Introduction

This 10-day intensive course is designed by Global Horizon Training Center to provide IT professionals with a comprehensive understanding of VMware Cloud Director (VCD) and its capabilities in building and managing cloud environments. The course covers core concepts, architecture, installation, configuration, administration, integration with NSX-T, automation, monitoring, and advanced troubleshooting. Participants will acquire the skills to deliver robust, secure, and scalable multi-tenant cloud services using VMware Cloud Director.

Objectives

By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Deploy and configure a secure and scalable VMware Cloud Director environment.

• Create and manage provider and organization virtual datacenters.

• Deploy vApps and configure catalogs for self-service provisioning.

• Integrate and configure advanced networking using NSX-T.

• Monitor, secure, and automate cloud environments.

• Apply operational best practices and conduct troubleshooting.

Target Audience

• Cloud Administrators and Operators

• System Integrators and Infrastructure Engineers

• Network and Virtualization Engineers

• VMware vSphere Administrators transitioning to cloud environments

• IT Architects designing cloud solutions for enterprises or service providers

Organizational Impact

• Empower the IT team to deploy and manage cloud infrastructure efficiently.

• Enhance agility and scalability of services through cloud automation.

• Improve multi-tenancy, security, and resource optimization.

• Reduce operational risks through best practices and policy enforcement.

Training Program Outline

Day 1: VMware Cloud Director Overview and Architecture

• Introduction to Cloud Computing and VMware’s Cloud Stack

• VMware Cloud Director (VCD) concepts and components

• Use cases for service providers and enterprises

• VCD and vSphere/NSX integration overview

• Architecture design considerations and deployment models

Day 2: Installation and Initial Configuration

• VCD installation and prerequisites

• Database and NFS setup

• Certificate management (SSL/TLS)

• Configuring VCD cells and verifying services

• First-time system configuration

Day 3: Provider Virtual Data Centers and Network Pools

• Creating and managing Provider VDCs

• Storage policies and resource allocation models

• Network pools and backing types

• External networks and distributed switch integration

• Assigning resources to providers

Day 4: Organization VDCs and User Management

• Creating organizations and Org VDCs

• Allocation models: Pay-As-You-Go, Reservation, Allocation Pool

• User roles and rights management

• LDAP/SSO integration for authentication

• Resource and access control policies

Day 5: vApp and Catalog Management

• Creating vApps and virtual machines

• vApp network setup and management

• Snapshot and fencing features

• Managing public and private catalogs

• Publishing, sharing, and syncing templates

Day 6: Advanced Networking with NSX-T

• NSX-T overview and integration with VCD

• Network types: isolated, routed, direct

• Creating and managing edge gateways

• DHCP, NAT, firewall, load balancing, and VPN setup

• Configuring tenant networking via UI and API

Day 7: Security and Multi-Tenancy

• Security features in VMware Cloud Director

• Tenant-level security configuration

• Micro-segmentation and distributed firewalls

• Service provider policies and isolation

• Best practices for secure multi-tenancy

Day 8: Monitoring and Troubleshooting

• Health monitoring and logging (vRealize Operations, VCD logs)

• Troubleshooting network and VM issues

• CLI and API troubleshooting tools

• System alerts, capacity monitoring, and SLA metrics

• Disaster recovery considerations

Day 9: Automation and API Integration

• Overview of VCD API and extensibility

• Using Postman to interact with the VCD API

• Introduction to vRealize Orchestrator integration

• Building automated workflows and catalogs

• Infrastructure as Code with Terraform (optional advanced topic)

Day 10: Best Practices

• Operational best practices and governance

• Backup and restore strategies

• Upgrading and patching VCD environments

• Final Q&A and Certification of Completion