All you need to know about Azure VMware Solution (AVS)

What is Azure VMware Solution (AVS):

Azure VMware Solution enables a fast path to the cloud, seamlessly migrating or extending existing VMware workloads from on-premises environments to Azure without the risk of re-architecting applications or retooling operations.

Top 10 reasons why to use Azure VMware Solution (AVS):

Seamlessly move VMware-based workloads from your datacenter to Azure and integrate your VMware environment with Azure.
Keep managing your existing environments with the same VMware tools you already know while you modernize your applications with Azure native services.
On-demand self-service provisioning of VMware cloud environments. Ability to add and remove capacity on demand.
VMware platform deployment, upgrade, management plane backup, health/capacity monitoring, alerting, troubleshooting, and remediation.
Edge-type networking services, including VPN, public IP, and internet gateways. These services run on Azure and carry the security and DDoS protection of Azure.
Infrastructure that is fully dedicated to you and is physically isolated from infrastructure of other customers.
Management features such activity management, usage, billing/metering, and user management.
Solution architectures for customers to consume Azure services in an integrated fashion and take advantage of this unique AVS architecture.
There could be some business triggers like - few locations have hardware equipment nearing end of life, so hardware-refresh decisions need to be made soon.
Might be the requisition process, approvals, logistics is taking much longer to get new infrastructure to meet requests for hardware refreshes and new application deployments to quickly go to market.

Top 5 use cases of Azure VMware Solution AVS:

Rapid environment provisioning with scalability
Operationally consistent with familiar VMware based environment delivered as a cloud service
Seamless, bi-directional large-scale app migration with consistency of policies and configurations
No conversions, re-architect, re-IP of applications
Enterprise-grade scale, availability and performance with native-like access to Azure services

Top 5 Azure VMware Solution Scenarios:

Datacenter footprint reduction, consolidation, and retirement. Datacenter expansion based on demand
Disaster recovery and business continuity
Application modernization
Minimizes transition risk and complexity. Simplifies & accelerates Migrations. Supports established governance & security policies
Reduces cost of migrate apps. Extends value of existing enterprise app investments. Re-use existing skills, tools, processes

How AVS helps in Data Center consolidation?

Get on-demand access to additional capacity when you consolidate, retire or expand your existing data centers. Even better, in your move to AVS, use the same VMware tools you already know from your on-premises environments – including VMware vSphere, vSAN and vCenter. You’re assured of operational continuity when redeploying vSphere-based applications to Azure – without the complexity of refactoring

How AVS helps in expanding capacity on demand?

Expand to the AVS to meet unanticipated needs, such as new development environments or seasonal capacity bursts. You can easily create new capacity on demand and keep it only as long as you need it. Reduce your up-front investment, accelerate speed of provisioning, and reduce complexity with the same architecture and policies across both on-premises and AVS.

How AVS helps in Disaster Recovery and business continuity?

Gain instant access to AVS’s high availability, disaster recovery and backup services to minimize risk and ensure business continuity for your critical workloads.

How AVS helps in Application Modernization?

Keep managing your existing environments with the same VMware tools you already know, while you modernize your applications with native Azure management, security and services. With Azure VMware Solution, it’s simple to tackle modernization one step at a time. Continue to build cloud competencies and modernize over time, using the native VMware tools and management experiences you’re already familiar with.

How AVS helps in reducing IT costs?

Leverage the Azure Hybrid Benefit to bring your Windows Server and SQL Server licenses with Software Assurance to Azure. Customers of Azure VMware Solution receive three years of free extended security updates for Windows Server and SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 licenses with Software Assurance. You can reduce costs even further by selecting one or three year Reserved Instances for Azure VMware Solution.

Top 5 benefits of Azure VMware Solution (AVS):

Get scale, automation, and fast provisioning for your VMware workloads on global Azure infrastructure.
Keep using your existing VMware investments, skills, and tools, including VMware vSphere, vSAN, vCenter.
Modernize your VMware workloads with native Azure management, security, and services.
Take advantage of Azure as the best cloud for your Microsoft Windows and SQL Server workloads.
Use your existing VMware investments with Azure.
- Deploy on dedicated cloud infrastructure in Azure
- Seamlessly integrate your VMware environment with Azure

How seamless integration of your VMware environment helps with AVS?

Easily move your VMware workloads to Azure and increase your productivity with elasticity, scale, and fast provisioning cycles. View and create vSphere VMs in the Azure portal via API calls or CLI, automate deployments, and enable single sign-on. Enhance your workloads with the full range of Azure compute, monitor, backup, database, IoT, and AI services.

How your existing VMware investments helps with AVS?

Get on-demand access to additional capacity when you consolidate, retire, or expand existing datacenters. Move to Azure seamlessly using VMware’s HCX technology and continue to manage your environment using the same VMware tools you already know: vSphere Client, NSX-T, Power CLI, or any popular DevOps toolchain. Ensure operational continuity when redeploying your vSphere-based applications to Azure, and avoid the complexity of application refactoring.

Rely on the operating platform and backend infrastructure of Azure to run VMware vSphere, vSAN, and NSX-T platforms natively and at scale. Eliminate the hassles of procuring, deploying, and managing hardware infrastructure by running your workloads on fully managed, single tenant, bare-metal Azure infrastructure. Choose from a variety of connectivity options, including Azure ExpressRoute, and encrypt your data at rest and in transit with protected, high-speed, low-latency connectivity.

AVS is the cloud of choice for VMware workloads running with Windows Server and SQL Server. Take advantage of intelligent security, seamless hybrid capabilities, and unique cost savings options on Azure. Join customers of all sizes who trust Azure for their Windows Server and SQL Server workloads. Also Azure Hybrid Benefit extends to Azure VMware Solution allowing customers with software assurance to maximize the value of existing on-premises Windows Server and SQL Server license investments when migrating or extending to Azure. In addition, Azure VMware Solution customers are also eligible for three years of free Extended Security Updates on 2008 versions of Windows Server and SQL Server.