VMware Cloud Director 10.6.0.1 Overview

VMware Cloud Director 10.6.0.1 is a hyperscale cloud orchestration platform for enterprises and service providers to create and operate secure, multi-tenant environments. As a management layer on top of the AVS platform email, Cloud Director allows organizations to effectively partition their Azure infrastructure into scalable Virtual Data Centers (VDCs) and provides a single hybrid cloud experience.

VMware Cloud Director 10.6.0.1

Cloud Director automates how resources such as compute, networking, and storage are provisioned while providing a unified self-service portal for IT administrators. It is the logical choice for organizations pursuing lift and shift migration plans since it provides a simple way to transfer on-premise workloads to the Microsoft Azure public cloud without architecting or redesigning applications. Cloud Director provides capabilities to manage Kubernetes (Tanzu) clusters and sophisticated security measures (NSX-T) native to the Azure cloud platform. Cloud Director is the primary management solution for organizations that want to benefit from the capabilities provided by the global capabilities of Microsoft Azure, combined with the operational capabilities of VMware.

Features of VMware Cloud Director 10.6

VMware Cloud Director comes with many key features for service providers’ multi-tenant cloud.

  • The service provider can centrally manage all of their compute, storage, and networking resources. It is able to provide secure tenant isolation through role-based access control to all resources.
  • VMware Cloud Director’s self-service portal allows tenants to rapidly provision their virtual data centers. It is natively integrated with vSphere, vSAN, and NSX.
  • It provides tenants with advanced networking capabilities through software-defined networking (SDN) and microsegmentation.
  • VMware Cloud Director also includes built-in catalog services for VM templates and applications. Tenants can allocate only the resources they need with the pay-as-you-go consumption model.
  • It provides tenants with automation and orchestration via its RESTful APIs. Additionally, it includes integrated lifecycle management for virtual infrastructure.
  • Supports hybrid and multi-cloud deployments.
  • It supports high availability and fault tolerance for mission-critical workloads.
  • With VMware Cloud Director, tenants can manage their resources based on policies for quotas, leases, and governance.
  • It includes integrated monitoring, logging, and usage metering.
  • Supports an extensible architecture via plugins and third-party integrations.

VMware Cloud Director vs VMware Cloud Foundation

FeatureVMware Cloud DirectorVMware Cloud Foundation
PurposeCloud service managementCloud infrastructure platform
AudienceService providersEnterprises
FocusTenants & self-serviceSDDC automation
Multi-TenancyNative supportLimited
ComponentsVCD, vCenter, NSXvSphere, vSAN, NSX
Lifecycle MgmtBasicFull stack
Self-ServiceYesAdmin-focused
Use CasesPublic & hosted cloudPrivate & hybrid cloud
BillingBuilt-inExternal tools
DeploymentOn existing infraValidated stack

System Requirements

ComponentsRequirements
Product VersionVMware Cloud Director 10.6 (GA release)
Operating System (Server / Cell)Linux supported OS for manual install (per official guide) OR VMware Cloud Director appliance (Photon OS) for appliance deployments
CPUx86-64 processors, sensible vCPU to physical CPU ratio (avoid extreme over-commit)
Memory (RAM)Memory depends on sizing and expected scale; check Appliance Sizing Guidelines in official guide
Disk Space~2100 MB free per server for installation & log files plus space for data and logs (shared storage required for transfer service)
DatabasePostgreSQL supported versions (e.g., v13-v15) for external database; embedded PostgreSQL for appliance deployments
Shared StorageNFS or other shared storage volume accessible to all VMware Cloud Director servers for the transfer service
vSphere / ESXiVMware vCenter and ESXi hosts must be reachable and have necessary networking configured
NSX SupportNSX Data Center (NSX-V or NSX-T) integrated / registered as required by your tenant network design
Network & DNSForward/reverse DNS, NTP synchronization, dedicated networks between components required; proper firewall configuration
Shared Storage RequirementsExpandable shared storage for transfer service reachable by all cells
Browser SupportLatest web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) supported for UI access
DependenciesEnsure compatible vCenter, ESXi, NSX components per VMware Product Interoperability Matrix