Hi reader,

I will be using this post as a point of reference for high level concepts. This post is not meant to be Introduction to HCX. Foundation definitions for future posts.

What if I need an Introduction / Overview?
There are HCX introductions available in several places, here are some links:
https://hcx.vmware.com
https://cloud.vmware.com/vmware-hcx
https://www.vmware.com/products/nsx-hybrid-connect.html

Emad Younis gives a good overview here:
http://emadyounis.com/learning-hybrid-cloud-extension-hcx-part-1-overview/

I have vSphere environments. Where does HCX technology fit? 
Below is how I would personally illustrate HCX in the context of two vSphere SDDCs. HCX is installed at a source site and target site (unless the target site is an HCX Public Cloud (e.g. VMware Cloud on AWS, IBM Cloud, OVH Cloud)

What is an HCX Source (Enterprise) Site? 
The source site is a vSphere 5.0 – 6.7 private cloud installation on-premises
(Minimum vSphere is ESXi 5.0 with vCenter 5.1). NSX is optional at the source site. An HCX Source Site can be paired with an HCX Target (Cloud) Site.

What is an HCX Target Site?
The HCX target site can be either a Private Cloud with NSX Enterprise Datacenter Plus or an HCX Enabled Public Cloud (Like the VMware Cloud on AWS).

What is the HCX Interconnect?
The HCX service plane… or the data plane. Paired components that provide the services across two HCX environments.

What are the HCX Interconnect Services?

• HCX Network Extension (Infrastructure Hybridity):
  • VLAN to VXLAN
  • VXLAN to VXLAN
  • N1K to VXLAN
  • Network Mapping for Migrations
  • Network Extension with Proximity Routing
• HCX Virtual Machine Mobility:
  • HCX vMotion, HCX Replication Assisted vMotion
  • HCX Bulk Migration
  • HCX Cold Migration
  • HCX vMotion with AWS Snowball
• HCX Disaster Recovery (VM Protection with Host Based Replication)
• HCX WAN Optimization (data reduction/line-conditioning) for Mobility and Disaster Recovery.

-Gabe