OpenStack and VMware: when Pets and Cattle servers work together

If you read this blog, you probably know a lot about the OpenStack platform and how it manages the infrastructure as a service (mainly servers of the so-called “cattle” class). However, you can’t so knowledgeable about VMware technologies that have been used to manage virtualization services for quite a long time (in fact, servers of the so-called “pets” class), and in the last couple of development cycles have become part of the OpenStack ecosystem .

It turns out that the choice of the side in the competition between the servers of the type “pets” and the servers of the type “cattle” still does not speak about everything that you need to know about those and / or others. Moreover, each of them may be suitable for solving certain problems. If you spent more time in the era of pre-OpenStack server virtualization, understanding how to combine both these models will help to make this choice more of a set of options, less so with an all-or-nothing offer.


')

How is OpenStack suitable for this?

OpenStack replaces the product-specific chaotic API with tools to create an abstract cloud with computing and network components, as well as data storage components, and a single set of management APIs, most of which are further simplified by controlling the web management tools that provide the ability to create and administer the cloud method "pointed and clicked". The OpenStack system manages vendor components through drivers that (in most cases) the vendors themselves support as part of the OpenStack community. Thus, OpenStack allows community members to ensure close compatibility with the ecosystem through a joint abstraction, while ensuring ease of user access to what makes the contributions made by community members unique.

OpenStack distributions are usually shipped with deployment automation tools (usually scripts) that help implementation specialists create various cluster configurations. With proper design, these configurations can coexist within hardware pools.

Mirantis OpenStack with the Fuel control panel takes cluster configurations to a new level of ease of use, speed and flexibility, making it possible to quickly deploy and manage multiple cluster configurations using the principle of one window.

And how does VMware fit in?

Previously, OpenStack users could deploy VMWare in parallel with the OpenStack distribution using VMWare deployment tools. At best, it was difficult to manage and required two separate processes of deployment and management, as well as the use of at least two sets of tools to ensure the functioning of the corporate cloud.

But now, when Fuel is able to deploy vCenter and manage it (thanks to the VMWare vCenter plugin), it all made more sense. The operating mode of VMware solutions is the same as that of OpenStack clusters, and the virtual structure of VMware can be controlled through OpenStack components (Fuel, Horizon, etc.). A significant and obvious advantage is that you can now use the VMware workload, which is critical today for use by most cloud-based companies. But that's not all.

Just as simple, VMware virtualization level operators can use familiar VMware tools to look inside the OpenStack layer running on top, which provides new opportunities for quick troubleshooting, speeds up maintenance, and also tweaks clusters and hardware. This is where the situation “pets vs. cattle ”turns into a“ fun pen for different animals ”: the critical workload of an enterprise is built on ultra-stable, reliably emulated virtualization solutions from VMware along with universal cattle-type machines that are used to build cloud-enabled applications at high cost-effectiveness.

But that's not all. VMware virtualization tools are very effective (okay, “best in class”) in several key areas, and integrating OpenStack with VMware means that you can use these advanced solutions to increase uptime, efficiency and flexibility of your data center.

For example, you can use the VMWare NSX solution provided as a Neutron plug-in to build virtual networks in OpenStack with L2 segments, then connect them through L3 segments to each other, to WAN, endpoints, and the Internet. Another example: you can use the interface from OpenStack to manage VMotion from VMware's migration system to quickly move virtual machines to a cluster from existing host equipment, which makes maintenance easier and helps avoid long downtime.
By investing in the development of the OpenStack structure, VMware provides a tremendous service to both its own customers and members of the OpenStack community, providing the choice and the ability to create innovative clouds today without abandoning familiar and well-known tools or the need to modify the critical workload while using emerging innovations based on the cloud.