vCloud Infrastructure Management encompasses the vCloud Operations Control and vCloud Infrastructure Control layers of the vCloud Operations Framework. It is responsible for architecture, engineering, deploying, and operating the underlying vCloud infrastructure. In VMware terms, the underlying vCloud infrastructure is defined as VMware vCloud Director®, its supporting components such as VMware vCloud Networking and Security™ and VMware vCenter Chargeback™, and VMware vSphere and the physical infrastructure.

Operating the vCloud infrastructure is defined by the vCloud Operations Control layer. This layer includes the functional operational areas that affect or are most affected by vCloud. They are divided into the following categories:

The vCloud Operations Control layer applies to the vCloud infrastructure and to vCloud service operations. For more information, see Section 5.3, vCloud Tenant Operations.

vCloud Infrastructure Operations benefits considerably by reorganization. Traditional infrastructure operations consists of operational functional domains overlaying siloed infrastructure domains with little cross-domain interaction, unless interaction is required for a particular project or deployment. Infrastructure virtualization provides the most recent and compelling opportunity for the Infrastructure Management component of infrastructure operations to break from this traditional approach by creating a Center of Excellence (COE).