Back about two years ago I took a NSX Bootcamp. After the bootcamp, I wanted to create a cheat sheet for myself since I don’t have a networking background and it was the first time working with NSX. That way I had something to look at later to refer to as a reminder. So I created these two pages where the one is a “simple” logical view and the other is a more detailed logical view. Although I created this two years ago, it covers the core components and concepts of NSX, so it is still accurate and relevant to the latest versions of NSX.
The detailed page (shown in the picture above) shows all the components of NSX, each component’s function, the intercommunication between them, what plane (Management, Control, or Data) they are in, etc.
I think most individuals will find it useful, especially those that are new to NSX. If you have any questions on the PDF that my overview video doesn’t answer, feel free to email me from this site.
Many VMware customers tend to wait to upgrade to the next version for several reasons. Some of these are no time to do the upgrade, scared of issues that may arise during the upgrade process especially from vSphere 5.x versions, or wanting to wait until the first update is out so that all the fixes have been addressed. These are all valid concerns in which I can appreciate due to my operation experience and background supporting vSphere environments!
On July 21, 2017, VMware released vSphere 6.5 Update 1which has many enhancements. Once of the enhancements that most are excited about is the fact that the new HTML5-based vSphere Web Client is now at approximately 90% feature parity to the old Java-based vSphere Web Client which was know for being slow and clunky. Hopefully, by the next update of vSphere, the HTML5 client will be at full feature parity. At which time, VMware will retire the old Java-based client.
The HTML5 client enhancements are just one of numerous reasons why you should consider updating to vSphere 6.5. Another primary reason is that there are many new featured within the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) like embedded Backup/Restore Tool, vSphere Update Manager is embedded, and the new vCenter Server Appliance High Availability (HA) configuration option. So there are some great enhancements that should encourage you to upgrade to the latest version of vSphere and vCenter server!
VMware has created a Migration Assistance Tool to help migrate your vSphere 5.5/6.x environments to the new vSphere 6.5. Even if you are currently running a Windows based version of vCenter in the older version, the tool can migrate the vCenter database, performance data and metrics, etc. to the new vCenter Server Appliance 6.5. There are several supported migration options based on your vCenter server, Single-Sign-On (SSO), or Platform Service Controller (PSC) architectures you may be currently running.
So take a look at my Useful Links page on this site to see the links to below resources that can help you migrate to the new vSphere 6.5!
Top Reasons to Upgrade to vSphere 6.5 Infographic
vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Considerations – Part 1
vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Considerations – Part 2
Announcing the vSphere 6.5 Topology and Upgrade Planning Tool
vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 Migration Walkthrough
VMware Doc’s – Migration Assistance Tool
vSphere 6.5 – Upgrade Guide
VMware vCenter Server Appliance Poster
Platform Services Controller Topology Decision Tree Poster
For all those VMware techies out there that work with VMware solutions on a daily basis, it’s hard to remember everything we need to know related to the many solutions we manage. So VMware has created several VMware Reference Posters to help us out when we need a little reminder as far as a command-line argument, configuration option, etc.
At the VMware provided website, they have provided us with (3) reference posters for working with PowerCLI 6.5 R1, vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA), and Platform Services Controllers (PSC) Topology Decision Tree. Click on the below link to go to the VMware Reference Poster site and download your copy of these great tools!
Although not listed in the above site, there is also a NSX Reference Poster that is also available! So for those that are managing VMware NSX, I highly recommend you download this poster and keep it handy, I am sure you will need to use it at some point in time while managing NSX.
The dimensions for the NSX posters are designed to be printed in a high-resolution A3 size (no lower than 300 dpi).
On March 2nd 2017 we released the VMware Validated Design for Software-Defined Data Center 4.0. A milestone release in our commitment to delivering our customers standardized, proven, and robust data-center level designs for the Software-Defined Data Center.
VMware Virtual Network Assessment is a free assessment that analyzes network traffic patterns within your data center. In 24 to 72 hours the assessment delivers:
Insights into the security risk (amount of East-West traffic) present in your network
A preview of actionable NSX micro-segmentation recommendations for your network
Opportunities to optimize network performance with NSX
Traditional approaches to securing a data center are focused on building a strong perimeter to keep threats outside the network. However, little is done to protect the network once a threat is inside the network. East-West (server-to-server) traffic accounts for more than 80% of overall data center traffic, but it’s largely unprotected, leaving you at risk. Virtual Network Assessment shows what percent of your data center traffic is “East-West” and not protected by your perimeter firewall.
How do I get started with micro-segmentation?
It can be a labor-intensive process to figure out what security policies to put in place, requiring time-consuming tasks such as identifying which servers are talking to each other and what ports are open. Virtual Network Assessment gives you a preview of how to micro-segment your network and recommends firewall rules to help you get started.
vRealize Operations Management Pack For vCloud Air 3.1 Is Now Live!
I am pleased to announce that vRealize Operations Management Pack for vCloud Air 3.1 is now live at Solution Exchange.
Management Pack 3.1 extends vRealize Operations Manager to monitor vCloud Air infrastructure and adds metrics, dashboards, reports, and alerts for newly released services – Dedicated Disaster Recovery, High Performance Storage, and Hybrid Cloud Manager 2.0 U2.
VMware’s Partner Provided – End User Computing (EUC) TestDrive DEMO Environment!
For many of VMware’s partners, they don’t have a demo environment in which they can deploy VMware’s End User Computing solutions such as Horizon 7, App Volumes, User Environment Manager (UEM), etc. This is due to not having the spare server hardware or the funds to purchase hardware just for a demo environment. As a partner, they need to be able to demo the VMware EUC based solutions to their customers to show the value as it relates to the customer’s business needs.
Well the VMware partners are in luck! VMware has provided a EUC demo environment called “EUC TestDrive” in which our partners can access to demo EUC solutions to your customers. Many of the below VMware solutions are installed and ready to demo in the EUC TestDrive environment.
So if you are a VMware partner that resells VMware’s EUC-based solutions, make sure you look into the below requirements to get an account and use the EUC TestDrive Demo environment! Also, I have created an enablement video where I go through the EUC TestDrive demo environment and provide you an overview of how to use the portal and what capabilities are offered in it. So check out my overview video listed below!
NOTE: Someone who has an account already can send you an invite, but your account will be valid for a limited time frame. If you receive the VTSP-Mobility accreditation, your account will not expire.
This is the first definitive reference for all network and data center virtualization professionals planning, implementing, or operating VMware NSX 6.2 for vSphere.
With Early Release ebooks, you get books in their earliest form—the author’s raw and unedited content as he or she writes—so you can take advantage of these technologies long before the official release of these titles. You’ll also receive updates when significant changes are made, new chapters are available, and the final ebook bundle is released.
Last month we announced the release of a new vROps Management Pack specifically for vSAN. Previously the vSAN Management Pack was bundled with the MPSD – Management Pack for Storage Devices. I wrote about this when it entered beta, way back in 2015. Well, for those customers who are only interested in monitoring vSAN, and didn’t want all the other parts of the MPSD, the new vSAN Management Pack is now a stand-alone offering, so no MPSD required.
Improve your vSphere configuration, performance and capacity utilization with a free vSphere Optimization Assessment enhanced evaluation. Get started now.
Datacenter Command-Line Interface (DCLI) is one of vSphere’s newest CLIs. DCLI works exclusively with the vSphere Automation API (REST API for vSphere) to provide both an interactive and scriptable mode to monitor and manage all features made available to the REST based API.
In the last year since VMware announced the VMware Validated Designs at VMworld 2015, we’ve delivered on two iterations of the VMware Validated Design for SDDC. The first release, VMware Validated Design for SDDC 1.0, became available as a special offering through VMware Professional services in the spring of 2015. That was then followed by the first generally available release, VMware Validated Designs for SDDC 2.0, which was available in mid-Summer.
Everyone knows the situation where you can’t log into a system because you have forgotten the password. The following article explains how to reset the password and regain access to VMware vS…Read More
I am excited to announce two new walkthroughs for vCenter High availability on the VMware Feature Walkthroughs site! These two new click-by-click product walkthroughs will show you how to enable vCenter High Availability (also known as vCenter HA) and give you the confidence you need to use this exciting new feature in your own environment! The post New Walkthroughs for vCenter High Availability appeared first on VMware vSphere Blog .
Moving to Windows 10 is a struggle for customers even though they understand the urgency driven by the Windows 7 end of life coming next July. Some of these customers are in the planning stages while others are still researching what to do and developing a plan. Partners, especially those in trusted advisor roles, are […] The post TestDrive Accelerates Windows 10 and AirWatch Solutions appeared first on Power of Partnership .
One of the recent enhancement released in PowerCLI 6.5 R1 was the addition of a new Horizon View Module which allows you to manage Horizon View from a remote connection, this is a huge enhancement from the previous PowerShell implementation which fell short by many means. With the new Horizon View Module you will be … Continue reading Getting started with PowerCLI 6.5 and Horizon View → This post was original written and posted by Alan Renouf here: Getting started with PowerCLI 6.5 and…Read More
The new vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) 6.5 has a backup feature. Today’s post is about VMware VCSA 6.5 Backup and Restore How-to. Note that it is an “out-of-the-box” feature which does a file level backup. It’s “built-in” within the appliance itself, and it allows users to backup not only the vCenter Server but also Platform […] Read the full post VMware VCSA 6.5 Backup and Restore How-To at ESX Virtualization .
VMware Hands-on Labs demonstrate the value of VMware solutions in real-time. Get up and running with the latest HOL’s in your browser in mere minutes, via hands-on labs – no installation required.
VMware Hands-on Labs demonstrate the value of VMware solutions in real-time. Get up and running with the latest HOL’s in your browser in mere minutes, via hands-on labs – no installation required.
Software-defined networking (SDN) and network virtualization are two of the hottest trends in the IT industry lately. But while they sound like similar concepts on the surface, in reality there are major differences.
Software-defined networking (SDN) and network virtualization are two of the hottest trends in the IT industry lately. But while they sound like similar concepts on the surface, in reality there are major differences.
Want to get a preview of what’s available in the VMware Learning Zone before you commit to a full subscription? How about free training on the latest VMware technologies? If you answered yes, the new VMware Learning Zone Trial Subscription is just what you’ve been waiting for.
Have you ever tried to upload / download files using WinSCP to / from the VCSA >= v. 6.0? Out of the box, this won’t work. In this post I’ll show you how to fix this.
ESXCLI is a powerful command line tool on an ESXi host. You may need it for troubleshooting, configuration or for automated ESXi installations by using a kickstart file. I’m having a esxcli c…Read More
There’s been a lot of buzz around PowerCLI lately, and we’re keeping it going! It gives me great pleasure to announce the general availability of VMware PowerCLI 6.5 Release 1!
Today we’re ecstatic to announce Project Clarity, a design system that combines UX guidelines, patterns, and front-end code in one solution. Clarity is for the designer and developer in each of us.
Since vSphere and vCenter 6.5 are released now, a customer engagement put me into a position to gather much more information about characteristics and limitations within vCenter 6.5.
Several months back I had built an ESXi Virtual Appliance that allows anyone to quickly stand up a fully functional Nested ESXi VM which includes guest customization such as networking, NTP, syslog, passwords, etc.
Is there any free resources to learn about VMware technologies? I have seen many people asking this question again and again. Actually there are a lot, and here I try to list down all the free technical VMware resources available on the Internet that I aware of.
Here is our Top 20 NSX articles list for October 2016. This list is ranked by the number of times a VMware Support Request was resolved by following the steps in a published Knowledge Base article.
It’s the final day of releasing labs the 2017 catalog and we have some rather unique labs for you. We are releasing the VxRail, VMware Learning Platform and vCloud Director for Service Providers Hands-on Labs today.
