HCX architecture is composed of several components or virtual appliances. These virtual appliances are deployed symmetrically at both the source and destination sites. HCX appliances provide a range of management and network services, such as migration and network extension.
The first component we’ll review is the HCX Manager.
VMware HCX is first deployed via the HCX Manager virtual appliance and a vCenter plugin that enables the HCX UI to be integrated into the vSphere Client. Once the HCX Manager virtual appliance is deployed, it’s responsible for orchestrating the deployment of all other appliances through a service mesh. The following figure illustrates the site pairing between the source HCX Connector and the HCX Cloud Manager:
Figure 3.2 – HCX Cloud Manager pairing between on-premises and the cloud
The service mesh defines what HCX services are enabled between the paired sites and includes the following components:
- An HCX Interconnect appliance
- An HCX Network Extension appliance
- An HCX WAN optimization appliance
You also define the resource containers to be used on-premises to deploy appliances and the network path for communication between them. On VMware Cloud on AWS, all HCX appliances are deployed into the management resource pool and attached to the Management Gateway (MGW). Required firewall rules are created automatically during the service mesh deployment. Depending on the available network connectivity between on-premises and the VMware Cloud on AWS SDDC, you can choose between connecting appliances using the following methods:
- Internet
- AWS Direct Connect
You can deploy multiple service meshes between the same site pairs to improve the migration performance and fully utilize the available cross-site link.
Let us review the functions of different appliances.
HCX Interconnect
The HCX Interconnect (HCI-IX) appliance offers virtual machine (VM) mobility services using the VMware vSphere Replication, vMotion, and Network File Copy (NFC) protocols over the internet and private lines. The following figure illustrates the different services and functions the HCX-IX appliance can deliver.
Figure 3.3 – HCX IX appliance services
HCX WAN optimization
You can opt to deploy an optional WAN Optimizer (WO) appliance to reduce the data transfer over the WAN link. The WO appliance offers data deduplication and compression, but it also might affect the bandwidth and cause high CPU usage with a high amount of traffic. It’s recommended when migrating over the internet with a slow connection line from your on-premises data center.
Figure 3.4 – The HCX WO appliance service symbol