VMworld Europe 2017 – Speaking at Customer Panel on VMware NSX [NET3081PE] – Update

VMware invited me to be a speaker at a customer panel about VMware NSX at VMworld Europe 2017. I am exited to get the opportunity and share my experience together with other customers in deploying and running VMware NSX in modern datacenter environments.

Here the session information and schedule:

“In this session, a number of VMware NSX customers will discuss how NSX has been used in their environments, specifically focusing on how their organisation has benefited from security, automation, and application continuity-related projects.”

Customer Panel on VMware NSX [NET3081PE]

ScheduleTuesday, Sep 12, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | 41

 
Update:

Very interesting and successful panel discussion with other customers and VMworld attendees.

Here the recorded audio of the customer panel:

Ansible Playbook for Cumulus NetQ Agent Installation

Here a short Ansible script to install the Cumulus NetQ agent on Cumulus Linux switches.

---
- hosts: spine leaf
  remote_user: cumulus
  gather_facts: no
  become: yes
  vars:
    ansible_become_pass: "CumulusLinux!"
  tasks:
    - name: Install cumulus-netq
      apt: name=cumulus-netq update_cache=yes state=present
      register: result

    - name: Restart Syslog service
      service: name=rsyslog state=restarted
      when: result.stdout is defined

    - pause: seconds=5

    - name: Add netq server IP addr
      command: netq config add server 192.168.100.133
      when: result.stdout is defined

    - name: Start netq-agent
      service: name=netq-agent state=restarted
      when: result.stdout is defined

Your NetQ VM needs to be reachable from the switches otherwise the command “netq add server…” will fail.

You find more information in the official Cumulus NetQ documentation:  https://docs.cumulusnetworks.com/display/NETQ/Getting+Started+with+NetQ

Cumulus Networks NetQ telemetry-based validation system

I had some time to play around with the new NetQ tool from Cumulus which checks your Cumulus Linux switch fabric.

I did some testing with my Cumulus Layer 2 Fabric example: Ansible Playbook for Cumulus Linux (Layer 2 Fabric)

You need to download the NetQ VM from Cumulus as VMware or VirtualBox template: here

It is a great tool to centrally check your Cumulus switches and keep history about changes in your environment. NetQ can send out notification about changes in your fabric which is nice because you are always up-to-date what is going on in your network.

Installing NetQ agent on a Cumulus Linux Switch:

cumulus@spine-1:~$ sudo apt-get update
cumulus@spine-1:~$ sudo apt-get install cumulus-netq -y

Configuring the NetQ Agent on a switch:

cumulus@spine-1:~$ sudo systemctl restart rsyslog
cumulus@spine-1:~$ netq add server 192.168.100.133
cumulus@spine-1:~$ netq agent restart

I will write a small Ansible script in the next days to automate the agent installation and configuration.

Connect to Cumulus NetQ VM and check agent connectivity

admin@cumulus:~$ netq-shell

Welcome to Cumulus (R) NetQ Command Line Interface
TIP: Type `netq help` to get started.

netq@dc9163c7044e:/$ netq show agents
Node     Status    Sys Uptime    Agent Uptime
-------  --------  ------------  --------------
leaf-1   Fresh     1h ago        1h ago
leaf-2   Fresh     1h ago        1h ago
spine-1  Fresh     1h ago        1h ago
spine-2  Fresh     1h ago        1h ago
netq@dc9163c7044e:/$

Basic Show Commands:

netq@dc9163c7044e:/$ netq show clag
Matching CLAG session records are:
Node             Peer             SysMac            State Backup #Links #Dual Last Changed
---------------- ---------------- ----------------- ----- ------ ------ ----- --------------
leaf-1           leaf-2(P)        44:38:39:ff:40:93 up    up     1      1     8m ago
leaf-2(P)        leaf-1           44:38:39:ff:40:93 up    up     1      1     8m ago
spine-1(P)       spine-2          44:38:39:ff:40:94 up    up     1      1     8m ago
spine-2          spine-1(P)       44:38:39:ff:40:94 up    up     1      1     9m ago
netq@dc9163c7044e:/$
 
netq@dc9163c7044e:/$ netq show lldp
LLDP peer info for *:*
Node     Interface    LLDP Peer    Peer Int    Last Changed
-------  -----------  -----------  ----------  --------------
leaf-1   eth0         cumulus      eth0        1h ago
leaf-1   eth0         leaf-2       eth0        1h ago
leaf-1   eth0         spine-1      eth0        1h ago
leaf-1   eth0         spine-2      eth0        1h ago
leaf-1   swp1         spine-1      swp1        1h ago
leaf-1   swp11        leaf-2       swp11       9m ago
leaf-1   swp2         spine-2      swp1        1h ago
leaf-2   eth0         cumulus      eth0        1h ago
leaf-2   eth0         leaf-1       eth0        1h ago
leaf-2   eth0         spine-1      eth0        1h ago
leaf-2   eth0         spine-2      eth0        1h ago
leaf-2   swp1         spine-2      swp2        1h ago
leaf-2   swp11        leaf-1       swp11       8m ago
leaf-2   swp2         spine-1      swp2        1h ago
spine-1  eth0         cumulus      eth0        1h ago
spine-1  eth0         leaf-1       eth0        1h ago
spine-1  eth0         leaf-2       eth0        1h ago
spine-1  eth0         spine-2      eth0        1h ago
spine-1  swp1         leaf-1       swp1        1h ago
spine-1  swp11        spine-2      swp11       1h ago
spine-1  swp2         leaf-2       swp2        8m ago
spine-2  eth0         cumulus      eth0        1h ago
spine-2  eth0         leaf-1       eth0        1h ago
spine-2  eth0         leaf-2       eth0        1h ago
spine-2  eth0         spine-1      eth0        1h ago
spine-2  swp1         leaf-1       swp2        1h ago
spine-2  swp11        spine-1      swp11       1h ago
spine-2  swp2         leaf-2       swp1        8m ago
netq@dc9163c7044e:/$
 
netq@dc9163c7044e:/$ netq show interfaces type bond
Matching interface records are:
Node             Interface        Type     State Details                     Last Changed
---------------- ---------------- -------- ----- --------------------------- --------------
leaf-1           bond1            bond     up    Slave: swp1(spine-1:swp1),  10m ago
                                                 Slave: swp2(spine-2:swp1),
                                                 VLANs:  100-199, PVID: 1,
                                                 Master: bridge, MTU: 1500
leaf-1           peerlink         bond     up    Slave: swp11(leaf-2:swp11), 10m ago
                                                 VLANs: , PVID: 0,
                                                 Master: peerlink, MTU: 1500
leaf-2           bond1            bond     up    Slave: swp1(spine-2:swp2),  10m ago
                                                 Slave: swp2(spine-1:swp2),
                                                 VLANs:  100-199, PVID: 1,
                                                 Master: bridge, MTU: 1500
leaf-2           peerlink         bond     up    Slave: swp11(leaf-1:swp11), 10m ago
                                                 VLANs: , PVID: 0,
                                                 Master: peerlink, MTU: 1500
spine-1          bond1            bond     up    Slave: swp1(leaf-1:swp1),   10m ago
                                                 Slave: swp2(leaf-2:swp2),
                                                 VLANs:  100-199, PVID: 1,
                                                 Master: bridge, MTU: 1500
spine-1          peerlink         bond     up    Slave: swp11(spine-2:swp11) 1h ago
                                                 , VLANs:  100-199,
                                                 PVID: 1, Master: bridge,
                                                 MTU: 1500
spine-2          bond1            bond     up    Slave: swp1(leaf-1:swp2),   10m ago
                                                 Slave: swp2(leaf-2:swp1),
                                                 VLANs:  100-199, PVID: 1,
                                                 Master: bridge, MTU: 1500
spine-2          peerlink         bond     up    Slave: swp11(spine-1:swp11) 1h ago
                                                 , VLANs:  100-199,
                                                 PVID: 1, Master: bridge,
                                                 MTU: 1500
netq@dc9163c7044e:/$
 
netq@dc9163c7044e:/$ netq show ip routes
Matching IP route records are:
Origin Table            IP               Node             Nexthops                   Last Changed
------ ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- -------------------------- ----------------
1      default          169.254.1.0/30   leaf-1           peerlink.4093              11m ago
1      default          169.254.1.0/30   leaf-2           peerlink.4093              11m ago
1      default          169.254.1.0/30   spine-1          peerlink.4094              1h ago
1      default          169.254.1.0/30   spine-2          peerlink.4094              1h ago
1      default          169.254.1.1/32   leaf-1           peerlink.4093              11m ago
1      default          169.254.1.1/32   spine-1          peerlink.4094              1h ago
1      default          169.254.1.2/32   leaf-2           peerlink.4093              11m ago
1      default          169.254.1.2/32   spine-2          peerlink.4094              1h ago
1      default          192.168.100.0/24 leaf-1           eth0                       1h ago
1      default          192.168.100.0/24 leaf-2           eth0                       1h ago
1      default          192.168.100.0/24 spine-1          eth0                       1h ago
1      default          192.168.100.0/24 spine-2          eth0                       1h ago
1      default          192.168.100.205/ spine-1          eth0                       1h ago
                        32
1      default          192.168.100.206/ spine-2          eth0                       1h ago
                        32
1      default          192.168.100.207/ leaf-1           eth0                       1h ago
                        32
1      default          192.168.100.208/ leaf-2           eth0                       1h ago
                        32
0      vrf-prod         0.0.0.0/0        spine-1          Blackhole                  1h ago
0      vrf-prod         0.0.0.0/0        spine-2          Blackhole                  1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.0.0/24      spine-1          bridge.100                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.0.0/24      spine-2          bridge.100                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.0.252/32    spine-1          bridge.100                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.0.253/32    spine-2          bridge.100                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.0.254/32    spine-1          bridge.100                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.0.254/32    spine-2          bridge.100                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.1.0/24      spine-1          bridge.101                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.1.0/24      spine-2          bridge.101                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.1.252/32    spine-1          bridge.101                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.1.253/32    spine-2          bridge.101                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.1.254/32    spine-1          bridge.101                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.1.254/32    spine-2          bridge.101                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.2.0/24      spine-1          bridge.102                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.2.0/24      spine-2          bridge.102                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.2.252/32    spine-1          bridge.102                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.2.253/32    spine-2          bridge.102                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.2.254/32    spine-1          bridge.102                 1h ago
1      vrf-prod         10.1.2.254/32    spine-2          bridge.102                 1h ago
netq@dc9163c7044e:/$

See Changes in Switch Fabric:

netq@dc9163c7044e:/$ netq leaf-1 show interfaces type bond
Matching interface records are:
Node             Interface        Type     State Details                     Last Changed
---------------- ---------------- -------- ----- --------------------------- --------------
leaf-1           bond1            bond     up    Slave: swp1(spine-1:swp1),  2s ago
                                                 Slave: swp2(spine-2:swp1),
                                                 VLANs:  100-199, PVID: 1,
                                                 Master: bridge, MTU: 1500
leaf-1           peerlink         bond     up    Slave: swp11(leaf-2:swp11), 21m ago
                                                 VLANs: , PVID: 0,
                                                 Master: peerlink, MTU: 1500
netq@dc9163c7044e:/$
 
cumulus@leaf-1:~$ sudo ifdown bond1
cumulus@leaf-1:~$
 
netq@dc9163c7044e:/$ netq leaf-1 show interfaces type bond
Matching interface records are:
Node             Interface        Type     State Details                     Last Changed
---------------- ---------------- -------- ----- --------------------------- --------------
leaf-1           peerlink         bond     up    Slave: swp11(leaf-2:swp11), 22m ago
                                                 VLANs: , PVID: 0,
                                                 Master: peerlink, MTU: 1500
netq@dc9163c7044e:/$
 
netq@dc9163c7044e:/$ netq leaf-1 show interfaces type bond changes
Matching interface records are:
Node             Interface        Type     State Details                     DbState Last Changed
---------------- ---------------- -------- ----- --------------------------- ------- --------------
leaf-1           bond1            bond     down  VLANs: , PVID: 0,           Del     21s ago
                                                 Master: bridge, MTU: 1500
leaf-1           bond1            bond     down  Slave: swp1(),              Add     21s ago
                                                 Slave: swp2(),
                                                 VLANs:  100-199, PVID: 1,
                                                 Master: bridge, MTU: 1500
leaf-1           bond1            bond     up    Slave: swp1(spine-1:swp1),  Add     1m ago
                                                 Slave: swp2(spine-2:swp1),
                                                 VLANs:  100-199, PVID: 1,
                                                 Master: bridge, MTU: 1500 

More information you can find in the Cumulus NetQ documentation: https://docs.cumulusnetworks.com/display/NETQ/NetQ

New Cumulus Linux leaf-switches

Just added another pair of Cumulus Linux leaf (top of rack) switches and more VMware compute nodes to our production system.

We use a Layer 2 network fabric, see my recent post about an example: Ansible Playbook for Cumulus Linux (Layer 2 Fabric)

Got a bit tight in the rack for the DA cables, basically each server has 2x 10Gbit/s data- and 2x 10Gbit/s storage-network connections.

Front rack view:

Another two racks will follow soon in the same configuration.

 

VMware NSX Network Design Example

In my previous post about the VMware NSX Edge Routing, I explained how the Edge Service Gateways are connected to the physical network.

Now I want to show an example how the network design could look like if you want to use NSX:

Of course this really depends on your requirements and how complex your network is, I could easily replace the Tenant Edge Service Gateways (ESG) with Distributed Logical Router (DLR) if your tenant network is more complex. The advantage with the ESGs is that I could easily enable Load Balancing as a Service to balance traffic between servers in my tier-3 networks.

The ESGs using Load Balancing as a Services can we as well deploy on-a-stick but for this you need to use SNAT and X-Forwarded-For:

Very interesting it gets when you start using the Distributed Firewall and filter traffic between servers in the same network, micro-segmentation of your virtual machines within the same subnet. In combination with Security Tags this can be a very powerful way of securing your networks.

About what VMware NSX can do, I can only recommend reading the VMware NSX reference design guide, you find lot of useful information how to configure NSX.

Comment below if you have questions.