Private Cloud Platforms comparison & reviews

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Analysis expand Robert Spruill
 		Luciano Taranto
 		by Bhagyashri (Shri) Bhagvat
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General expand
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  • Fully Supported
  • Limitation
  • Not Supported
  • Information Only
Pros
  • + Full-Fledged IaaS
  • + Mature Vendor
  • + Enterprise Solution
  • + True Disconnected Offering of Cloud System
  • + IaaS and PaaS Solution
  • + Enterprise Solution
  • + Mature on-prem IaaS solution
  • + High-fidelity implementation of AWS APIs
  • + Proven at scale over years of operation
Cons
  • - Complex
  • - Little PaaS Capability
  • - Heavily Dependent on Underlying Hardware
  • - Disconnected Mode Only Billed as Capacity
  • - New to Market
  • - Closed Solution
  • - Recent acquisition concerns
  • - No administrative GUI
  • - Missing features beyond API compatability
  Content  
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Content Creator
Luciano Taranto
Luciano Taranto
AppScale
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Overview
VMware Cloud Foundation is an integrated software stack which bundles VMware components (see details)
Azure Stack is Microsofts extension of Azure that provides a way to deliver Azure services in an on-premises environment. (see details)
Integrated software stack with AWS-compatible IaaS services.
  Assessment  
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Maturity
VMware is a strong contender in the marketplace and VCF is comprised of components that have been tried and tested in the datacenter
Azure Stack was made publicly available June of 2017 and builds off of Azure which has been available since February of 2010
Based on the Eucalyptus code-base that has been in production for over a decade, powering installations beyond 200K cores in size.
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Disconnected Offering
VMware Cloud Foundation can be deployed on premises as a stack for a private cloud
Azure Stack can be deployed in disconnected mode
Can be deployed in a disconnected environment
Infrastructure Services expand
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  Compute  
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Virtual servers
VMware Cloud Foundation bundles vSphere which includes the ESXi virtualization platform for creating and running virtual machines and virtual appliances
Azure Stack allows for the deployment of virtual servers called virtual machines
Virtual servers are called cloud instances (equivalent to EC2 instances in AWS)
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VM Type - General Purpose
You can configure the virtual machine hardware to take advantage of the underlying hosts hardware
General purpose VMs are Basic A, Standard A, Av2-series, D-series, DS-series, Dv2-series, DSv2-series
Virtual machine hardware can be configured to take full advantage of the underlying hosts hardware. A collection of instance types can be customized in terms of vCPUs, memory, and disk.
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VM Type - Compute Optimized
You can configure the virtual machine hardware to take advantage of the underlying hosts hardware. For compute optimized instances, you would increase the CPU resources
Computed optimized VMs are F-series, Fs-series, Fsv2-series
Compute-optimized instance types can be customized by modifying the instance type
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VM Type - Memory Optimized
You can configure the virtual machine hardware to take advantage of the underlying hosts hardware. For memory optimized instances, you would increase the memory resources
Memory optimized VMs are D-series, DS-series, Dv2-series, DSv2-series
Memory-optimized instance types can be customized by modifying the instance type
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VM Type - Accelerated (GPU)
You can configure the virtual machine hardware to take advantage of the underlying hosts GPU hardware
There are no accelerated VM offerings with a GPU
GPU instance types can be customized through advanced configuration only. No official documentation.
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Metadata URL
There is no built-in way to access this functionality. (see details)
While Azure has an Instance Metadata service, this functionality is not currently supported on Azure Stack
Metadata URL, featuring EC2-compatible information and thus compatible with cloud-init, is reachable from instances.
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Rapid Provisioning
You can easily deploy VMs using a wizard, template, or cloning another VM
You can easily and quickly deploy virtual machines using the Azure Stack console
System components enable fast provisioning, particularly of EBS-backed instances.
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Resize existing VM
You can easily resize an existing VM by changing its virtual hardware after creation such as CPU and memory
This functionality is supported in Azure Stack as well
EBS-backed instances can be resized after stopping by modifying InstanceType attribute via ModifyInstanceAttribute request (in CLI or Console).
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Resource Management
Resources can be managed from either the vSphere Web Client or the vSphere Client
The Azure Resource Manager provides a platform to manage all resources deployed within the Azure Stack
Resources can be managed from either the Console or CLI/API
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Scalability
There is no vSphere functionality to easily scale up or down VMs from the console
Azure Stack includes scale sets which allow for automatic scaling of instances based on load
AWS AutoScaling APIs are supported, with performance-based triggers for up- and down-scaling.
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VM Imaging
You can clone a virtual machine to a template which can then be used to deploy other virtual machines later
You can create and publish a custom marketplace item
Images (akin to AMIs and AKIs) can be created and shared with other cloud users. Existing instances can be saved into an image.
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VM Import/Export
You can import and export virtual machines in the OVF and OVA formats
You can import and export a disk used by a VM. In addition, you may be able to import/export a VM state but this is not confirmed (see details)
Instances can be imported using raw disk or VHD formats. Exports done manually at hypervisor level. No API support for the operation exists.
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VM live migration
You can perform a live migration of a virtual machine without affecting availability, called a hot migration, using vMotion
Azure Stack supports live VM migration as a preventative measure to protect resources from failing hardware
VMs can be live-migrated using CLI / API. In the event of a host failure instances to not automatically restart.
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VM to host affinity
You can create VM to host affinity rules within a DRS cluster
This capability is not supported by Azure Stack
Not supported. Can only be achieved by backend administration using instance migration.
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VM to host anti-affinity
You can create VM to host anti-affinity rules within a DRS cluster
Azure Stack provides Availability Sets which replicate the VM across different hosts for high availability thus enforcing host anti-affinity
Not supported. Can only be achieved by backend administration using instance migration.
  Networking  
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Cloud virtual networking
VMware Cloud Foundation bundles NSX Data Center for vSphere which provides a platform programmatically managing software-defined virtual networks
The Network Resource Provider delivers a series of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) features
Overlays a virtual network on top of your existing network. Supports EDGE (EC2 Classic) and VPCMIDO (AWS VPC) modes.
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Cross-premises connectivity
The VCF platform is integrated into the customer datacenter and provides cross-premises connectivity to other customer networks
Cross-premises connectivity can be established in Azure Stacks which are deployed in the connected mode
Support for AWS VPN Gateway is available but only when using VPCMIDO network mode.
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DNS hostname resolution
You can install NSX Edge as an Edge Services Gateway (ESG) between networks which will then allow you to configure external DNS servers. (see details)
Azure Stack supports DNS hostname resolution
DNS names for VM instances is supported automatically
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DNS zone management
No mention in documentation. Functionality would need to be built up by the end-user and then VMware components can take advantage of it
Azure Stack supports the creation and management of DNS zones and records using both the console and the API
No mention in the documentation
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IP reassignment
You can statically set an VMs IP address from vSphere as well as specify a network protocol which is a pool of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses that vCenter will assign to virtual machines
You can reassign an IP by modifying the virtual network interface or by deleting it and creating a new one (Experience)
Elastic IP and Elastic Network Interface functionality enables flexible IP address assignment.
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Load balancing
You can install NSX Edge as an Edge Services Gateway (ESG) and take advantage of the logical load balancer
The Azure Stack provides load balancing functionality
Elastic Load Balancer is an included service.
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Network Interfaces
Virtual machines can have a variety of different network adapters added and configured
You can create and modify network interfaces attached to virtual machines (Experience)
Elastic Network Interface functionality allows attaching and detaching of virtual NICs to instances
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Outbound Network Connectivity
You can connect virtual machines to the physical network
The Azure Stack is integrated into the customers datacenter and has outbound network connectivity to the customers border
Can be configured to connect to external networks with both EDGE (EC2 Classic) and VPCMIDO (Amazon VPC) networking modes.
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Public IP Address
You can connect virtual machines to the physical network
Azure Stack supports IPv4 public addresses
Public IP addresses can be assigned to instances either automatically or from a pool of Elastic IP addresses.
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SR-IOV support
There is a specific network adapter type (SR-IOV passthrough) designed to enable and support SR-IOV networking
No mention of this capability for Azure Stack
Can be customized to use SR-IOV for instance networking by advanced configuration only. No official documentation.
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VM Security Groups
Virtual Machines can be added to a security group which has a specific network security policy applied to it
VM Security groups are provided as network security groups
Instances can be added to a security group which has a specific network security policy applied to it.
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Virtual Network Peering
You can set up cross-vCenter deployments as well as implement VPNs to access corporate and other cloud networks securely
Not supported as of 20190124
Ability to create a peering connection between two VPCs is supported.
  Storage  
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Object storage
No mention in the documentation
Azure Stack provides blob storage for object storage
Supports S3-compatible object storage using its Object Storage Gateway (OSG)
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Block storage
vSphere provides a variety of different storage options and functionalities
Azure Stack supports page blobs which are the equivalent of block storage
Elastic Block Storage (EBS) provides block-level storage volumes that you can attach to instances.
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Shared file storage
VMWare provides NFS but not SMB storage solutions
Azure Stack does not provide a SMB or NFS solution
Shared file storage is not supported.
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Backup
VCF provides backup and restore capability of components
Microsoft Azure Backup Server can be used to back up data within Azure Stack (see details)
Procedures for backing up and restoring everything except root disks of instance-store (ephemeral) instances are documented.
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Local Data Protection
Virtual Volumes support replication capabilities for disaster recovery
Local data is encrypted and replicated across nodes in case of hardware failure
Relies on replication features of underlying software and hardware (RAID and Ceph) for local data protection from hardware failures.
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Remote Replication
Virtual Volumes support replication capabilities for disaster recovery
The only replication option available is locally redundant storage
No special functionality for automatic remote replication are provided, but backup process can include transfer of backed up data offsite for disaster recovery.
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Snapshots
Virtual volumes provide snapshot capability to preserve the state and data of a virtual machine at a given point in time
Snapshots are supported for blobs (limited to 1000 per blob) but not for page blobs
EBS snapshots are supported in both Web console and via CLI/API.
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Storage Architecture
VMware provides for a very flexible storage architechture
Azure Stack provides for either a hybrid or all-flash storage architechture
Deployed as customer configurable two-level storage system. Support for HCI not documented.
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Storage QoS
You can configure the vSAN cluster (shared storage pool) to be either hybrid or all-flash (see details)
Azure Stack supports standard and premium storage
Supports only a single storage class for both block and object storage.
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Storage Scalability
You can expand an existing vSAN cluster by adding hosts or devices to existing hosts without disrupting ongoing operations
Azure Stack operators can increase the overall capacity of an existing scale unit by adding additional scale unit nodes
The Storage Controller (SC) and Object Storage Gateway (OSG) are molular and enable storage capacity to be dynamically allocated independent of the system.
Platform Services expand
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  Compute  
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Kubernetes Orchestration
VMware Pivotal Container Service (PKS) provides an enterprise-grade Kubernetes solution which can be deployed on VMware Cloud Foundation
Azure Stack has a preview capability to deploy a Kubernetes cluster but it is not supported in the disconnected scenario
No support for Kubernetes orchestration is available.
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Serverless
This functionality is not offered by VCF but can be supported on top of VCF
App Service (available in PaaS offering) provides Azure Functions which executes event-driven serverless workloads
No support for a serverless runtime is available.
  Data  
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Relational database
Customer needs to build this functionality on top of the infrastructure
Relational databases are supported through the use of optional resource providers SQL Server and MySQL Server
No support for DBaaS is available.
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NoSQL—key/value storage
Customer needs to build this functionality on top of the infrastructure
Table storage is Microsofts NoSQL key/attribute store
No support for a NoSQL database is available.
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Caching
Customer needs to build this functionality on top of the infrastructure
No mention of Azure Cache for Redis being available but can use Redis marketplace item
No support for an in-memory cache service is available.
  Developer Tools  
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Message Queuing
Customer needs to build this functionality on top of the infrastructure
Queue storage provides the capability for message queuing
No support for message queuing is available.
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Pub/Sub Messaging
Customer needs to build this functionality on top of the infrastructure
Azure Stack does not currently support either Service Bus nor Event Grid which provide the pub/sub messaging capability in Azure
No support for pub/sub messaging is available.
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Web Applications
Customer needs to build this functionality on top of the infrastructure
App Service is available on Azure Stack (additional PaaS offering) which provides web apps
No support for a PaaS-type service for hosting Web applications is available.
  Analytics and IoT  
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Internet of Things
Customer needs to build this functionality on top of the infrastructure
Not much documentation out there but there appears to be a private preview for IoT Hub on Azure Stack which is fairly recent
No support for IoT services is available.
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Edge compute for IoT
Customer needs to build this functionality on top of the infrastructure
No solid documentation of this as a full capability but Azure Stack does support Azure Functions which is used for IoT Edge (see details)
No support for service that deploys cloud intelligence onto Edge devices is available.
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Streaming data
Customer needs to build this functionality on top of the infrastructure
Event Hubs was announced at Ignite 2018 as on the roadmap for Azure Stack but as of yet it is not available
No support for data streaming is available.
Management Tools expand
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  Interface  
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Console
In addition to console functionality such as vSphere, VCF includes SDDC Manager which provides a centralized user interface for configuration, provisioning, and lifecycle management of the stack
Azure Stack offers both an administration portal as well as a user (tenant) portal
Web Console supports most of the cloud user functionality that is also accessible via CLI/API.
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API
The bundled components of VCF (vSphere, VSAN, and NSX) all provide API interfaces
Azure Stack offers a REST API as well as programmatic access through PowerShell/CLI
AWS-compatible API is at the core of the product, with extensive support of many IaaS-level services, powering both the CLI and the Web Console.
  Auditing  
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Health / Performance / System Monitoring
vSphere provides a suite of health and performance monitoring tools for the infrastructure
Azure Stack offers monitoring services for compute including but not limited to host/guest metrics, performance counters, application, logs in addition to other sources
Monitoring is available via the CloudWatch service, with metrics visible in the Web Console and available from the CLI.
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Event Logging
VCF bundles vRealize Log Insight which covers infrastructure logs
Logs are collected both within the Azure Stack as well as by the infrastructure components themselves
Logs are available to the operations team but must be configured using at the OS-level using technologies such as syslog.
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Analytics
VCF bundles vRealize Log Insight which aggregates infrastructure and application logs in order to provide actional dashboards and sophisticated analysis
Supported
No support for analytics service is availalble.
  Automation  
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Automated Tasks
VCF bundles vRealize Automation which can be used to deploy service blueprints and external technologies through Orchestrator plugins to automate IT tasks
Azure Functions provides an event-drive programming model which allows for the automated execution of tasks in response to events
CloudFormation doman-specific language and service enables users to orchestrate cloud application deployment and resource management.
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Marketplace
While you can deploy VMs from templates, there is no central marketplace offerring third-party applications
Azure Stack supports a marketplace but it does not come preloaded with any images
No support for a marketplace of images is available.
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Marketplace Syndication
Since there is no marketplace, there is no syndication for those items
A cloud operator has the ability to download a curated list of items (see details)
No support for a marketplace syndication is available.
Security & Compliance expand
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  AAA  
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Authentication
Authentication can be implemented by integrating into the customers network and using their Active Directory instance
Azure Stack supports authentication through either Azure AD in connected scenarios or AD FS for disconnected scenarios
User management and resource access control is available through Access and Identity Management (IAM) service.
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Multi-Factor Authentication
vCenter SSO also allows for two-factor authentication methods
Multi-factor authentication can be configured in connected scenarios using Azure AD and disconnected scenarios using AD FS
No support for MFA is available.
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SSO / Integration
The Platform Services Controller provides functionality for Single Sign-On into vCenter services and integrates with Windows Active Directory as well as other AD/LDAP schemes
Azure Stack can integrate with AD FS for user authentication and SSO
Support for LDAP/Active Directory integration (via periodic synchronizations) is supported.
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Access Control
Access control can be implemented by integrating into the customers network and using their Active Directory instance
Access control is implemented using roles - owner, contributor, and reader
Sophisticated access control policies are supported by the Identity and Access Management (IAM) service.
  CIA  
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Encryption (Data at Rest)
Provides for storage-level encryption for data at rest
All Azure Stack infrastructure and tenant data is encrypted at rest using BitLocker
System-wide at-rest encryption can be configured in the deployment.
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Encryption (Data in Transit)
Provides network-level micro-segmentation, distributed firewalls, and VPN capability among others
Data in transit is encrypted both at the infrastructure level and for external endpoints using TLS 1.2
Support for HTTPS endpoints can be manually configured on the UFS nodes
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Key / Secret Management
Customer needs to build this functionality on top of the infrastructure
Keys and secrets are managed using Key Vault
Uses AWS-style access keys and secret keys for access to resources.
  Regulatory  
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Multi-Tenancy
You can use VMware vCloud Director to support multi-tenancy on the VCF platform
Support for multi-tenancy is only available in connected scenarios deployed using Azure AD
User identities are organized into accounts and are the equivalent to the AWS IAM account alias.
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Regulatory Compliance (PII, PHI, PCI-DSS, RMF, NIST SP 800-53 ,etc)
VMware components meet specific 800-53 requirements
Microsoft provides guidance for controls they implement to achieve various regulatory standards including PCI-DSS, FedRAMP High, NIST SP 800-53, etc
Can be manually hardened using avaiable security technical implementation guides for underlying OS only

Matrix Score

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  • VMware Inc
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