Need an explanation to to get introduced to nsx?

[samir2324]

Hi there,

can someone help me, i need to introduce NSX into a existig network and to do so, i want to describe it as an example, how the packets will be forwareded when a physical standalone client is sending a ping when NSX is implemented this network. (The clients aren't virtualized, they're real win7 clients). What does it need and what has to be set up on which place in the existing network.

The existing networkinfrastructure is arranged in a school-building. There are  55 classrooms (30 physical win clients) on every floor (it exist three floors) and that claasroom-switch is also connected to a quadrant-distributor (four of it per floor). In other hand, these quadrant-distributors are connected to the core-switches with an extra SAN-Area on the ground-floor.

Now, my question is, where do i have to preparate the network, to get VMware NSX implemented. By the way, all the servers are physical machines, but they're virtualized connected with each other by ESXi Host and vSphere.

I know about the software-prinicple of NSX, so maybe you can give me a short example to understand it right.

If you need any further information, let me know. Thanks in advance.

I hope you can help me.

[SRoland]

Apologies but I don't really understand. How would you like to use the features of NSX if you don't have VMs?

Can you explain about this a little bit more in detail? Do you have some kind of topology? What do you mean on "...all the servers are physical machines, but they're virtualized connected with each other by ESXi Host and vSphere..."? This makes no sense to me.

Thanks.

[samir2324]

Every server is set up on a ESXi-Host Machine, so every server has it's own machine. It is not that case, that all the servers are realized on one physical server. And the ESXi-Host are all connected with each other. The topology is like star.

[samir2324]

...or tree-topology describes it better.

[RaymundoEC]

If I understand well,

for the physical network only need MTU of 1600 for packets and only for ESXi host where vxlan travels, this means that lets say you have a VMA on ESXi host A, and you have this PS A (physical server) on the same network (VLAN) and you ping form PSA to VMA, assuming NSX is implemented, the ESXi host A will receive the packet, in short words will "translate" to virtual VMA been on a logical switch leverage vxlan, on the other way around if VMA been on a logical switch pings PSA, the ESX host A will take this packet and "translate" to the non VXLAN packet. All the magic is done on VTEPs (Virtual Tunnel End Point)   : )

In short  MTU 1600(or jumbo frames if you like -9000-) for physical network where VXLAN will path.

read this please, at the beginning there are like the basics: 

VMware® NSX for vSphere Network Virtualization Design Guide ver 2.1

regards

+vRay

[samir2324]

Ok. Thank you for that short and clear statement. So if I understand it well, I only have to set-up MTU for the physical network and open the right ports on the machines.

- and VXLAN is the logical LAN, coming with NSX, right?

Can you explain me where I have to set-up that ESXi-Hosts with that vSwitches and are the vSwitches (dont't know the difference between the logical switch and vSwitch) coming with ESXi or NSX? (When is it a must (and on which places they should be set-up) to implement an ESXi Host with NSX-Platform in the infrastructure?)

Which software has to be installed on all the physical clients in the network.

Thanks in advance.

regards Sam

[Richard__R]

At a high level you'd need any ESXi hosts that will be participating in the NSX domain to be in clusters and added to a vSphere Distributed Switch. The Logical Switches are VXLAN-backed dvPortgroups. You use the NSX Manager to push the kernel modules out to the hosts for logical switching/routing/firewalling.

Just to add that the VXLAN encapsulation is going to happen when you need to communicate between hosts over the physical wire via the VXLAN transport/VTEP network. It's possible to communicate on a Logical Switch without leaving the hypervisor (and therefore no VXLAN encapsulation  involved) but obviously not in the model where you've got one VM per host.

[samir2324]

Ok. Thanks for all the answers so far. I have registered your tips and now it is more clear.

But what do I really need to run NSX in an existing network?

Which software-components do I really have to use to get a simple "nsx-implemented network" running? ... and where do I have to install which software-component. Can someone explain it by a little example?

(In this network are only physical-machines like clients and server (one per machine) an they all communicate with each other over a physical L2 (VLAN) network.

By the way, does anybody know where to get the license-costs of these vmware products?

Thanks Sam

[SRoland]

Please go through one of the Hands On Labs to see the details and the component interactions. Try HOL-SDC-1403.

Also go through the NSX Network Virtualization Design Guide to read about the requirements.

HTH,

Roland