Objective 1.6 –Explain VMware NSX Integration with vCloud Automation Center (vCAC)

Knowledge

• Describe integration with vCAC
  • It allows users to create complete application templates which combine compute, storage, networking and security services in a blueprint for on-demand deployment
  • It allows for security automation workflows to be integrated with compute automation
  • With Layer 2 VPN on NSX Edge, enterprises can migrate workloads, consolidate datacenters, or create stretched application tiers across multiple datacenters. Service providers can offer tenant on-boarding and cloud bursting services where tenant application networks are preserved across datacenters without the need for NSX on customer premises.
  • Helps you optimize resource utilization and scale by dynamically connecting self-service applications to NSX logical networks while ensuring that infrastructure security policies are automatically applied to isolate and protect the applications
• Explain NSX deployment capabilities built into vCAC
  • Application-specific networks may be defined in a multimachine blueprint for vCloud Networking and Security and NSX.
• List NSX components that can be pre-created using vCAC
  • Logical Router
  • Logical Network
  • Virtual Network Adapter
  • Virtual Load Balancer
• Describe Network Profiles available in vCAC
  • They perform 2 main functions:
    • NIC configuration (IP, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, DNS)
    • NSX Edge Services Router configuration (Route, NAT, Drop)
  • 5 main types
    • External Profile – Used to pass config information to catalog items that are not associated with a blueprint, or to provide information which is used to configure the NSX Edge Services Router
    • 1-to-1 NAT Profile – Used to conserve externally routable IP addresses.
    • 1-to-Many NAT Profile – As above, but no Source NAT.
    • Private Profile – No external connectivity
    • Routed Profile – IP range must be unique, IP addressing uses a valid external range.

• Explain NSX preparation tasks that must be completed prior to attaching a network profile to a blueprint
  • Create Logical Distributed routers
  • Create Transport Zones
  • ?? Not sure if anything else is required.
• Explain vCAC preparation tasks that must be completed prior to deploying a machine with on-demand network services
  • Add NSX Manager to vSphere endpoint
  • Configure reservations
    • External Network Profiles
    • Transport Zone
    • Routed Gateway
  • Configure Blueprints – Multi-machine
    • Configure transport zone
    • Configure network profile
    • Add VM blueprints
    • Identify any Security Groups required
    • Edit network -> associate network profile, configure additional services like load balancer

Tools

• IaaS Configuration for Virtual Platforms
• IaaS Configuration for Multi-Machine Services
• Also see http://blogs.vmware.com/management/2014/05/vcac-nsx-dynamically-configuring-application-specific-network-services.html