Can you run an enterprise workload on VMware Cloud on AWS?
There is a small list of enterprise-class deployments and integrations known to run on VMware Cloud on AWS, but not all complex workloads are suited to the cloud yet.
A growing list of proven cloud deployments demonstrates suitable results for running enterprise-class workloads in the cloud, and services such as VMware Cloud on AWS can simplify the migration of complex workloads from a local data center to a public cloud and back again.
Generally, the most challenging enterprise-class workloads are those that make unusual or specific resource demands. For example, applications that require a large amount of memory, need many CPUs or pose extreme sensitivity to storage or network latencies might have trouble operating within the confines of fixed VM instances. When this occurs, the application might run in such a way that it creates unacceptable UX. In extreme cases, the application might not even start.
Fortunately, the fluid nature of the public cloud enables organizations to test and validate applications in the cloud before they ever enter production, which reduces the actual risk of such problems -- the application can run from the local data center. However, it's getting easier to deploy enterprise-class workloads in the public cloud as the menu of available cloud instances and complementary services, such as load balancing, expands and proliferates. In addition, many vendors are designing and coding more applications to optimize the use of cloud resources.
Some critical workloads proven to run on VMware Cloud on AWS include Microsoft Exchange for email; SAP HANA, Oracle Database and Microsoft SQL Server for database tasks; Oracle Real Application Clusters for high availability tasks; and SAP S/4HANA for ERP operations.
The decision to migrate an enterprise-class workload to the public cloud involves various considerations.
VMware Cloud on AWS also integrates with numerous technologies, including Dell EMC NetWorker for physical and VM backup; Dell EMC Avamar for backup and recovery of VMware environments; F5 Networks BIG-IP Virtual Edition 12.x for application delivery networking; Hitachi Content Platform and Hitachi Data Ingestor for data management and utilization; NetApp OnTap Cloud supporting Network File System, Common Internet File System and iSCSI data management for AWS Elastic Block Store storage; and Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Security Platform for cloud data security.
However, this is just a small list of known deployments and integrations, and there is no guarantee that any enterprise workload will run efficiently in the cloud -- yet. The decision to migrate an enterprise-class workload to the public cloud involves various considerations ranging from granular factors, such as performance, availability, stability and support (could we run the workload in a public cloud?) to broader issues, including compliance and security (should we run the workload in a public cloud?).
There is no substitute for testing and validation in advance before committing a workload migration to production.
