In our earlier article we dicussed  about the main features and components of VMWare vSPhere 5, VMWare’s main virtualization suite for datacenter line of products.  In this article we will briefly discuss the main Cloud Computing offerings that VMWare offers. When an enterprise uses these products from VMWare, they can offer virtual infrastructure models including the private and public cloud and in some cases, a combination of both called a Hybrid cloud. Most of these offerings lie outside of the vSphere suite, however they form a layer on top which connects the vSphere infrastructure with the private, public or hybrid cloud. VMware calls this line of products the vCloud series, lets see what they are.

What are the different vCloud offerings from VMWare:

1. vCloud Director:  This is a management platform that goes above vCenter and manages internal, external or hybrid clouds. It provides a secure cloud infrastructure on demand to the consumers and lets them distribute or move workloads between different types of cloud infrastructure. According to VMware, VMware vCloud Director enables the consolidation of virtual infrastructure across multiple clusters, the encapsulation of application services as portable vApps, the deployment of those services on-demand with isolation and control. You can visit the VMWare vCloud Director page for more information.

2. vCloud DataCenter: VMWare vCloud Datacenter is used mostly in conjuction with vCloud director and it lets you various third party service providers that provide public cloud as a service. These service providers are certified by VMWare to provide their products, which are based on VMWare technology. vCloud Datacenter lets you leverage services securely from both external and internal IT resources based in private, public and hybrid cloud. For more information about VMWare vCloud Datatacenter Services, you can visit this page.

3. vCloud Express: VMWare’s vCloud Express is an Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas) based upon a  pay as you go model. It provides a co-branded service with VMware, the advantage in using vCloud Express is that you never have to worry about running out or setting up resources internaly. Some example providers are VirtaCore Systems which provides on Demand, Self Serve Virtual Servers., Terremark etc. For a list of VMWare’s vCloud Express you can go here.

4. vCloud Request Manager: VMWare has announced an “end of availability” for this product, this product and support for it, will no longer be available after July 3, 2013. For more information about this product, you can visit its product page here.

5. vCloud API: As the name suggests, VMWare vCloud API lets vendors and developers create infrastructure management solutions. It is a facilitation by VMWare to encourage developers to create programs and applications for its virtual infrastructure suite. According to VMWare, the vCloud API enables the upload/download of vApps along with their instantiation, customization, and deployment. You can visit their homepage here for more information.