On Wednesday, November 18, a few of our team members hosted a #vRealizeChat about how vRealize Cloud Management fits with VMware Cloud on AWS. We asked our questions to an impressive guestlist of experts, including John DiasSunny DuaThomas Bryant, Vincent Riccio, and Eric Gray.  In case you missed it, here’s what we discussed, so you are all caught up. Within this blog, just click on the [Link] to see it in Twitter.

 

 

Q1: In basic terms, can you explain how #vRealize and @vmwarecloudaws work together?  Why is it important? #vRealizeChat #VMWonAWS [link]

  • John Dias: A1: 🔎 It comes down to three use cases🔍: Cloud Migration, DC Extension and App Modernization enabled by #VMWonAWS and accelerated with #vRealize Cloud Management. More info here 👉 https://cloud.vmware.com/vmc-aws/use-cases
  • Sunny Dua: A1: The @vmwarecloudmgmt solutions provide powerful capabilities to enable the use cases of Cloud Migration, Datacenter Extension, and App Modernization on @vmwarecloudaws.
  • Thomas Bryant: #vRealize allows customers to take advantage of the full capabilities of VMC for migrations, data center extensions or any other use cases you can think of. It gives customers a comprehensive and easy to use management plane.
  • Vincent Ricco: You have invested in @vmwarecloudaws and are enjoying the capabilities of a hybrid cloud ☁️, a Self-Service portal allow for organizations build a “cloud” experience for their organization. #vRealize components like @vmwarensx and @vmwarevsan.
  • Eric Gray: One benefit of the integration is advanced self-service access for developers that are working on apps of all types – traditional VMs, Kubernetes, cloud-native, and more!

 

Q2. What are the benefits of #vRealize with #VMWonAWS? Why do teams need it? #vRealizeChat [link]

  • John: A2: “Cloud moves pretty fast. If you don’t operate hybrid cloud like a public cloud you could miss out!” Speed of delivery, innovation and ops efficiency are key benefits for #vRealize w/ #VMWonAWS.
  • Sunny: A2: #vRealize Cloud Services help extend the power of the #VMWonAWS by enabling use cases that can help you create an #IaaS layer that allows a business to rapidly consume innovative IT services with efficient operational practices.
  • Thomas: Users get the same experience every time, IT gets the same performance all the time, everyone is happy all the time! In one word? Consistency.
  • Vincent: #vRealize can help your teams in many ways to quickly deploy applications and services, use IaC and #HCX to quickly migrate, agnostically deploy between on-prem and #VMWonAWS. Build an IaaS layer and then even use cool pipelines to orchestrate!
  • Eric: Rapid service delivery: focus on business innovation instead of tedious manual workflows  https://blogs.vmware.com/management/2020/05/self-service-vmware-cloud-aws-vrealize-automation-part1.html

 

Q3. Can #vRealize on-prem and SaaS solutions integrate with #VMWonAWS? ☁️ Which do you recommend and why? #vRealizeChat  [link]

 

Q4: Will #vRealize help teams migrate from on-prem to #VMWonAWS? How so? #vRealizeChat  [link]

  • John: A4: Oh yes, #vRealize makes it easy-peasy Lemon squeezy with the @vRealizeOps  Management Pack for HCX to monitor, report and alert on HCX components and services. https://marketplace.cloud.vmware.com/services/details/vrealize-operations-management-pack-for-hcx-5-1
  • Sunny: A4: #vRealize Supports multiple use cases in #VMConAWS cloud journey. Migration is where it all starts, and it is the most popular use case for sure. #vRealize helps you Discover, Plan & Roll out migrations in combination with @vmwareHCX.
  • Thomas: What should I move first? What VMs talk to other VMs? Can I move an application as a whole? What about egress/ingress? vRealize can help customers understand everything they need to know about migrating workloads.
  • Vincent: #vRealize can help teams migrate from on-prem to #VMWonAWS. Between #vROPS and #vRA and #vRNI & HCX customers can plan, migrate, operationalize and automate their hybrid cloud.

 

Q5. Are there any prerequisites for installation? What is the first step teams should take? [link]

 

Q6. What if teams are already using @vmwarecloudaws? Can and should they still manage #VMWonAWS with #vRealize? #vRealizeChat  [link]

  • John: A6: If you’re already using @vmwarecloudaws and you aren’t using #vRealize, you are not getting the full benefit of #VMWonAWS for improved efficiency, self-service, speed of delivery and more. What are you ⌚︎ waiting ⌚ for?
  • Sunny: A6: It’s never too late to join the party. Whether greenfield or brownfield, you get value as soon as you connect #vRealize with #VMConAWS SDDCs.
  • Thomas: Add in management. I’m a big fan of trying to get everything under one roof of management. We have to break down those silos!
  • Vincent: Yes! A lot of the same benefits that our customer who run #vSphere and benefit from #vRealize can still benefit using it on #VMWonAWS since that is a SDDC in the #cloud.
  • Eric: A6: Yes, and it’s easy to get started! https://blogs.vmware.com/management/2020/05/self-service-vmware-cloud-aws-vrealize-automation-part1.html

 

Q7. What types of triggers can users create in their #VMWonAWS environment? #vRealizeChat  [link]

  • John: A7: With #vRealize managing your SDDC? Capacity, performance, compliance, configuration, deployment, rightsizing, placement, log events, usage … should I continue?
  • Sunny: A7: Extensibility is the key to the cloud. Event-driven actions to automate day to day operations and self-healing is the key to cloud #vRealize makes it possible with #VMConAWS #VMWonAWS #vROPS #vRA #vRNI #vRLI. Actions with ABX, vRO, & Python actions – You have a choice.
  • Vincent: #vRealizeAuto has a great subscription based event system that can run scripts in response to events. With our recent acquisition of #SaltStack we have cool stuff like reactor/beacons now!
  • Eric: A7: Subscriptions are event-based triggers that can be tied to Actions (scripts) https://blogs.vmware.com/management/2020/03/vra-abx-powershell.html

 

Q8. Which products in the #vRealize portfolio can be used to orchestrate and monitor native AWS services? #VMWonAWS #vRealizeChat  [link]

  • John: A8: Pretty much everything in the portfolio @vRealizeOps @vRealizeAuto @VMLogInsight @VMWNetInsight all have OOTB native support for AWS services.
  • Sunny: A8: That’s a wrong question. Ask which cannot. The answer is NONE – All #vRealize services are #multicloud from the get-go. Whether it is @awscloud, @Azure, or @GCPcloud – We got’em all…
  • Thomas: A8: All of the #vRealize products can enhance your experience with native AWS services. The idea with any solution, especially #vRealize, is to provide MORE value the more you extend it into your infrastructure (private or public).
  • Vincent: A8: #vRealize is a purpose built multi-cloud portfolio. #vRealizeAutomation has OOTB AWS native services available to configure and deploy like S3 or RDS, EC2 and more! @vRealizeOps can monitor AWS services.
  • Eric: Templates can include a wide range of elements, from VMs to Lambda functions; also Actions are scripts in Python/PowerShell and can use IAM roles https://blogs.vmware.com/management/?s=abx

 

Q9. How can teams control access to different resources offered by #vRealize products, like @vRealizeAuto? #vRealizeChat #VMWonAWS  [link]

 

Q10. Describe the working relationship between #VMWonAWS and #vRealize using your favorite animal GIF! We’ll start… 

 

Dog Walking GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

 

It was great answering questions about why organizations should use vRealize Cloud Management with VMware Cloud on AWS. Thank you to all those that engaged our experts, and feel free to ask your questions anytime!  Find out more about VMware Cloud on AWS and vRealize Cloud Management here: