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VMware NSX Data Center for vSphere (NSX-V) – Dynamic Routing via OSPF

VMware NSX Data Center for vSphere (NSX-V) has been able to leverage dynamic routing via Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) and Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) for some time and, in this article, I detail the process of configuring OSPF on both an Edge Services Gateway (ESG) and a downstream Distributed Logical Router (DLR).

OSPF, a Link State Protocol and member of the Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) family (which also includes Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS), and Enhanced Internal Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)), enables all participating routers to dynamically exchange network topology information to calculate the best shortest path (cost) of a route’s destination.

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VMware vExpert 2019
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VMware vExpert 2019 – Second-Half Applications Now Open

Twice each year VMware’s vExpert program opens its doors to applications throughout the IT and tech community. That second door opened just recently on June 7th 2019. The vExpert community is a group of like-minded enthusiasts, bloggers, book authors, VMUG leaders, speakers, tool builders, and community leaders.

If you are already busy in the community and are contributing in some way, this will without doubt open doors for you, give you priority access to VMware information and, of course, there are the usual vExpert licensing benefits.This has opened a huge amount of doors for me over the past two years, and has been a key driver in forming a number of fantastic relationships and creating some amazing opportunities. In my eyes, the VMware community in general is the most amazing community out there. Full of amazing, knowledgeable people, so why not join in?

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Integrating VMware Horizon with Azure Multi-Factor Authentication Server

For those already consuming Microsoft Office 365, then you will undoubtedly (to some level) be utilising Azure Active Directory. Azure AD comes with an array of tools, some of which aren’t confined to public cloud; some can even aid and strengthen your on-premises applications. One such tool is the Azure Multi-Factor Authentication Server, an on-premises 2-factor authentication mechanism which can integrate with on-prem VMware Horizon environments.

The Azure MFA Server enables us to further enhance the security of numerous applications capable of integrating with 2FA authentication, and VMware Horizon has been able to integrate with such solutions for some time. This additional level of security is a much sought after function which serves to further secure public access to internal desktop pools.

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VMware NSX-T Data Center Migration – Part 2 – NSX for vSphere (NSX-V) Preliminary Checks

Welcome to the second article in the series detailing a migration of VMware NSX Data Center for vSphere (NSX-V) to NSX-T Data Center. In this article I focus on the preliminary checks to ensure the NSX-V environment is fit for migration.

In part 1 (VMware NSX-T Data Center Migration – Part 1 – Deploy Manager Appliance) I covered the process of deploying the NSX -T Data Center Manager Appliance, as well as a number of prerequisite tasks required to prepare the new NSX-T environment for the eventual migration (coming in part 3).

In this article I detail a number of preliminary checks within the NSX-V environment (including ESXi hosts, vSphere Distributed Switches, VXLAN configuration, VTEP, NSX Controllers, Edge Services Gateways, etc.) to ensure all is well prior to the migration process itself. Where any issues are identified, these must be resolved prior to the migration process.

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VMware NSX-T Data Center - Deploy Manager Appliance 119
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VMware NSX-T Data Center Migration – Part 1 – Deploy Manager Appliance

Welcome to the first in a new series of articles detailing the migration process of VMware NSX Data Center for vSphere to NSX-T Data Center. The migration to NSX-T will be split into three steps:

  • Part 1 (this article) – Deploy NSX -T Data Center Manager Appliance, and prepare this new NSX-T environment for the migration of NSX Data Center for vSphere by adding a Compute Manager, and creating an IP Pool for Edge Tunnel End Points (TEPs).
  • Part 2 – Prepare NSX Data Center for vSphere for migration to NSX-T, including ESXi host, vSphere Distributed Switch, and NSX-V pre-flight checks (VXLAN, VTEP, Controllers, Edge Services Gateways).
  • Part 3 – Migrate NSX Data Center for vSphere to NSX-T Data Center.

Note – In this article, the process of deploying the VMware NSX-T Data Center Manager Appliance can be considered the same as whether you are a) deploying into a greenfield environment void of any NSX, or b) migrating NSX Data Center for vSphere to NSX-T.

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Networking and Security Extension Missing After VMware NSX Upgrade

Following a recent upgrade of VMware NSX Data Centre for vSphere from 6.4.1 to 6.4.4, the option to access NSX’s Networking and Security extension from within the vSphere Client (HTML 5) had simply disappeared. This left me scratching my head a little, more so as I’ve completed this upgrade (what seems) a million times.

Scenario-wise, I had completed the initial NSX Manager upgrade, but after logging in to the vSphere Client, I noted the Networking and Security extension failed to display.

Networking and Security Extension Missing After VMware NSX Upgrade

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20190320 VMUG Presentation Welcome Slide
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South West UK VMUG – March 2019 – VMware NSX and Micro-Segmentation from the Field

That was a blast! On Wednesday 20th March I had the pleasure of speaking at the South West UK VMUG, held at the Bristol and Bath Science Park. My biggest thanks to VMUG Leaders Jeremy Bowman, Simon Eady, Barry Coombs, and Megan Warren for such a great opportunity, and to all who attended my session. This was my first time speaking at a VMUG, and despite the nerves, I really enjoyed it.

Focusing on VMware NSX Data Centre for vSphere and, more specifically, the micro-segmentation of applications with the aid of the NSX Application Rule Manager (based around my previous article). I opted not to perform a live demo during my very first speaking slot, but instead produced a live recording, for which I walked the group through how to utilise the NSX Application Rule Manager to identify application dependencies, endpoints, and service/ports/protocols when implementing a zero-trust environment.

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VMware NSX-T 2.4 – ‘A Landmark Release’

Today saw the release of VMware NSX-T 2.4, the latest and greatest, lauded as a ‘landmark release’ for the product.

Since its initial release in February 2017, NSX-T has focused on addressing organisational requirements to support cloud-native applications, bare metal workloads, multi-hypervisor environments, and public clouds. With the release of NSX-T 2.4, we can now add multi-clouds to the list.

NSX-T delivers security to diverse endpoints such as VMs, containers, and bare metal, as well as a range of cloud platforms and cloud native projects including Kubernetes, VMware PKS, Pivotal Application Service (PAS), and Red Hat OpenShift.

With NSX-T 2.4, VMware are able to deliver further advancements in networking, security, automation, and an ‘operational simplicity for everyone’. This includes IT admins, DevOps teams, and developers. As such, NSX-T is an enabler for customers embracing cloud-native application development, expanding use of public cloud, and those who require automation to drive agility.

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South West UK VMUG – 20th March 2019

The first South West UK VMUG will be taking place on Wednesday 20th March 2019 at the Bristol and Bath Science Park, an event which also marks my first time presenting at a VMUG. No pressure, but I will be following a session by fellow vExpert, Chris Lewis (no relation).

My session will be covering VMware NSX Data Centre for vSphere (NSX-V) and, more specifically, the reality of managing a zero-trust environment for true micro-segmentation of services. NSX itself makes this fairly easy thanks to a number of tools (Application Rule Manager being just one), however, there are always a number of human variables which need to be acknowledged and identified along the way.

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