vSphere vNetwork

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  • 1.  Implementing VLANS for the First Time

    Posted Mar 01, 2023 10:04 PM

    If this has been posted in the wrong location I apologise. I had difficulty finding something for general networking questions.

     

    I'm trying to setup VLANs for the first time, and have run into a snag. While there are multiple ways to finish this objective, I want to determine the best way to do so, given my current setup. There are two major tasks that I've come across so far:

    • Creating the VLANs
    • Establishing routing

    From what I've seen in prior trainings and online resources, I see at least three options for VLAN/VXLAN creation:

    • ESXi: vSphere vSwitch + VLANs
    • vCenter: vSphere Distributed Switch + VLANs
    • NSX-T: Network Segment?
    • Opaque: VLANs on dedicated router/switch (MikroTik)

    and at least three options for routing between VLANS/VXLANS:

    • ESXi: dedicated router VM (RouterOS, VyOS, etc.)
    • NSX-T: Gateway/Logical Router
    • Opaque: Routing defined on dedicated router/switch (MikroTik)

    The VLANs would be used for VMs and containers that (most of which) won't be port forwarded or otherwise directly exposed to the Internet. There is a VPN server and a mail server exposed - the rest sit behind the VPN, because I don't feel the need to expose myself any further in this day and age. I currently have only one ESXi host, but may end up with more in the future.

     

    All links going to and from the server(s) and physical router/switch are 10GbE (over SFP+). I do move large files between VMs from time to time, and sometimes stream high-quality (1080p and above) media while on LAN. As of this writing, I have the least experience with NSX.

     

    What would be the best method for implementing VLANs in this scenario?



  • 2.  RE: Implementing VLANS for the First Time
    Best Answer

    Posted Mar 02, 2023 06:31 PM

    This is a very broad topic not for one post. 

    I would recommend starting with documentation like - Networking best practices: 

    https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.networking.doc/GUID-B57FBE96-21EA-401C-BAA6-BDE88108E4BB.html 

     

    you will find the needed information there.