VMware NSX Network Essentials

Book description

Learn how to virtualize your network and discover the full potential of a Software Defined Data Center. A smarter way to use network resources begins here

About This Book

  • Experience the dynamism and flexibility of a virtualized software defined data center with NSX
  • Find out how to design your network infrastructure based on what your organization needs
  • From security to automation, discover how NSX's impressive range of features can unlock a more effective and intelligent approach to system administration

Who This Book Is For

If you're a network administrator and want a simple but powerful solution to your network virtualization headaches, look no further than this fast-paced, practical guide.

What You Will Learn

  • Deep dive into NSX-v Manager, Controller deployment, and design decisions
  • Get to know the strategies needed to make decisions on each mode of VXLAN that is based on physical network design
  • Deploy Edge Gateway and leverage all the gateway features and design decisions
  • Get to grips with NSX-v Security features and automate security
  • Leverage Cross VC, identify the benefits, and work through a few deployment scenarios
  • Troubleshoot an NSX-v to isolate problems and identify solutions through a step-by-step process

In Detail

VMware NSX is at the forefront of the software-defined networking revolution. It makes it even easier for organizations to unlock the full benefits of a software-defined data center ? scalability, flexibility ? while adding in vital security and automation features to keep any sysadmin happy. Software alone won't power your business ? with NSX you can use it more effectively than ever before, optimizing your resources and reducing costs.

Getting started should be easy ? this guide makes sure it is. It takes you through the core components of NSX, demonstrating how to set it up, customize it within your current network architecture. You'll learn the principles of effective design, as well as some things you may need to take into consideration when you're creating your virtual networks. We'll also show you how to construct and maintain virtual networks, and how to deal with any tricky situations and failures.

By the end, you'll be confident you can deliver, scale and secure an exemplary virtualized network with NSX.

Style and approach

This book provides you with an introduction to software-defined networking with VMware NSX. Focusing on the most essential elements, so you can put your knowledge into practice quickly, it's a guide dedicated to anyone who understands that sometimes real-world problems require virtualized solutions.

Table of contents

  1. VMware NSX Network Essentials
    1. VMware NSX Network Essentials
    2. Credits
    3. Foreword
    4. About the Author
    5. About the Reviewer
    6. www.PacktPub.com
      1. Why subscribe?
    7. Preface
      1. What this book covers
      2. What you need for this book
      3. Who this book is for
      4. Conventions
      5. Reader feedback
      6. Customer support
        1. Downloading the color images of this book
        2. Errata
        3. Piracy
        4. Questions
    8. 1. Introduction to Network Virtualization
      1. The traditional network model
      2. The three pillars of a Software Defined Data Center
      3. Introducing the NSX-V network virtualization platform
      4. The power of server virtualization and network virtualization
      5. How to leverage NSX
      6. VMware NSX features
      7. Summary
    9. 2. NSX Architecture
      1. Introducing network planes
      2. NSX vSphere components
        1. The management plane
        2. The control plane
          1. Three-node controller clusters
            1. Controller roles
        3. The data plane
      3. Overlay networks
      4. The VLAN packet
      5. A VXLAN overview
        1. The VXLAN frame
        2. The inner Ethernet frame
        3. The life of a VXLAN packet
      6. Summary
    10. 3. NSX Manager Installation and Configuration
      1. NSX Manager requirements
      2. NSX Manager installation
        1. Understanding the key configuration details
          1. Target - Management and Edge cluster
          2. Network mapping
        2. NSX Manager virtual appliance management
          1. Register vCenter Server with NSX Manager
          2. Register SSO with NSX Manager
      3. NSX Manager deployment consideration
        1. The communication path
        2. Network and port requirements
        3. User roles and permissions
      4. Controller requirements
        1. The procedure for controller IP pool creation
      5. NSX Controller design consideration
        1. Communication path
        2. Network and port requirements
        3. Controller deployment consideration
      6. The NSX data plane
        1. The host preparation procedure
      7. Summary
    11. 4. NSX Virtual Networks and Logical Router
      1. NSX logical switches
        1. Logical network prerequisites
          1. Host preparation
          2. Segment ID (VNI) pool
            1. Steps to configure the VNI pool
          3. Transport zone
            1. Configuring a global transport zone
        2. Creating logical switches
      2. Understanding replication modes
        1. Unicast mode packet walk
          1. Design decisions for unicast mode VXLAN
        2. Multicast mode packet walk
          1. Design decisions for multicast mode VXLAN
        3. Hybrid mode packet walk
          1. Design decisions for hybrid mode VXLAN
          2. Connecting virtual machines to logical switches
      3. Testing connectivity
      4. The Distributed Logical Router
        1. Deploying a Distributed Logical Router
          1. Procedure for deploying a logical router
          2. Understanding logical interfaces
          3. Logical router deployment considerations
      5. Layer 2 bridges
        1. Deploying an L2 bridge
        2. Design considerations for the L2 bridge
      6. Summary
    12. 5. NSX Edge Services
      1. Introducing Edge services
      2. Introducing Edge form factor
      3. Introducing OSP, BGP, and ISIS
        1. Exploring Open Shortest Path First
          1. Understanding basic OSPF terminology
          2. Updating a topology database
        2. Exploring Intermediate System to Intermediate System
          1. Exploring Border Gateway Protocol
      4. Deploying an NSX Edge gateway
      5. Configuring OSPF on NSX Edge
      6. Configuring OSPF routing on Distributed Logical Router
      7. NSX routing design decisions
      8. NSX Edge NAT
      9. NSX Edge logical load balancer
        1. Server pools
        2. Virtual server
        3. Application profile
      10. Design considerations while load balancing
      11. Generating a certificate
      12. Setting up a load balancer
        1. Setting global options
        2. Creating an application profile
        3. Creating a service monitor
        4. Creating a server pool
        5. Creating a virtual server
      13. Virtual Private Network 
        1. SSL VPN
          1. Configure SSL VPN server settings
          2. Adding ID pool
          3. Private network
        2. IPsec VPN
        3. L2 VPN
          1. Prerequisites
        4. Design decisions while configuring VPN
        5. DHCP relay
      14. Summary
    13. 6. NSX Security Features
      1. NSX Distributed Firewall
        1. Security groups
        2. Security policies
          1. Creating a service group
          2. Creating a security policy
          3. Testing firewall rules
          4. Understanding identity-based firewall rules
            1. Procedure for AD registration
      2. NSX flow monitoring
      3. NSX SpoofGuard
        1. Procedure for SpoofGuard configuration
      4. Distributed Firewall takeaways
      5. Summary
    14. 7. NSX Cross vCenter
      1. Understanding NSX cross vCenter Server
      2. Components of NSX cross vCenter Server
      3. Universal Synchronisation Service
      4. Universal segment ID
        1. Universal transport zone
      5. Cross vCenter universal logical switch creation
        1. Adding virtual machines to universal logical switches
      6. Cross vCenter Server Universal Logical Routers
      7. Network choke points
      8. Summary
    15. 8. NSX Troubleshooting
      1. NSX Manager installation and registration issues
      2. Troubleshooting NSX Manager
        1. Collecting NSX Manager logs via GUI
        2. Collecting NSX Manager logs via CLI
      3. VMware Installation Bundle
        1. EAM log location
      4. Control plane and data plane log collection
        1. Understanding the physical topology
      5. NSX Controller log collection
        1. Collecting NSX Controller logs using CLI steps
        2. Collecting Edge and Distributed Logical Router logs through the web client
      6. NSX user world agents
        1. netcpa
        2. Vsfwd
          1. Vsfwd log location and collection process
      7. Collecting centralized logs from NSX Manager
      8. VXLAN troubleshooting
      9. Packet capturing and analysis
        1. Lab environment details
        2. VNIC packet capturing for egress traffic
      10. NSX upgrade checklist and planning order
      11. The future of NSX
      12. Summary
      13. References

Product information

  • Title: VMware NSX Network Essentials
  • Author(s): Sreejith.C
  • Release date: September 2016
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781782172932