From 1de089e465c491a56088f02d34844f2953da9749 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: John Bowdre Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2022 12:29:35 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] update readme --- README.md | 8 +++++++- 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index a473bdb..ec86ed6 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -2,8 +2,14 @@ This project aims to ease some of the pains encountered when attempting to sync VM templates in a [VMware vSphere Content Library](https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-254B2CE8-20A8-43F0-90E8-3F6776C2C896.html) to a large number of geographically-remote sites under less-than-ideal networking conditions. +## Advantages +- Always have the latest templates at every remote site +- Sync only changes, not entire template images each time +- Per-site sync scheduling, not vCenter-level +- Per-site bandwidth limits to avoid saturating small pipes + ## Overview -The solution leverages lightweight Docker containers in server and client roles. The servers would be deployed at the primary datacenter(s), and the clients at the remote sites. The servers make a specified library folder available for the clients to periodically synchronize using `rsync` over SSH, which allows for delta syncs so that bandwidth isn't wasted transferring large VMDK files when only small portions have changed. +The solution leverages lightweight Docker containers in server and client roles. The server(s) would be deployed at the primary datacenter(s), and the clients at the remote sites. The servers make a specified library folder available for the clients to periodically synchronize using `rsync` over SSH, which allows for delta syncs so that bandwidth isn't wasted transferring large VMDK files when only small portions have changed. Once the sync has completed, each client runs a [Python script](client/build/update_library_manifests.py) to generate/update a Content Library JSON manifest which is then published over HTTP/HTTPS (courtesy of [Caddy](https://caddyserver.com/)). Traditional Content Libraries at the local site can connect to this as a [subscribed library](https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-9DE2BD8F-E499-4F1E-956B-67212DE593C6.html) to make the synced items available within vSphere.