Tag: Networking

vSphere networking features: Distributed vSwitches; private VLANs; IPv6

VMware’s vSphere 4 brings a number of new vSphere networking features to the table, including tighter VM traffic management and control with the vNetwork Distributed Switch (vDS) , as well as support for third-party virtual switches (vSwitches). Along with that come a new high-performance virtual NIC, VMXNET3, the ability to create private VLANs and support for IPv6.

Implementation and benefits of private VLANs with a vSphere network

Private VLANs allow communication between VMs on a vSwitch to be controlled and restricted. This feature, which is normally available on physical switches, was added only to the vDS and not the standard vSwitch. Normally, traffic on the same vSwitch port group has no restrictions and any VM in that port group can see the traffic from other VMs. Private VLANs restrict this visibility and in essence act as firewalls within the VLAN. Private VLANs must first be configured on the physical switch ports of the uplink NICs on the vDS. Private VLANs are then configured by editing the settings of a vDS and selecting the Private VLANs tab.

Read the full article at searchnetworking.com…

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Networking Links

General

What’s New in VMware vSphere 4: Virtual Networking (VMware)
Virtual Networking Features of the VMware vNetwork Distributed Switch and Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switches (VMware)
VMware vSphere vDS, VMkernel Ports, and Jumbo Frames (Scott Lowe)
vSphere Networking Enhancements and Features (OZvms)
Testing Network throughput between VMware ESX Hosts (The SLOG)
Optimizing Quality of Service for vSphere 4 Networking with Intel Ethernet 10 Gigabit Server Adapters (Dell)
TCP and UDP Ports for vCenter Server, ESX hosts, and other network components management access (KB article)

Network I/O Control

VMware Network I/O Control: Architecture, Performance and Best Practices (VMware)

NSX

Learning NVP/NSX – 15 part series (Scott Lowe)
NSX Manager – Part 1 – Deploy OVA (VCDX133)
NSX Manager – Part 2 – Upgrade to 6.1 (VCDX133)
NSX Manager – Part 3 – Configure (VCDX133)
The VMware NSX Network Virtualization Platform (VMware Tech Paper)
VMware NSX Network Virtualization Design Guide (VMware Tech Paper)
Data Center Micro-Segmentation (VMware Tech Paper)
Working With NSX – Deploying NSX Manager (Wahl Network)
Working with NSX – Assigning User Permissions (Wahl Network)
Working with NSX – Deploying NSX Controllers via GUI and API (Wahl Network)
Working with NSX – Preparing The Cluster and Hosts (Wahl Network)
Working with NSX – Configuring VXLAN and VTEPs (Wahl Network)

vSwitches

vNetwork Distributed Switch Datasheet (VMware)
VMware Roadmap Demo: vNetwork Distributed Switch (VMware video)
Migrate an Existing Virtual Adapter to a vNetwork Distributed Switch (NTPro.nl)
vNetwork Distributed Switch back-up files (NTPro.nl)
Distributed Virtual Port Groups and Distributed Virtual Uplinks (NTPro.nl)
vSphere DvSwitch caveats and best practices! (NTPro.nl)
VMware vNetwork Distributed Switch: Migration and Configuration (VMware)
Two vSwitches are better than 1, right? (Faz1)
VMware vNetwork Distributed Switch and vSphere (video)
vNetwork Distributed Switches (vDS) an overview (Virtualised Reality)
dvSwitch? (Yellow Bricks)
vSphere 4.0 vNetwork Distributed Switch (vDS) – Video Demonstration + Architecture Diagram (Hypervizor)
vNetwork Distributed Switch on ESX 4.x – Concepts Overview (KB Article)
Configuring vNetwork Distributed Switch using vCenter (KB Article)
vNetwork Distributed PortGroup (dvPortGroup) configuration (KB Article)
Configuring vNetwork Distributed Switch (vDS) Virtual Adapters (KB Article)

Cisco Nexus 1000V

Cisco Nexus 1000V Virtual Switch Product Overview (Cisco)
Cisco Nexus 1000V: Come and Get It (Cisco)
Cisco Nexus 1000V In Depth (Cisco)
DMZ Virtualization Using VMware vSphere 4 and the Cisco Nexus 1000V Virtual Switch (VMware)
Nexus 1000V with FCoE CNA and VMWare ESX 4.0 deployment diagram (Internetwork Expert)
10 Things to Know about the Cisco Nexus 1000V (Bobolwig)
VM Network Security with the Nexus 1000V (Faz1)
How to install an (60-day) evaluation license for Nexus 1000V (video)
Cisco Nexus 1000V and vSphere (video)
Detailed Feature Demo of Nexus 1000V (video)
Cisco Nexus 1000V installation and licensing information (KB article)

vNICs & pNICs

What vNIC? Choosing an adapter for your VM (VMware)
Which NIC is my VM using? Load Balancing Visibility with vSphere (VMware)
Which NIC is my ESXi based VM using? resxtop for ESXi and ESX (VMware)
Performance Evaluation of VMXNET3 Virtual Network Device (VMware)

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Networking Links

General

VMware Virtual Networking Concepts
VI3 Networking – Concepts and Components (VMworld 2007)
VI3 Networking – Advanced Configurations and Troubleshooting (VMWorld 2007)
High Performance Virtualized I/O in 10 Gigabit Ethernet Era (VMWorld 2007)
Networking Virtual Machines (VMworld 2006)
Networking Scenarios & Troubleshooting (VMworld 2006)
Network Throughput in a Virtual Infrastructure
Integrating Virtual Machines into the Cisco Data Center Architecture
Performance Comparison of Virtual Network Devices
Networking Performance in VMware ESX Server 3.5
Server Virtualization – Network Implications and Best Practices
VMware Infrastructure 3 in a Cisco Network Environment
Physical network design options for VMware Infrastructure 3 environments
VMware Network Communications
10Gbps Networking Performance on ESX 3.5 Update 1
VI3 Networking:Advanced Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting VMware ESX network performance
How To Configure Networking from the Service Console Command Line
Verifying ESX Server host networking configuration on the service console

vSwitch

Ken Cline’s The Great vSwitch Debate Series: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7
Enabling Netflow on Virtual Switches
Configuring and Troubleshooting N-Port ID Virtualization
Using VMware: Understanding the Virtual Switch
Beaconing Demystified: Using Beaconing to Detect Link Failures
When is it OK to default on your VI?
Sample configuration of EtherChannel / Link aggregation with ESX 3.x and Cisco /HP switches
Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) network information via command line and VirtualCenter on an ESX host
Configuring the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) with ESX Server
Sample Configuration – Network Load Balancing (NLB) Multicast mode over routed subnet – Cisco Switch Static ARP Configuration
Sample Configuration – Network Load Balancing (NLB) Multicast Mode Configuration

NICs

Changing the MAC address of a virtual machine
Multi-NIC Performance in ESX 3.0.1 and XenEnterprise 3.2.0

NIC Teaming 802.3ad
ESX Server Requirements for Link Aggregation
Best Practice Recommendation: Use Cisco Link-State Tracking to Detect Switch Failure
Verifying the integrity of the physical network adapter
Understanding NIC Utilization in VMware ESX
Choosing a Network Adapter for Your Virtual Machine
Implementing Microsoft Network Load Balancing (NLB) in a Virtualized Environment
Configuring the speed and duplex of an ESX Server host network adapter

VLAN Tagging/802.1Q

VMware ESX Server 3 802.1Q VLAN Solutions
Configuring VLAN’s in VMware Infrastructure 3
VLAN Configuration on VI3: VST, EST VGT Tagging Tips
ESX Server, NIC Teaming and VLAN Trunking
VLAN Configuration on Virtual Switch, Physical Switch, and Virtual Machines
Sample Configuration – ESX connecting to physical switch via VLAN access mode. External Switch VLAN Tagging (EST Mode)
Sample configuration of virtual switch VLAN tagging (VST Mode) and ESX Server
Sample configuration of virtual guest VLAN tagging (VGT mode)

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How does network traffic route on vSwitches?

Answer available here

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Top 10 things you must read about VMware Networking

  1. VI3 Networking – Concepts and Components (VMworld 2007) – A VMworld 2007 presentation describing the VI3 network architecture and how to properly configure it.
  2. VI3 Networking – Advanced Configurations and Troubleshooting (VMworld 2007) – A VMworld 2007 presentation on advanced virtual networking topics with tips for troubleshooting problems.
  3. VMware ESX Server 3 802.1Q VLAN Solutions – Provides concepts and configuration tips for using 802.1Q VLAN tagging with your vSwitch configurations.
  4. Integrating Virtual Machines into the Cisco Data Center Architecture – A white paper written by Cisco on ESX server networking architecture and integration with Cisco network devices.
  5. Networking Performance in VMware ESX Server 3.5 – A white paper from VMware comparing virtual to physical networking performance.
  6. Network Throughput in a Virtual Infrastructure – A white paper from VMware that outlines the considerations that affect network throughput.
  7. ESX3 Networking Internals – A VMware TSX 2007 presentation on the internals of how ESX vSwitches function.
  8. High Performance ESX Networking – A VMware TSX 2007 presentation on ESX network design considerations.
  9. How To Configure Networking from the Service Console Command Line – A VMware KB article on setting up networking via the CLI, a must know if you lose your networking configuration and cannot connect to an ESX Server via the VI Client.
  10. Server Virtualization – Network Implications and Best Practices – A presentation from Cisco on network virtualization architecture and design considerations for Cisco networks to support virtual environments.
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