Azure VMware Solution and Cloud Block Store Implementation Guide

Introduction

The combination of Azure VMware Solution (AVS) and Pure Cloud Block Store (CBS) brings customers a cloud-native integration between enterprise-grade virtualization and storage, respectively.

The key value propositions of this joint offering are:

• Familiar on-premises solutions now fully available and integrated in Azure public cloud as native offerings.
• Hybrid-cloud integrated ecosystem with best of breed virtualization and storage technologies that extend an on-premises environment seamlessly into the cloud.  Move applications and VMs between the two easily.
• Minimize TCO:  Cloud Block Store decouples storage from AVS and allows for independent storage footprint management combined with industry-leading data reduction and enterprise level storage services in the public cloud.

In addition to lowering the overall TCO of AVS, additional important use cases of this joint solution include, but are not limited to:

• Zero App Refactoring:  AVS and CBS enables VMs and workloads that cannot be refactored with native Azure services to be hosted in a familiar environment.
• Seamless Disaster Recovery:  Your new disaster recovery site can be hosted in the public cloud and failover can be automated with a solution like VMware Site Recovery Manager.
• Burst Workloads to Cloud:  When on-premises resources start to run thin due to temporary demand, leverage the on-demand agility of Azure to temporarily add additional hardware capabilities.

This implementation guide will iterate over time as additional functions, features and use cases are added.  This page will serve as the primary landing page for setup, best practices and management of the joint solution so please check back often. 

The Implementation Guide has been divided into three primary sections and it is strongly encouraged to review and implement them in the order shown to ensure a successful deployment.

A network topology supplemental article is also available that shows a few sample architectural options and use cases.  Additional use cases and topologies beyond what is shown can often also be supported.  The Sample Topology and Use Case article is meant to be a high-level summary of available options, while the following three numbered articles provide in-depth details about implementation.

0.  Regional Support Matrix for the Joint Solution

1. Plan and Deploy

• Integration Checklist
• Azure VMware Solution (AVS) Prerequisites
• Azure VMware Solution (AVS) Deployment
  • Requesting AVS iSCSI Multipathing (MPIO) and Run Command Preview Enablement
• Pure Cloud Block Store (CBS) on Azure Implementation Guide

2. Configure and Connect

• Deploying an Ultra Virtual Network Gateway
• Connecting AVS to CBS
  • Azure vNet Connect
  • ExpressRoute with FastPath Enabled

3. Azure Run Command Integration and Setup 

• Azure Run Command Overview and Architecture
• Integration Setup
  • Option 1:  Deploy Pure Storage VMware Cloud Manager OVA
  • Option 2:  Deploy Azure or AVS VM, Install Required Packages

4. Storage Management

• Azure Run Command Storage Management Overview
• Optional and Useful PowerShell Commands
• Initializing AVS and CBS iSCSI Connectivity
• AVS Host Lifecycle Management
• Creating and Managing CBS Storage with AVS
• Deploying the Pure Storage VM Analytics Collector

Sample Network Topologies and Use Cases 

• AVS and CBS Network Topology Overview
  • Standard Connectivity Topology
  • Topology Examples for Optional Use Cases