Issue
-
Does EcoStruxure Building Operation (EBO) support virtualization?
-
Can Enterprise Server, Enterprise Central, and Reports Server be deployed in virtual machines?
-
Can EBO be deployed in containerized or cloud-hosted environments?
Product Line
EcoStruxure Building Operation
Environment
- VMware
- Microsoft Hyper-V
- OCI-compliant container platforms
- Docker-compatible runtimes
- Kubernetes
- Microsoft Azure
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Private Cloud Environments
- EcoStruxure Building Operation 2.0 through current release.
Cause
Customers increasingly deploy applications using virtualized, containerized, and cloud-hosted infrastructure to improve scalability, resiliency, system management, and operational efficiency.
Questions often arise regarding the supportability of EcoStruxure Building Operation in these environments and where Schneider Electric support responsibilities begin and end.
Resolution
Virtualized Environments
Virtualization allows multiple operating systems or servers to run on shared physical hardware through software platforms such as VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V.
EBO has been successfully deployed in virtualized environments for many years. Enterprise Servers, Enterprise Centrals, Reports Servers, WorkStations, and other EBO components may be installed within virtual machines, provided the deployed operating system and allocated resources meet the requirements specified in the applicable product documentation and specification sheets.
Benefits of virtualization can include:
- Reduced hardware footprint
- Simplified backup and recovery
- Improved scalability
- Easier system lifecycle management
- Enhanced infrastructure resiliency
Schneider Electric supports the operation of the EBO software itself. Customers and system integrators remain responsible for the design, configuration, maintenance, and operation of the virtualization platform.
Containerized Environments
Current EBO offerings support deployment models utilizing Linux operating systems and OCI-compliant container technologies where described in the applicable product specification sheets and deployment documentation.
Examples of OCI-compliant container technologies may include:
- Docker-compatible runtimes
- Kubernetes-based container platforms
Container runtimes, orchestration platforms, host operating systems, storage infrastructure, and supporting services remain the responsibility of the customer, hosting provider, or system integrator.
Cloud Environments
The supportability of cloud-hosted deployments has evolved across EBO releases.
EBO 6.x and Earlier
EcoStruxure Building Operation versions 6.x and earlier were not developed, qualified, or supported for deployment in public cloud environments such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services.
Customers who choose to deploy EBO 6.x or earlier releases in cloud environments do so at their own risk. Schneider Electric Product Support may not be able to provide assistance when cloud infrastructure, cloud networking, or cloud platform services are contributing factors to the reported issue.
EBO 7.x and Later
With EcoStruxure Building Operation 7.x, support for modern hosted deployment architectures has significantly evolved.
Current EBO offerings support deployment models utilizing supported operating systems, Linux-based deployments, OCI-compliant container technologies, and hosted infrastructure environments when deployed according to published product requirements and specification sheets.
Cloud-hosted deployments may include:
- Microsoft Azure
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Private cloud environments
- Hosted infrastructure services
The deployed operating system, allocated resources, network configuration, storage configuration, and connectivity requirements must comply with the applicable EBO documentation and specification sheets.
Support Boundaries
Schneider Electric Product Support provides support for issues determined to be within the EcoStruxure Building Operation software itself.
Support is provided regardless of whether EBO is installed on:
- Physical hardware
- Virtual machines
- Containerized environments
- Supported cloud-hosted infrastructure
However, Schneider Electric does not provide support for the design, administration, configuration, or troubleshooting of third-party infrastructure technologies.
Examples include:
- VMware administration and configuration
- Hyper-V administration and configuration
- Kubernetes administration and orchestration
- Container runtime troubleshooting
- Microsoft Azure infrastructure configuration
- Amazon Web Services infrastructure configuration
- Cloud networking and routing
- Firewall and security policy configuration
- Operating system administration
- Storage platform administration
- Third-party backup solutions
If an issue is determined to originate from the underlying infrastructure rather than the EBO application, customers may be required to engage their cloud provider, virtualization administrator, operating system administrator, or other infrastructure specialists for further investigation.
Additional Considerations
Successful deployment of EBO in virtualized, containerized, or cloud-hosted environments requires careful consideration of:
- Network latency and bandwidth
- DNS and name resolution
- Internet connectivity requirements
- Time synchronization
- Storage performance
- Backup and recovery strategies
- Cybersecurity requirements
- High availability and disaster recovery design
Schneider Electric recommends that all deployments follow the requirements and recommendations documented in the applicable EBO product specification sheets and deployment guides.
