Hardware Layer 2 Gateways Integration with NSX

Hardware Layer 2 Gateways Integration with NSX

This new revision of the white-paper was updated incorporating the comments received by the Community. Thanks for all the feedback!


The white-paper presents a summary of the benefits and the use cases for an hardware-based Layer 2 gateway service with the VMware® NSX for vSphere.

The white-paper also provide a technical overview of the solution and focuses on the configuration required when integrating  a third party hardware-based layer 2 gateway within NSX.

A final version of this White Paper will be also posted on our NSX Technical Resources website (link below):

http://www.vmware.com/products/nsx/resources.html

Feedback and Comments can be directed to the NSX Technical Marketing Team Author: F. Tallet (ftallet@vmware.com)

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On page 6, you can read the following:

Software gateway

NSX includes natively a software version of the Layer 2 gateway functionality. It can be implemented as a virtual machine, or as an appliance form factor (meaning, a software version running directly on an x86 physical server).

Really?!?

Do you really want to define the DLR L2 Bridge sink port in the VMkernel a "virtual machine" or "an appliance form"...?!?

Additionally, the graphic being used (on page 7) to represent the software L2 Bridge is the NSX Edge Service Gateway virtual appliance.

Nothing could be more misleading than this... the depicted NSX ESG in the graphic it's a router, not a L2 Bridge.

Here we're confusing bridges with gateways:

  • Bridges: "map an NSX logical switch to a VLAN".
  • Gateways: route traffic from one network (i.e. a VXLAN-backed logical switch) to another (i.e. a VLAN-backed dvpg).

For a correct description of the software L2 Bridge, have a look at the NSX documentation here: L2 Bridges

IMHO this Technical Paper requires a thorough review before being published in the public area...  Smiley Wink

Hi

That's a good catch, much appreciated.  That blurb must have come from an NSX-MH document, because that's how it works there.  I will ping the appropriate people for a correction.

Thanks!

Sean

You're very welcome, Sean.

Also added few more details about the graphic being used on page 7...

Fabrizio

fdlsistemi wrote:

Additionally, the graphic being used (on page 7) to represent the software L2 Bridge is the NSX Edge Service Gateway virtual appliance.

Nothing could be more misleading than this... the depicted NSX ESG in the graphic it's a router, not a L2 Bridge.

Hey again

This one is arguable.  A DLR control VM *is* an ESG appliance that's been customized to manage distributed services.  I think in the Visio objects, its actually the same picture (I could be wrong on that though). The way NSX decides which host to put the L2 bridge on is the one running the active DLR control VM, so this isn't *wrong* per se... but I agree the graphic could use an explanatory note to clarify this because I could see someone thinking it means the bridge itself is a VM.

You are right:

  • The DLR Control VM is a stripped-down version of the ESG.
  • The NSX Controller cluster activates the sink port on the Designated Instance, which is the ESXi host where the active DLR Control VM currently runs.

Hence technically correct, yet the graphic is using a wrong icon.

This is how to represent the DLR Control VM vs the ESG with the official icons [source: NSX ICM V6.2 courseware]

Figure 11 and Figure 12 are exactly the same.

According to the text, Figure 11 should show:

the resulting pop-up window that has been populated with a profile name and the certificate retrieved from the HSC.

... yet Figure 11 s actually neither showing any pop-up window, nor any certificate.

Figure 13 and Figure 14 are exactly the same.

According to the text, Figure 13 should show:

a menu that is dropped down by right clicking on the “Database” Logical Switch entry in the table.

... yet Figure 13 is not showing any menu.

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‎01-25-2016 11:36 AM
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