Offering comparison chart
Review the following information to understand the differences in feature support between the various IBM Cloud® for VMware Solutions offerings.
vCenter Server vs VMware vSphere
Review the following table to understand the differences in feature support for VMware vCenter Server® and VMware vSphere® instances.
| Feature | vCenter Server | VMware vSphere |
|---|---|---|
| Powered by IBM® advanced automation[1] | Yes | No. Self-built and configured. |
| Storage options |
|
NFS, vSAN, or iSCSI - available with manual configuration |
| Number of ESXi™ servers in the initial cluster |
For vSAN: 4 servers For NFS:
|
No limitation. One or more ESXi servers as allowed on the console. For example, you can deploy a 3-node vSAN cluster with FTT=1. |
| Maximum number of ESXi servers |
|
59 per cluster |
| Cloud automated multisite deployment | Supported for new instances | Supported. Automated configuration - not included. |
| Add or remove ESXi servers | Supported | Supported. Automated configuration - not included. |
| Multicluster support | Maximum number depends on VMware® by Broadcom sizing guidelines | Supported. Automated configuration - not included. |
| Client-managed updating and patching of VMware stack | Client-managed updates - Native VMware tools (VMware Update Manager™)[2] | Client-managed updates - Native VMware tools (VMware Update Manager) |
| Backup and restore | Manually, by using Veeam® | Backup and restore solution - not included |
| Software-defined networking[3] | NSX DC SP Base, Professional, Advanced, or Enterprise Plus | NSX DC SP Base, Professional, Advanced, or Enterprise Plus. Automated configuration - not included. |
| NSX license upgrade options[4] | Upgrade available from NSX Advanced to Enterprise. | None |
| vSAN license editions | vSAN Advanced or Enterprise | vSAN Advanced or Enterprise |
| Add-on services | Supported[5] | Not supported by the automation of this solution. You can bring and install your own software. |
vCenter Server vs VMware Regulated Workloads
Review the following table to understand the differences in feature support for vCenter Server instances and VMware Regulated Workloads.
| Feature | vCenter Server | Regulated Workloads |
|---|---|---|
| NSX edition | NSX DC SP Base, Professional, Advanced, or Enterprise Plus | NSX DC SP Advanced or Enterprise Plus |
| NFS | Optional | Not allowed |
| vSAN | Optional | Required |
| Consolidated cluster | Optional | Optional |
| Separate management cluster | Supported | Supported |
| Minimum number of ESXi servers |
|
6 servers:
|
| Gateway cluster | Optional | Required. Juniper vSRX, FortiGate Virtual Appliance, Bring your own gateway, or FortiGate Security Appliance. |
| Logging and monitoring with VMware Aria® Operations™ and VMware Aria Operations™ for Logs | Optional | Required |
| Compliance with Caveonix | Optional | Required |
| Caveonix pricing | Per VM | Per host |
| Key encryption | Key Protect or Hyper Protect Crypto Services | Hyper Protect Crypto Services required |
| Direct Link | Optional | Required for private only instances |
| Backup | Veeam (opt out) | Veeam Backup and Replication 12 required with option to remove on Day 2 |
| Veeam backup server | Optional (opt out) | Required with option to remove on Day 2 |
| Disaster recovery | Veeam or Zerto | Veeam |
| Migration | HCX, Zerto, or PrimaryIO Migrations | HCX (optional) |
| Financial Services Cloud with policy framework | No | Yes |