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VMware NSX for vSphere to NSX-T Migration – End-to-End User Defined Topology

Reading Time: 12 minutes

Article Updated: 20th July 2023

In my previous post, I covered the end-to-end migration of VMware NSX for vSphere to NSX-T Data Center (VMware NSX from v4.0.0.1) via the Fixed Topology Option, however, in real life I don’t see this option utilised very often due to the limited number of supported topologies.

How then can we achieve the same in-place, end-to-end migration of unsupported topologies? This is where the User Defined Topology option comes into play, and it offers much greater flexibility by enabling customers to define/map their own logical routing topologies. This, of course, will require a design and, like the message I tried to impart in my previous post, this must be planned ahead of your proposed change/maintenance/migration window.

Continue reading → VMware NSX for vSphere to NSX-T Migration – End-to-End User Defined Topology

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VMware NSX for vSphere to NSX-T Migration – End-to-End Fixed Topology

Reading Time: 9 minutes

In a previous post, we discussed the value of pre-migration validation checks, identifying whether a customer environment is aligned to the supported fixed topologies and the process of creating and viewing the JSON output following the successful import of NSX for vSphere configuration.

In this post, we continue on the same theme and will use the NSX-T (VMware NSX from v4.0.0.1) Migration Coordinator to migrate an NSX for vSphere environment, end-to-end, to NSX-T via the Fixed Topology option.

Continue reading → VMware NSX for vSphere to NSX-T Migration – End-to-End Fixed Topology

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VMware NSX-T Migration Coordinator Report Export for Fixed Topology Migration

Reading Time: 4 minutes

With VMware NSX for vSphere (NSX-V) having gone end of general support on January 16th 2022, there are numerous customers now busily working on migrating to VMware NSX-T Data Center (VMware NSX as of v4.0.0.1).

In future posts, I will detail the end-to-end migration process for both Fixed and User Defined Topologies utilising the NSX-T Migration Coordinator, however, before we jump in, let us look at a rather handy report which is often helpful in validating customer readiness and environmental health for those looking to migrate via the Fixed Topology option.

Continue reading → VMware NSX-T Migration Coordinator Report Export for Fixed Topology Migration

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VMware NSX Micro-Segmentation Only Deployment

Reading Time: 7 minutes

When we talk about VMware NSX (formerly VMware NSX-T Data Center), most of us think about abstracting management of the network away from the physical fabric thanks to NSX’s magic sauce and overlay networking capability via Geneve encapsulation. However, overlay networking isn’t always the primary use case, with a high volume of customers opting for micro-segmentation only.

Some customers, for example, are happy to allow the network’s management and physical gateways to remain within the physical fabric. Perhaps their organisation already has an alternative software-defined networking product, or they simply don’t make that many changes within their network. So, how can customers use micro-segmentation via the NSX Distributed Firewall (DFW)? Simply put, by utilising currently existing vSphere environments and VDSs in conjunction with the NSX DFW.

Continue reading → VMware NSX Micro-Segmentation Only Deployment

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VMware NSX-T Data Center One-Arm Load Balancer for VLAN-Backed Workloads

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Scenario – Let us say I have a Customer who has a load balancing requirement, however, they do not utilise Overlay networking and, as a result, no Tier-0 or Tier-1 Gateways exist to form a software-defined routing architecture. As such, an Inline load balancer topology will not be possible. However, VLAN-backed NSX-T Segments are in place, as the customer currently utilises distributed firewalling.

This article looks at how we can deploy a Tier-1 Gateway for one-arm load balancing to backend virtual machines housed on VLAN-backed NSX-T Segments. Should we wish, we could expand the server pool by adding physical devices as well.

Continue reading → VMware NSX-T Data Center One-Arm Load Balancer for VLAN-Backed Workloads

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Securing Physical Workloads via the VMware NSX-T Gateway Firewall and Service Interface

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Where the NSX-T Distributed Firewall (DFW) provides stateful protection to workloads at the vNIC level from within for micro-segmentation of east-west traffic, the Gateway Firewall (GFW) provides centralised stateful protection of north-south traffic for perimeter firewalling. Depending on the use case, the GFW might secure traffic between physical and virtual servers, physical to physical servers, and within multi-tenant environments, DMZ’s or could be utilised for, for example, PCI compliance.

The GFW can be implemented per Gateway and is supported on both Tier-0 and Tier-1 Gateways. The GFW is also independent of the NSX-T DFW as it holds its own configuration and enforcement policies. Excitingly, we can also leverage the GFW to secure physical workloads housed on VLAN-backed networks via the Service Interface. This is particularly useful where customers are unable to utilise the VMware NSX-T Kernel Agent (think proprietary appliances/servers).

In this article, we take a look at the process of securing physical server workloads housed on VLAN-backed networks.

Continue reading → Securing Physical Workloads via the VMware NSX-T Gateway Firewall and Service Interface

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VMware NSX-T Micro-Segmentation via vRealize Log Insight

Reading Time: 6 minutes

I work with a lot of customers to design and deploy secure, zero-trust environments utilising VMware NSX-T Data Center and, specifically, by using its Distributed Firewall (DFW). I’ve also spoken at several VMUGs where I’ve discussed the realities of micro-segmentation using both NSX for vSphere (NSX-v) and NSX-T and the tools that can be utilised to aid in the identification of application dependencies, traffic flows, services, etc.

I also understand that not all customers are able to utilise some of the more advanced VMware toolings such as NSX Intelligence and vRealize Network Insight, however, there is another tool that we can use to identify our application dependencies and, best of all, if you’re a licensed NSX-T customer, you’re also licensed for…vRealize Log Insight (vRLI).

In this article, we explore how we can utilise vRLI to identify and visualise application traffic flows so that we can more effectively secure our applications.

Continue reading → VMware NSX-T Micro-Segmentation via vRealize Log Insight

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Lab-Ready Workload Virtual Machines via VMware Photon OS – Static IP Assignment

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Like most of us in the virtualisation ecosystem, I run a lab. Actually, I run multiple labs, however, unlike some, my labs are nested environments running on a single ESXi host, specifically, the awesome SuperMicro SuperServer E300-9D-8CN8TP. My labs are just that – testing environments for personal development, study, validation of customer designs, etc. They don’t run any production/home applications, so they’re spun up and down fairly often.

As some of these labs can be resource hungry (multi-site VMware NSX-T Federation environments or VMware Cloud Foundation to name two examples), the workload VMs I deploy for testing within these environments must be small.

Welcome VMware Photon OS.

Continue reading → Lab-Ready Workload Virtual Machines via VMware Photon OS – Static IP Assignment

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Securing Workloads on Bare-Metal Windows Servers via the VMware NSX-T Agent (Kernel Module)

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Software-defined data centres, software-defined networks, software-defined storage – they are all great, aren’t they? They enable us to abstract software-defined-X from the physical and allows us to scale at speed via automation. However, physical servers, the elephant in the room, still exist, and they likely will for some time.

So then, can we integrate physical devices into a software-defined world? Yes. But, NSX-T micro-segmentation is only available to virtual machines, right? No. By using the VMware NSX-T Agent/kernel module, we can provide connectivity to bare-metal workloads and enable them to participate and leverage the same security functions as those enjoyed by virtual machines.

In this article, we deploy the NSX-T Agent to a Windows Server 2019 webserver hosting IIS and secure the physical, bare-metal server utilising the NSX-T Distributed Firewall (DFW).

Continue reading → Securing Workloads on Bare-Metal Windows Servers via the VMware NSX-T Agent (Kernel Module)

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London VMUG – 15th July 2021

Reading Time: < 1 minutes

Earlier this month, I was honoured to have been able to present at the London VMware User Group. My session focussed on a discussion and demonstration around how we can leverage VMware vRealize Network Insight (vRNI) to visualise applications, their dependencies, and their application traffic flows to effectively micro-segment an application using the VMware NSX-T Distributed Firewall (DFW).

Continue reading → London VMUG – 15th July 2021