications that can run on any infrastructure, and is built on full-stack hyperconverged infrastructure technology.

AWS provides the elastic, or scalable, “bare-metal” infrastructure on top of which VMware positions its SDDC stack, which includes its NSX, vSphere and vSAN products. With a single architecture, VMware Cloud on AWS enables consistent, secure infrastructure and operations across private and public clouds, while also providing optimized access to Amazon’s range of cloud services, the companies say.

VMware Cloud on AWS can support many types of workloads, including SQL Server migrations, Oracle database migrations and SAP workloads. One of its main advantages for customers is that it enables them to scale up capacity during busy times as required, while using less resources during quieter times.

VMware said it’s adding a new bare-metal instance type, that is one on which operating software isn’t installed, that’s meant to improve the economic value of VMware Cloud on AWS for certain types of workloads. The i3en.metal Instance is based on Intel Corp.’s second-generation Xeon Scalable processors that deliver almost 50% lower costs per gigabyte of raw storage. They also boast low latency, Non-Volatile Memory Express solid-state disk capacity for applications that need to access large volumes of data.

As a result, the instances are best-suited for what VMware calls “storage-dense workloads” that demand high performance requirements, such as data center migration and disaster recovery projects.

To save more on costs, VMware has also introduced a two-host SDDC configuration that it says reduces the entry price for production environments by as much as 33%. The new cluster enables a smaller minimum environment for production workloads to be created, which means customers can get started on VMware Cloud on AWS with lower upfront costs.

Moving on, VMware said it has created a new multitenant cloud management service called VMware Cloud Director that it says will enable its managed service provider partners or MSPs to support between five and 10 times more customers at no additional cost.

“Cloud Director service is a key capability that many of VMware’s managed service providers and cloud partner providers take advantage of to provide multitenant services,” Dave Brown, vice president of EC2 services at AWS, said in a briefing. “We’ve now enabled that capability as a service on top of VMware cloud on AWS. It enables MSPs to service may more customers at a lower cost. They can also deliver their own customized experience with branding around it.”

In another update, VMware said it’s adding support for VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid, which gives customers an easier way to deploy, manage and scale container-based applications on the service. Tanzu Kubernetes Grid provides advanced networking, a private container registry and lifecycle management tools that make it possible to run and manage containers at scale on both private and public clouds.

Finally, VMware is expanding customers’ networking options with the addition of VMware Transit Connect in preview. The new feature is based on the AWS Transit Gateway service and provides high-bandwidth, low-latency and resilient connectivity that’s easier to set up with automated provisioning and controls.

“The idea is to let customers build advanced and scalable networks within AWS and also to connect deeply with their on-premises locations for edge consolidation,” Brown said.

Kit Colbert, vice president and chief technology officer of VMware’s Cloud Platform business unit, talked with SiliconANGLE’s video studio theCUBE about the new services, in particular the new bare-metal offering (below). TheCUBE also interviewed several other VMware and AWS executives and customers about the various aspects of the deal.

“We can migrate you off your on-premises infrastructure to this modernized cloud infrastructure that is VMware Cloud on AWS,” said Colbert. “Once you have that modernized infrastructure, it makes it much easier to modernize your applications. The most valuable aspect of the approach we’ve taken here is the ability to get the quick business wins that you need and then take the time to think about how to modernize.”

With reporting from Paul Gillin

Photo: Robert Hof/SiliconANGLE

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