At least one VI workload domain must be created to support guest virtual machines, and at least one VxRail cluster of any supported size and configuration must be used as the resource foundation for a VI workload domain. A VxRail cluster that is assigned to support the workload of a Cloud Foundation domain is dedicated to that domain, and its resources cannot be shared with other Cloud Foundation domains.

For each VI workload domain that is created, SDDC Manager will deploy a vCenter and Platform Services Controller virtual machine. For VI workload domains supported by NSX-V, an NSX-V Manager is deployed in the management domain and three NSX-V controllers in the workload domain to support virtual networking. For VI workload domains supported by NSX-T, all workload domains of this type share NSX-T management resources. The first VI workload domain based on NSX-T will deploy three virtual machines in the management domain to be used for overall NSX-T management. These are the minimum requirements just to bring up a VI workload domain.

Depending on the use case, additional virtual machines might need to be deployed to support NSX network traffic services in a VI workload domain. For instance, logical routers are needed to enable networking between virtual machines on different network segments, and networking outside of the Cloud Foundation on VxRail environment. Depending on the NSX services required per use case, additional virtual machines might need to be deployed for this purpose.

Use the tables in the Cloud Foundation on VxRail Footprints for Sizing appendix for estimating the minimum sizing requirements for the management components, based on planned use cases.