MPC Basic Concepts
Organization
An Organization (Org) defines users within the MPC VMware Cloud Director Directory. It is a container that groups MPC resources like virtual data centres (computing, storage, networking), users, and libraries located in all MPC locations. The name of the Org is needed to login to the MPC portal.
Local Users
An organization can contain any number of users and groups. Users are created locally by the organization administrator or imported from an external directory service.
Organization Virtual Data Center
Organization Virtual Data Center (Org VDC) is a virtual datacentre where resources are grouped for users who need computing, memory, and storage capacity in an MPC location.
Organization Administrator
The first user that is configured with the initial deployment is the customer administrator account. This account is created by Equinix during the on-boarding process and shared with the customer.
The administrator account is automatically added to the MPC Organization Administrator group. Being a member of this group assigns the account with all the permissions in the MPC tenant platform.
Virtual Machine (VM)
A Virtual Machine (VM) is a software computer that, like a physical computer, runs an operating system and applications. The virtual machine consists of a set of specification and configuration files and is backed by the physical resources of a physical host server. VMs have virtual devices that provide the same functionality as physical hardware but are more portable, secure, and easier to manage.
MPC VMware Cloud Director backed VMs support a range of operations, such as taking a snapshot of the current state, adding memory and CPU, attaching disks, and moving from one host to another.
vApp
A vApp is usually used as a collection of Virtual Machines (VMs) that together form an application. It provides ease of management for collective VM groups. You can think of the vApp as the container for the virtual machines, and you can perform the operations on the container.
vApp Networks
A vApp network is contained within a vApp and allows virtual machines in the vApp to communicate with each other. You can connect a vApp network to an organization virtual data center network to allow the vApp to communicate with other vApps in the organization and outside of the organization where applicable.
Snapshots
VM snapshots can be created in the self-service-portal.
Each VM can have a maximum of one snapshot active. When a second snapshot of a VM is created, the first snapshot will be overwritten.
We recommend removing snapshots within a day, since they have a negative effect on the performance of VMs and purchased storage capacity.
Storage Policies
MPC storage capacity can be purchased in various profiles and policies with their own characteristics. The profile can be selected when creating a VM disk. This profile can be adjusted later if, for example, more performance is desired.
Libraries
In the desired storage profile, you can create one or more libraries in which the most common ISO files can be included. The library can also be used for vApp templates and for uploading your own OVF files.
The files that you place in the libraries are not included in any backup service and contribute to the overall storage consumption within the service.
MPC Platform Functionality
The MPC web portal is delivered via VMware Cloud Director and through it, automation tooling and the API, you can manage many generic functionalities. Most of these functionalities are available in the web portal in a modern HTML5-based GUI.
Features offered by the MPC web portal include:
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Management of virtual MPC data centres
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Creation, import and managing VMs and vApps
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Scaling VMs up and down
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VM Snapshot
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Console access
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Performance statistics
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Creating and filling a Library with your ISO/OVA files
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Direct access to the MPC web portal and VM console via a web browser without complex VPN solutions
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Modern HTML5-based web portal
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Extensive options for scripting and automation
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Separate or group VMs for availability or performance
Integrated Backup
MPC Integrated Backup can be accessed directly within the web portal. Backups are taken at the VM level only. Schedules can be configured for virtual workloads as well as on-demand restores.
The integrated backup service can be accessed from the main menu within the web portal.
For more information, see MPC Integrated Backup.
Note: Guest / Application Aware Processing is not currently supported in the MPC integrated backup model. If required, a dedicated Veeam appliance can be installed within the customer environment.
Single Sign-On
MPC can be integrated with a range of third-party identity providers, such as Azure AD through Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML).
This allows users and groups to be imported to MPC who are already established in the SAML identity provider.
Automation
Management of the MPC environment takes place through the web portal or the API.
For the latter, modules, and automation tools such as PowerShell, Python, Ansible, or Terraform are available for scripting.
