Need to Connect Your Applications Across Multiple Clouds?

Multiple clouds are a reality for customer environments, which can be complex and expensive. The promise of simplicity and agility of the public cloud combined with security and control of on-premises infrastructure is not trivial. For example, network connectivity and latency issues between multiple clouds are among key multi-cloud deployment inhibitors.

To solve regulatory complexity, low latency needs for data and application mobility, customers look to cloud service providers (CSPs) to help them bridge their islands of clouds. They need:

• • Simplicity and agility of the public cloud combined with security and control of on-premises infrastructure.
  • Private, proximate and secure direct connections to public clouds.
  • Data sovereignty, risk mitigation and regulatory compliance.
  • Reduced latency and increased performance.
  • Controllable, predictable costs.
  • Increased agility and scalability.
  • Simplified operations.
  • Accelerated modernization.
  • Data center evacuation and consolidation.
  • Solutions to deal with golden data, potentially split across cloud and on-prem.

Integrated stacks from VMware and Dell Technologies are designed to deliver self-service clouds, multi-tenant with governance and DevOps-based infrastructure management and security. Cloud-like, ease-of-use for on-premises workloads enables your IT operations to focus on value-added services. The solution, in partnership with Equinix, helps industry ecosystems exchange traffic and enable global networks to increase application performance by reducing distance and eliminating networking expenses.

CSPs can build services that span islands of hyperscalers and on-premises by using consistent infrastructure provided by VMware and Dell Technologies. Equinix provides the right connection speed between on-premises and hyperscalers.

Dell Technologies, VMware and Equinix can help CSPs to create multi-cloud services that are differentiators.

Equinix has helped multiple industry ecosystems exchange traffic at scale and are experts at helping companies enable global network and application performance.

We know that most cloud service providers​ want:

• • To balance security, flexibility and control across both public & private clouds​.
  • The ability for data and application mobility across clouds.
  • To provide high data transfer with predictable connectivity costs and latency issues.

Through joint validation, Dell Technologies, VMware and Equinix have created a solution validation. This validation helps cloud service providers build services that span across islands of hyperscalers and on-premises using consistent infrastructure provided by VMware Cloud on Dell Technologies. Equinix provides the right connection speed between on-prem and hyperscalers.

We review this architectural illustration as three separate areas to focus on.

• • First is the Customer Data Center. Here it is connected to Equinix Data Center shown in the red box. At the Customer Data Center, we have validated VMware SD-WAN to connect from customer on premises to Equinix Data Center securely with encrypted traffic. There are two SD-WAN components on each side to establish the secure connection, and then each SD-WAN edge doing BGP peering with edge router and customer core router to allow the specified traffic to carry over on the network. Other than SD-WAN, connections can use MPLS, or public internet to connect Customer Data Center to Equinix Data Center, illustrated as the red box in the middle.
  • Secondly, inside this Equinix Data Center are the many options for customers to deploy APEX Cloud Services with VMware Cloud and/or VMware Cloud on Dell Technologies, in a separate or in a nearby rack. From Equinix Data Center, we have two top-of-rack switches to connect to the hyperscalers to the far right of the picture. The connections are up-linked with Equinix Edge Router.
  • The third area of focus is Equinix Fabric that connects to the hyperscalers. We have VMC on AWS Virtual Gateway connected directly to Equinix Edge router over AWS direct connect. Both the neighbors are connected to Equinix Edge Router. Once your physical connection is established, they are all peered with BGP protocol with separate ASNs. Network latency between Equinix Fabric and hyperscales two are less than 1ms. Though the Equinix IBX portal, you can order the direct connect in less than five minutes. In addition, customers have a choice to bring their own edge routers into Equinix Data Center.

Here is a list of possible use cases to leverage this joint validation for multi-cloud services.

Create multi-cloud management services by consuming a consistent infrastructure with integrated Dell and VMware platforms using high speed and reliable connections provided by Equinix.

Partners – Visit the VMWare Cloud in Partnership with Equinix and Dell Technologies Knowledge

¹ IDC Market Analysis Perspective: US Hosting and Colocations, 2020

² IDC Storage-as-a-Service Improves Business Operations, April 2021 IDC Doc #US47598921

³ Hybrid Cloud: A Smart Choice for AI And HPC

⁴ IDC Optimizing Workload Placement in Your Hybrid Cloud, July 2020