A global insurance company - one of the largest in the world - operates a highly complex, mission‑critical IT infrastructure supporting millions of customers across multiple regions. To modernize its virtualization platform and establish a standardized, scalable foundation for its next‑generation private cloud, the organization engaged comdivision to design a future‑ready VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9 platform.
“comdivision provided the architectural clarity we needed for our VCF 9 transition. The blueprint and sizing guidance allowed us to align hardware decisions and move forward with confidence.”
— Cloud Engineering Team
Key Facts
- vSAN ESA Design Introduction: Validation of management environment and VCF 9 readiness.
- VCF 9 Architecture Assessment: Validation of management environment and VCF 9 readiness.
- Hardware Alignment & Sizing Blueprint: Sizing recommendations for VCF‑aligned hardware.
The Situation
The organization planned to transition to a fully integrated VMware Cloud Foundation 9 platform to improve standardization, lifecycle management, and automation. However, the environment had evolved over many years, and internal teams had limited experience with new architectural building blocks—particularly vSAN Express Storage Architecture, intended as a core component of the future platform.
To minimize architectural and operational risk, a comprehensive assessment was required to validate the existing management environment, define a production‑ready target architecture, and ensure future hardware procurement would fully support VMware Cloud Foundation requirements.
Q: What triggered the engagement?
A: “We wanted to transition from a traditional virtualization environment to a standardized VCF 9 platform.”
Q: What was the main objective?
A: “Design a future‑proof architecture enabling lifecycle management, automation, and operational efficiency.”
Q: What were the biggest challenges?
A: “Limited internal experience with newer components such as vSAN Express Storage Architecture and strict enterprise availability requirements.”
Q: Why was an architectural assessment required?
A: “To validate the management environment and ensure upcoming hardware investments aligned with VCF requirements.”
What We Did
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Performed an architectural assessment focused on VCF 9 readiness
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Conducted workshops with infrastructure, architecture, and operations teams
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Reviewed compute, storage, networking, identity, and lifecycle management components
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Designed a comprehensive VCF blueprint with a highly available management domain
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Defined stretched cluster architecture across multiple datacenter sites
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Delivered targeted knowledge‑transfer sessions on VCF and vSAN ESA
Strategic Gains
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Reduced Architectural Risk: validated, production‑ready design decisions
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Procurement Confidence: hardware fully aligned with VCF requirements
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Enterprise Availability: highly available management and stretched clusters
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Team Enablement: improved internal understanding of VCF and storage architecture
Technology Stack
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VMware Cloud Foundation 9: Standardized private cloud platform and lifecycle foundation.
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vSAN Express Storage Architecture (ESA): Primary storage design for performance and operational simplicity.
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Highly Available Management Domain: Management architecture aligned with enterprise availability needs.
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Stretched Cluster Architecture: Multi‑site availability model across datacenter locations.
The engagement delivered a clear, production‑ready VMware Cloud Foundation 9 architecture tailored to enterprise‑scale requirements. With validated design decisions, aligned hardware strategy, and targeted knowledge transfer - especially around vSAN ESA - the organization is now fully prepared to implement a modern, standardized private cloud platform with confidence.
