Learning NVP/NSX

For ease of reference, here are links to all of the entries in the “Learning NVP/NSX” blog series. (General note: this content applies to the NVP 3.x/NSX-mh [multi-hypervisor] 4.x release. It does not apply to the NSX-v [NSX for vSphere] 6.x releases.)

Part 1: High-Level Architecture: This post provides an overview of NVP/NSX and the core components. (published 5/21/13)

Part 2: NVP Controllers: In part 2, you learn how to install and configure a cluster of NVP/NSX controllers. (published 8/16/13)

Part 3: NVP Manager: Part 3 shows you how to install and configure NVP/NSX Manager, a web-based GUI that you use to configure certain aspects of NVP/NSX. (published 8/19/13)

Part 4: Adding Hypervisors to NVP: This post walks through the process for adding hypervisors (the example provided is KVM) to NVP/NSX. (published 8/22/13)

Part 5: Creating a Logical Network: This part shows you how to create a logical network that can be used to connect VMs independently of the underlying physical network topology. (published 9/6/13)

Part 6: Adding an NVP Gateway: To provide L2/L3 connectivity to logical networks in an NVP/NSX environment, you’ll need a gateway appliance. This post shows how to set up a gateway appliance and add it to NVP/NSX. (published 10/28/13)

Part 7: Handling the NVP to NSX Transition: This post discusses the planned approach for transitioning from NVP to NSX. (published 11/1/13)

Part 8: An Update on the NVP to NSX Transition: This post provides an overview of the NVP-to-NSX upgrade process, and completes the transition of the series to focus on NSX. (published 12/5/13)

Part 9: Adding a Gateway Service: Part 9 leverages the gateway appliance added in part 6 to create a L3 gateway service that provides routed connectivity in and out of NSX-hosted logical networks. (published 2/26/14)

Part 10: Adding a Service Node: In this part, I show you how to add a service node to your NSX installation. (published 2/27/14)

Part 11: Reviewing OpenStack Integration Basics: This part introduces some concepts related to VMware NSX integration with OpenStack, and provides some basic information on how the integration works. (published 3/12/14)

Part 12: Integrating VMware NSX with OpenStack: Part 12 builds on Part 11 by providing specific details on how to configure OpenStack Neutron to work with VMware NSX. (published 4/25/14)

Part 13: Revisiting Logical Networking: Part 13 revisits the idea of logical switches and logical switch ports in the context of using VMware NSX in an OpenStack environment. (published 4/28/14)

Part 14: Using Logical Routing: Part 14 discusses NSX’s logical routing functionality, including distributed logical routing, and discusses logical routing in an OpenStack context. (published 6/20/14)

Part 15: NSX Gateways, Gateway Services, and Logical Routers: Part 15 dives a bit deeper into the core components of NSX’s logical routing functionality, and explores the relationships between the different components. (published 7/16/14)

Part 16: Routing to Multiple External VLANs: Part 16 describes how to configure the NSX gateway appliances and OpenStack to support multiple external networks on different VLANs. (published 10/13/14)

Part 17: Adding External L2 Connectivity: Part 17 describes the use of NSX gateway appliances and L2 gateway services with OpenStack to add external L2 connectivity to logical networks. (published 10/27/14)

Part 18: Routing Without Network Address Translation: Part 18 describes the use of logical routers in NSX that do not perform network address translation (NAT). (published 11/3/14)

As additional entries are published, I’ll update this page accordingly. Enjoy!