The Azure Stack HCI and PowerFlex clusters are two separate systems in this architecture as shown in the following figure. The integration between Azure Stack HCI and PowerFlex is limited to storage consumption and does not include any cross-platform management. Each system leverages its own software for automated management and orchestration capabilities.
Dell APEX Cloud Platform Foundation Software is the automation engine for APEX Cloud Platform for Azure. The software consists of a collection of microservices running in the Linux-based Cloud Platform Manager VM on each Azure Stack HCI cluster. This VM is instantiated during initial cluster deployment and remains running throughout the life of the cluster. It communicates with the underlying infrastructure and integrates automation workflows into the APEX Cloud Platform extension in Windows Admin Center.
PowerFlex Manager is also a microservices-based application and is the unified management and orchestration platform for Dell PowerFlex with automation to enable high availability, serviceability, scalability, efficiency, and agility. The PowerFlex management environment can be deployed on an optional 3-node PowerFlex management cluster or a customer provided VMware ESXi host. Co-resident management is also an option on PowerFlex software only and custom node deployments.