Saturday, September 13, 2014

VCP-NV - Objective 1.1 Describe the Benefits of VMware NSX..

virtualpatel.blogspot.com: VCP-NV - Objective 1.1 Describe the Benefits of a ...: Hi, I will be now diving in to each objectives covering the Blue Print one at a time. Objective 1.1 – Describe the Benefits of a VMware...

VCP-NV - Objective 1.1 Describe the Benefits of a VMware NSX Implementation

Hi,

I will be now diving in to each objectives covering the Blue Print one at a time.

Objective 1.1 – Describe the Benefits of a VMware NSX Implementation

With network virtualization, the functional equivalent of a “network hypervisor” reproduces the complete set of Layer 2 to Layer 7 networking services (e.g., switching, routing, access control, firewalling, QoS, and load balancing) in software. As a result, they too can be programmatically assembled in any arbitrary combination, this time to produce a unique virtual network in a matter of seconds.
Not surprisingly, similar benefits are also derived. For example, just as VMs are independent of the underlying x86 platform and allow IT to treat physical hosts as a pool of compute capacity, virtual networks are independent of the underlying IP network hardware and allow IT to treat the physical network as a pool of transport capacity that can be consumed and repurposed on demand.

More importantly, network virtualization provides a strong foundation for resolving the networking challenges keeping today’s organizations from realizing the full potential of the software defined data center.

With NSX, virtual networks are programmatically created, provisioned and managed, utilizing the underlying physical network as a simple packet forwarding backplane. Network and security services in software are distributed to hypervisors and “attached” to individual VMs in accordance with networking and security policies defined for each connected application. When a VM is moved to another host, its networking and security services move with it. And when new VMs are created to scale an application, the necessary policies are dynamically applied to those VMs as well.

NSX is completely non-disruptive solution:

• Deploys on hypervisors connected to any existing physical network infrastructure and supports nextgeneration fabrics and topologies from any vendor;
• Requires no changes to existing applications and workloads
• Allows IT departments to incrementally implement virtual networks at whatever pace they choose (without any impact to existing applications and network configurations)
• Extends visibility to existing networking monitoring and management tools to deliver increased visibility into virtualized networks

NSX is a multi-hypervisor solution that leverages the vSwitches already present in server hypervisors across the data center. NSX coordinates these vSwitches and the network services pushed to them for connected VMs to effectively deliver a platform – or “network hypervisor” – for the creation of virtual networks.

NSX works with

• Any application. Workloads/applications need not be modified in anyway as the virtual network appears no different to them than the physical network.
• Any hypervisor. Out-of-the box support is available for many hypervisors (e.g., Xen, KVM, and VMware ESXi), while coverage can be extended to others (e.g., Microsoft Hyper-V) by re-configuring them to incorporate standard vSwitch capabilities.
• Any network infrastructure. Hardware independence is achieved based on the fact that NSX virtual networks require nothing more than connectivity and packet-forwarding from the underlying IP infrastructure.
• Any cloud management platform. Out-of-the-box support is available for many cloud management platforms (including CloudStack, OpenStack, VMware vCloud Automation Center,), and integration with other management platforms is provided through the NSX API.

NSX simplifies networking by abstracting virtual networks from the underlying physical network and enables increased automation. Operators dont need to interact with VALNs, ACL, STP.

Physical Netwok only requires to to deliver reliable high-speed Packet forwarding so any physical hardware combination may work as long as they are compatible on that layer.

As its virtual network runs in its own address space, NSX proivdes isolation, security and network segmentation very granularly.

Some other benefits can be listed as follows:

• Streamlines ongoing administration, monitoring, and troubleshooting by enhancing network visibility and eliminating the need to navigate and maintain VLANs, ACLs, and complex firewall rule sets
• Obviates the need to invest in separate, standalone solutions for many of the networking and security functions that are fundamental to data center networking, including distributed routing, firewalling and load balancing
• Requires fewer switch ports and less switching capacity overall – as a result of reducing the need for standalone networking and security appliances and eliminating the need for traffic hair-pinning, respectively
• Allows selection of least-cost networking equipment – as all that’s needed when building/extending physical networks are basic forwarding and resiliency capabilities
• Enables “data center de-fragmentation” – as server utilization can be optimized across application/networking pods and even greater degrees of data center consolidation can be achieved
• Eliminates the need to purchase new networking equipment and/or conduct forklift upgrades in order to take advantage of new innovations in networking technology
• Supports development, testing, and production “environments” all on the same physical infrastructure

The result is the ability for both enterprises and service providers to save lot of dollars in periodic and recurring costs associated with their networks.

I will put the 1.2 shortly so please give some time ;-) and visit the Blog again.

Share and care !

Monday, September 1, 2014

#VMware NSX based VCP-NV - Lets hits it !!

virtualpatel.blogspot.com: VMware NSX based VCP-NV - Lets hits it !!: Hi, Recently VMware has released the Certifications based on VMware Network Virtualization 1) VCP-NV 2) VCDX-NV Now any one can dow...

VMware NSX based VCP-NV - Lets hits it !!

Hi,

Recently VMware has released the Certifications based on VMware Network Virtualization

1) VCP-NV

2) VCDX-NV

Now any one can download the Blueprint for VCP-NV from the site and it covers mainly the following topics.


Section 1 – Define VMware NSX Technology and Architecture

Objective 1.1 – Describe the Benefits of a VMware NSX Implementation
Objective 1.2 – Describe VMware NSX Architecture
Objective 1.3 – Differentiate VMware Network and Security Technologies
Objective 1.4 – Contrast Physical and Virtual Network Technologies
Objective 1.5 –Explain VMware NSX Integration with Third-Party Products and Services


Section 2 – Plan and Configure vSphere Networking

Objective 2.1 – Define Benefits of Running VMware NSX on Physical Network Fabrics
Objective 2.2 – Describe Physical Infrastructure Requirements for a VMware NSX Implementation


Section 3 – Configure and Manage vSphere Networking

Objective 3.1 – Configure and Manage vSphere Standard Switches (vSS)
Objective 3.2 – Configure and Manage vSphere Distributed Switches (vDS)
Objective 3.3 – Configure and Manage vSS and vDS Policies


Section 4 – Install and Upgrade VMware NSX

Objective 4.1 – Configure Environment for Network Virtualization
Objective 4.2 – Deploy VMware NSX Components
Objective 4.3 – Upgrade Existing vCNS/NSX Implementation
Objective 4.4 – Expand Transport Zone to Include New Cluster(s)


Section 5 – Configure VMware NSX Virtual Networks

Objective 5.1 – Create and Administer Logical Switches
Objective 5.2 – Configure VXLAN
Objective 5.3 – Configure and
Objective 5.4 – Configure and Manage Logical Routers Manage Layer 2 Bridging


Section 6 – Configure and Manage NSX Network Services

Objective 6.1 – Configure and Manage Logical Load Balancing
Objective 6.2 – Configure and Manage Logical Virtual Private Networks (VPN)
Objective 6.3 – Configure and Manage DHCP/DNS/NAT
Objective 6.4 – Configure and Manage Edge Services High Availability


Section 7 – Configure and Administer Network Security

Objective 7.1 – Configure and Administer Logical Firewall Services
Objective 7.2 – Configure Distributed Firewall Services
Objective 7.3 – Configure and Manage Service Composer


Section 8 – Perform Operations Tasks in a VMware NSX Environment

Objective 8.1 – Configure Roles, Permissions, and Scopes
Objective 8.2 – Describe NSX Automation
Objective 8.3 – Monitor a VMware NSX Implementation
Objective 8.4 – Perform Auditing and Compliance
Objective 8.5 – Administer Logging
Objective 8.6 – Backup and Recover Configurations


Section 9 – Troubleshoot a VMware Network Virtualization Implementation

Objective 9.1 – Identify Tools Available for Troubleshooting
Objective 9.2 – Troubleshoot Common NSX Installation/Configuration Issues
Objective 9.3 – Troubleshoot Common NSX Component Issues
Objective 9.4 – Troubleshoot Common Connectivity Issues
Objective 9.5 – Troubleshoot Common vSphere Networking Issues


For those who wants to know how the exam looks like than have a look at the practice exam released by VMware Education and also by @pmcsharry which you can find here.

I will try to cover each objective separately and if possible I can also present it on vBrownBag (if time and resource permits as don't have Lab for NSX) but till then lets just get started here with the study.

Mainly the documents referred for covering the objectives are all released by VMware and the information can be formed under the Whitepapers mentioned in the Blueprint.

I have updated my NSX Resource post today as well so take a look at it here to study more about NSX. All the documents/Whitepapers can be found here.

If you feel if I missed anything while covering the objectives then please leave a comment to get in touch with me an I can update the post at the earliest with your feedback.

Enjoy reading and wish you good luck towards your journey of VCDX-NV :-) !!

Share and care !!