Objective 1.2 – Describe VMware NSX Architecture

Knowledge

• Identify the components in a VMware NSX stack
  
  • NSX Manager – The NSX manager provides the single point of configuration and the REST API entry-points in a vSphere environment for NSX.
  • NSX Controller – manages NSX vSwitches, sends Router/Switch/Firewall config to NSX vSwitch
  • NSX Edge – Load Balancer, Firewall, VPN configuration
  • NSX vSwitch – vDS + Hypervisor Extentsion Modules (VXLAN, DLR, Firewall)

• Identify common physical network topologies
  (see design guide, especially leaf and spine)
  
• Describe a basic VMware NSX topology
  

• Differentiate functional services delivered by a VMware NSX stack
  • Dynamic routing
  • Firewall
  • NAT
  • DHCP
  • Site-to-site VPN (IPSEC)
  • L2 VPN (stretch Datacenter)
  • SSL VPN-Plus (users)
  • Load Balancing
  • High Availability
  • Distributed Firewall

Tools

• VMware NSX Network Virtualization Design Guide
• NSX Administration Guide