In 2017, AWS and VMware brought VMware Cloud on AWS, the VMware enterprise-class Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) software for all vSphere-based workloads, to the AWS Cloud with optimized access to native AWS services. VMware Cloud on AWS provides dedicated, single-tenant cloud infrastructure, delivered on the next-generation bare-metal AWS infrastructure based on the latest Amazon EC2 storage optimized high I/O instances and featuring low-latency non-volatile memory express (NVMe) based SSDs.
Still, some customers have certain workloads that will likely need to remain on-premises such as applications that are latency sensitive, have to meet specific data residency needs, require local data processing, or need to be in close proximity to on-premises assets. These customers would like to be able to use the same VMware tools, APIs, and skill sets that they’ve been using to run their infrastructure on premises and seamlessly integrate these on-premises workloads with the rest of their applications in the AWS Cloud.
AWS and VMware are bringing the VMware Cloud on AWS experience on premises by announcing the general availability of VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts, VMware’s enterprise-class SDDC software deployed on AWS Nitro System-based EC2 bare-metal instances in AWS Outposts, a fully managed service that brings AWS infrastructure and services on premises for a truly consistent hybrid experience. VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts runs on AWS infrastructure within any location provided to us by the customer to support applications that require low latency and to accommodate local data processing and data residency needs as long as the network requirements are met.
| AWS Outposts | VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts | VMware Cloud on AWS | |
| Use cases | Low-latency compute, Local data processing, Data residency, Migration and modernization | Low-latency compute, Local data processing, Data residency, Migration and modernization with consistent VMware environments | Cloud Migrations, Data center extension, Disaster Recovery, Scalable VDI and DevTest, and App modernization |
| Control Plane | AWS console | VMware Cloud portal | |
| Software | AWS services | VMware SDDC built on AWS services* | |
| Infrastructure | AWS custom-built hardware | ||
| Hardware Location | Customers’ datacenters, co-location space, or on-premises facilities | AWS Regions | |
* VMware Cloud runs on Amazon Nitro System-based EC2 bare-metal instances provisioned in AWS Outposts or AWS Regions.
With VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts, you can remove the overhead associated with designing, procuring, and managing IT infrastructure, thereby improving IT efficiency. You can get operational consistency with a single pane of glass in vCenter that allows you to manage your SDDCs in the AWS Regions, on VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts, and in your self-managed on-premises VMware environments.
Preview with VMware on AWS Outposts
To get started with VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts, a group of experts from AWS or VMware will help you understand your specific requirements and sizing needs. Please contact your usual sales representatives from either AWS or VMware before the order.
After your requirements and site conditions are collected, you can simply log into the VMware Cloud Service Portal. Choose VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts from My Services, and start an order. This ordering process via the VMware Cloud Service Portal will be generally available by the end of VMware’s Q3FY22 fiscal quarter (October 29, 2021). If you need to order VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts sooner, contact your AWS or VMware representative.
This order initiates a process for us to collect the necessary site and installation information. You will receive an email confirmation once the order is successfully submitted and confirmed.
AWS will contact you to schedule and perform the site assessment. If your site is compliant with all requirements, then your Outpost will be ordered and installed on your site. Once the VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts capacity is delivered to your site and plugged into power and network connections, AWS will provision the Amazon EC2 instances for SDDC consumption. VMware will perform additional validation and notify you when the VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts service is available.
Next, you will be able to see the available capacity on the VMware Cloud Service Portal and create your SDDC as needed. The connection to your on-premises network is already configured based on the information we collected from the previous steps.
You will need to configure or use your own Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and subnet to connect. Workloads running on VMware Cloud on AWS Outpost communicate with other resources in your VPC through elastic network interface (ENI) the same way they do for VMware Cloud on AWS. Performance is subject to the service link connection to the parent AWS Region.
Things to Know
Here are a couple of things to keep in mind about VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts:
Support Process: Unlike AWS Outposts, the VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts service is operated and managed by AWS and VMware. VMware will be your first line of support for VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts. AWS will contact you regarding hardware-related maintenance and replacement. For all other issues, you can use the in-service chat support, which is available 24×5 in English across all global Regions or contact your enterprise support personnel from VMware.
Hybrid with Other Outposts: Similar to VMware Cloud on AWS, you can use ENI to connect your SDDCs to AWS services running on another AWS Outpost or in an AWS Region. VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts has been validated to function with native AWS services such as Amazon CloudWatch, AWS Systems Manager, and Amazon S3 from the connected VPC in the AWS Region. Also, it can fully integrate with all native AWS services such as Amazon EC2, S3, and Amazon RDS that are supported on a native AWS Outposts rack that exists in the same location. Please reach out to your AWS or VMware representative for additional assistance in setting up the connectivity between your Outpost and the nearest AWS Region.
Network Connectivity: While VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts requires reliable network connectivity to the nearest AWS Region, the SDDC continues functioning if network connectivity to the AWS Region is temporarily unavailable. However, the VMware Cloud control plane will be unavailable when network connectivity is down. SDDC configurations can be accessed but network functions such as creating a new logical network, deleting an existing logical network and modifying a logical network will fail. However, you can still access vCenter to perform VM operations, and your data remains safely stored on your Outpost during periods of disconnect.
Data Residency: Your data will remain on VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts by default. This is enabled through the local storage and VMware vSAN technology. You may choose to replicate some or all of your data to AWS Regions or VMware Cloud on AWS based on your specific residency requirements. Some limited metadata will flow back to the AWS Region and the VMware Cloud Service Platform. As an example, information about instance health, instance activity (launched, stopped), and the underlying hypervisor system may be sent back to the parent AWS Region. This information enables AWS to provide alerting on instance health and capacity and apply patches and updates to the Outpost.
Get started with VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts
We’re pleased to announce the general availability of VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts. It can be shipped to the United States and connected to an AWS Region where VMware Cloud on AWS is supported: US East (N. Virginia) or US West (Oregon). If you want to deploy VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts outside the United States or connect VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts to other AWS Regions, please contact your AWS or VMware sales representative.
You can contact your AWS or VMware sales representative to place an order. You will also be able to place an order via the VMware Cloud Service Portal by October 29, 2021. When purchasing through AWS, you can also take advantage of your existing AWS enterprise contracts and AWS field promotional programs such as Migration Acceleration Program (MAP).
To learn more, visit the VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts page. Please send feedback to the VMware forum for VMware on AWS or through your usual AWS support contacts.
– Channy