vCenter Server Configurations

Remote plug-ins can operate in linked mode configurations of vCenter Server as well as in single vCenter Server instances. These illustrations show the components and communication paths of both kinds of configuration.

The following illustration shows a single vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller.
Figure 1. vCenter Server with Embedded PSC
This diagram shows communication paths in a vCenter Server instance with an embedded PSC configuration.
The following diagram shows three vCenter Server instances configured in Enhanced Linked Mode. The Platform Services Controller for this group is external to the vCenter Server instances.
Figure 2. vCenter Server Instances Configured in Extended Linked Mode
This diagram shows communication paths in an external PSC configuration.

In a linked mode configuration, the vsphere-ui service handles delegation of requests to the linked vCenter Server instances, using the same protocols that it uses when communicating with its own services. From the point of view of the user interface, communications are as simple as in the embedded configuration.