Deploying your first VMC SDDC is so easy, you can start creating new workloads in about 2 hours.
The official VMware documentation on deploying a VMC SDDC can be found here
It is also worthwhile reviewing the On-boarding Checklist for purchasing VMware Cloud on AWS, which can be found here
Ok, lets get to deploying our first SDDC
VMware Cloud Services Console
The VMware Cloud Console is where you have access to all your assigned VMware Cloud Services, one of these services includes VMware Cloud on AWS.
Open up https://console.cloud.vmware.com in your browser, it should look like the screenshot below.
The next step is to select the VMware Cloud on AWS tile from the “My Services” list. See above.
VMware Cloud on AWS Homepage
You should now see something similar to the below screenshot. Note: You may need to select SDDCs from the left hand menu.
If this is the first SDDC for your organization, you will see a big blue button in the middle of the console that says “Create SDDC”.
If there has been other SDDCs deployed, you will see those SDDCs on this page and in the top right hand corner of your screen you will see the button “Create SDDC”
Click “Create SDDC”
Create VMC SDDC
Now it is time to go through the 5 steps to deploy your SDDC, these steps are:
- SDDC Properties
- Connect to AWS
- VPC and Subnet
- Configure Network
- Review and Acknowledge
Step 1: SDDC Properties
SDDC properties is where will configure the AWS region we want to deploy our SDDC into, the deployment type (Single host, Multi-Host or Stretched Cluster), the Host Type, SDDC Name and the number of hosts.
a. The first step is to select the AWS region, I have selected Asia Pacific (Sydney)
b. Next, select the deployment type. I have selected Multi-Host.
Details for a Single Host deployment can be found here
Details for a Stretched Cluster deployment can be found here
c. Select the Host Type. I have selected i3 (Local SSD)
Details for VMC host types can be found here
d. Enter a name for the SDDC
e. Select the number of Hosts
For larger deployments (more than 30 hosts or 3000 VMs) select the “Show Advanced Configuration” and select the SDDC appliance size as “Large”. The default appliance size is Medium, which I will use. Further details on SDDC appliance sizes can be found here
f. Click Next
Step 2: Connect to AWS
When you deploy a SDDC on VMC, it is created within an VMware AWS account and a VPC dedicated to your organization and managed by VMware. You must also connect the SDDC to an AWS account belonging to you, called the customer AWS account . This connection allows your SDDC to access AWS services belonging to your customer account.
If this is your first SDDC, you will see the same view as the screenshot below. If you have deployed other SDDCs before you will also see a list of already available AWS accounts to choose from.
a. Select “Open AWS Console with Cloud Formation Template”
This will open a new tab in your browser and ask you to log into your AWS account.
See AWS VPC Configuration and Availability Requirements for important information about requirements for the AWS account and subnets you create in it.
b. Select “Create Stack” (this should take up to 5 minutes to complete)
Once the Cloud formation stack has completed creation go back to your VMC browser tab. It should say “Congratulation! Your connection is successfully established” similar to the below screenshot
c. Click Next
Step 3: Select VPC and Subnet
The next step is to select the VPC and Subnet that will be linked to the VMC SDDC. Remember this is your AWS VPC and Subnet, VMC will be deployed into the same availability zone (AZ) as the selected VPC / Subnet.
d. Select the VPC from the drop-down menu
e. Select the Subnet from the drop-down menu
f. Click Next
Step 4: Configure Network (Management Subnet)
The Management CIDR is used for all of the internal management components within the SDDC, such as the ESXi hosts (management, vMotion, and other interfaces), vCenter, NSX Manager, and any other fully-managed add-on components deployed into the SDDC, for example, HCX and Site Recovery appliances. It is not available for workload VMs and must be dedicated to the VMware managed components of the SDDC.
The Requirements for the Management CIDR are:
- Specify a private subnet range (RFC 1918) to be used for vCenter Server, NSX Manager, and ESXi hosts.
- Choose a range that will not overlap with other networks or SDDC group members that connect to this SDDC.
- Minimum CIDR sizes: /23 for up to 27 hosts, /20 for up to 251 hosts, /16 for up to 4091 hosts.
- Reserved CIDRs: 10.0.0.0/15, 172.31.0.0/16.
a. Input your selected Management Subnet
b. Click Next
Step 5: Review and Acknowledge
The final step is to accept the following two points
a. Charges start once your SDDC has finished deploying. Accrued charges will be billed at end of the month.
b. Pricing is per host-hour consumed for each host, from the time a host is launched until it is deleted.
c. Click Deploy SDDC
In just under 2 hours you will have your first SDDC deployed!