vSphere 6 supports up to 10 vCenters linked together in Enhanced Linked Mode, and up to eight PSCs to support the environment. vCenters and PSCs can be deployed on the same site, or across multiple sites. In a small environment with a single vCenter Server, the PSC and vCenter Server can be combined on a single appliance.
The embedded deployment is the topology with the least complexity. The embedded deployment topology is suitable for a small, single-site, single-vCenter environment. In this topology, the PSC and vCenter Server are installed on the same virtual or physical machine. This is represented in the following diagram:
Multiple vCenter Servers can be deployed with a single external PSC. This deployment topology is used for a small single site with multiple vCenter Servers. These vCenter Servers can be VCSA or Windows, or a mix of both. This enables single-screen management of the environment with Enhanced Linked Mode. This topology is represented in the following diagram:
Multiple PSCs can be deployed to provide high availability to the PSC services. A single vCenter or multiple vCenters can access the PSCs within the same site through a load balancer. There can be up to four PSCs per site, behind a load balancer. The following diagram is a representation of a topology where multiple PSCs are deployed for high availability:
In a multi-site topology, the PSC is deployed at each site. This provides replication of the PSC between sites, and it also enables Enhanced Linked Mode between the vCenters at both sites. The following diagram represents a multi-site deployment topology:
Choose a deployment topology that supports the size and requirements of the environment. If Windows-based vCenters are used, the PSC should not be deployed embedded with a vCenter. VMware does not support replication between embedded PSCs for Windows vCenter Servers or using an embedded PSC to provide services to external vCenter Servers.
The latest supported and recommended topology is the VCSA with embedded PSC, as shown in the following diagram, which supports Enhanced Linked Mode for up to 15 VCSAs:
