vSphere and Cloud Computing

As defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), cloud computing is a
model for the ubiquitous, convenient, and on-demand network access to a shared pool of
configurable computing resources.

For example, networks, servers, storage, applications, and services can be rapidly provisioned and
released with minimal management effort or little service provider interaction.

vSphere is the foundation for the technology that supports shared and configurable resource pools.

vSphere abstracts the physical resources of the data center to separate the workload from the
physical hardware. A software user interface can provide the framework for managing and
maintaining this abstraction and allocation.

VMware Cloud Foundation is the unified SDDC platform that bundles vSphere (ESXi and
vCenter Server), vSAN, and NSX into a natively integrated stack to deliver enterprise-ready cloud
infrastructure. VMware Cloud Foundation discovers the hardware, installs the VMware stack
(ESXi, vCenter Server, vSAN, and NSX), manages updates, and performs lifecycle management.

VMware Cloud Foundation can be self-deployed on compatible hardware or preloaded by partners and can be used in both private and public clouds (VMware Cloud on AWS or VMware cloud
providers).

Use cases:

· Cloud infrastructure: Exploit the high performance, availability, and scalability of the SDDC
to run mission-critical applications such as databases, web applications, and virtual desktop
infrastructure (VDI).

· IT automation: Automate infrastructure and application delivery with self-service capabilities.

· VDI: Provide a complete solution for VDI deployment at scale. It simplifies the planning and
design with standardized and tested solutions fully optimized for VDI workloads.

· Hybrid cloud: Build a hybrid cloud with a common infrastructure and a consistent operational
model, connecting your on-premises and off-premises data center that is compatible,
stretched, and distributed.