VMware: “Don’t Be Fooled” by AWS Connector
Last week, Amazon released what they have dubbed the “AWS connector for vCenter” which gives systems administrators the ability to interface AWS features and functionality inside of vCenter. This connector is designed to show both your onsite and AWS servers inside of vCenter. While some AWS and VMware enthusiasts were happy about the release, the VMware marketing team was not all impressed.
“Don’t Be Fooled” was the title of VMware’s blog post response. The jab at AWS is VMware’s commentary on the new connector that directly pits VMware’s public cloud computing infrastructure vCHS against AWS within vCenter.
Chris Wolf from VMware writes, “Don’t be fooled by Import Tools disguised as Hybrid Cloud Management.” Wolf went on to say, “Hybrid cloud architects want as few variables in the architecture as possible because the greater the variation the more costly automation becomes at scale, and that extends to management products.”
Wolf continues to call out AWS by blogging, “If you want to move those workloads or simply run additional instances in a region with no AWS presence, an outsourcer, another cloud provider, or your own data center, you may find that the cost and complexity associated with migration or a new deployment is too much. The service stack would likely be bound to proprietary APIs, and all or most of the third party management and operational software will have to be replaced. You will be burdened with new QA challenges and likely will need to reengage with the procurement teams.”
In regards to the biggest potential risk associated with using this connector, Wolf writes, “There is no easy way to move workloads back to one of your data centers, or to another cloud provider … you cannot use your existing software licenses … you cannot automate and orchestrate across private and public clouds … you cannot enforce policy governance across multi-clouds … you lose all of the seamless third party integrations deployed through the VMware Solution Exchange.”
Wolf doesn’t let up on his concerns about the AWS connector. He continues on by saying, “Anyone who has been in IT long enough knows how easy it is for a tactical Band-Aid to unexpectedly become a permanent solution. In the cloud era more than ever, you must think strategically about management. To date, proprietary service provider tools have created management silos that drive up total cost of ownership while increasing provider lock-in. There is a better way.”
