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myesko
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Load Balancing with NSX compared to Microsoft NLB

Hello, we have a need to switch from Microsoft NLB to NSX in about 2 weeks, so not allot of time to test.  

Ill be the first to admit i dont have  a good understanding of the different options available, will start researching asap

We currently have 2012 Web servers with Microsoft NLB with IIS and it works, so I wanted to try and get things as close as possible to that.

We are migrating to 2016 servers, and part of the reason to use NSX, well for one we own it, two the networking team suggested they cant put the static ARP entry in that was needed for WIndows NLB.

We need http and https.  

We are going with OneArmed as my understanding is thats close to what the Windows NLB is doing.

The Windows NLB is setup with Multicast with a Virtual Mac address.  Port Rules under Filtering mode has "Multiple Host" checked off with an Affinity of "Single"

Its the Multicast option that required the Static Arp entry, The 2016 servers are in a different location and was told by the Network team they do not want any static arp entries there.  

So ive tested http with nsx and all seems fine, but the HTTPS seems to have allot of options.  

Ill be doing allot of research on the matter but thought ide ask here first to get some opinions.

So we have to setup the Application Profile, there are multiple options here, One is to just keep TCP, the others are SSl Passthrough, https offloading, and https end-to-end.

Microsoft NLB had less options, so want to try and mimic that.  

What are your thoughts on which one to use for the Application Profile Type?

We are migrating 2 types of web servers, the immediate one is an Application Called Mediasite which is for streaming videos through the web interface.  This uses IIS.

Later on we need to switch over our VDI Horizon Connection servers to NSX load balancer.  

Im going to start by testing TCP option first, but would love any input.

Thanks

Mike

 

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p0wertje
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Hi,

A good place to start is here:
VMware® NSX-T Reference Design - VMware Technology Network VMTN
NSX-T LB Encyclopedia - VMware Technology Network VMTN

And there is also an option for the NSX advanced Loadbalancer
NSX Advanced Load Balancer (by Avi Networks) Encyc... - VMware Technology Network VMTN

Especially the NSX-T reference design guide gives a good overview of the different options

 

 

Cheers,
p0wertje | VCIX6-NV | JNCIS-ENT | vExpert
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p0wertje
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Hi,

A good place to start is here:
VMware® NSX-T Reference Design - VMware Technology Network VMTN
NSX-T LB Encyclopedia - VMware Technology Network VMTN

And there is also an option for the NSX advanced Loadbalancer
NSX Advanced Load Balancer (by Avi Networks) Encyc... - VMware Technology Network VMTN

Especially the NSX-T reference design guide gives a good overview of the different options

 

 

Cheers,
p0wertje | VCIX6-NV | JNCIS-ENT | vExpert
Please kudo helpful posts and mark the thread as solved if solved
myesko
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Ty you for this, the first doc explains allot.  My guess is the L4 Option of just doing TCP will be closest to what we have in comparison to Microsoft NLB, but the option of L7 SSL Passthrough could also work.  

we are testing out the L4 TCP option early this week and also having a call with the vendor of the application to see if they have any guidance or preference for the load balancer options.

Thanks for the info

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