The one-stop guide to modern networking for every VMware® administrator, engineer, and architect   Now that virtualization has blurred the lines between networking and servers, many VMware specialists need a stronger understanding of networks than they may have gained in earlier IT roles. Networking for VMware Administrators fills this crucial knowledge gap. Writing for VMware professionals, Christopher Wahl and Steve Pantol illuminate the core concepts of modern networking, and show how to apply them in designing, configuring, and troubleshooting any virtualized network environment.   Drawing on their extensive experience with a wide range of virtual network environments, the authors address physical networking, switching, storage networking, and several leading virtualization scenarios, including converged infrastructure.   Teaching through relevant examples, they focus on foundational concepts and features that will be valuable for years to come. To support rapid learning and mastery, they present clear learning objectives, questions, problems, a complete glossary, and extensive up-to-date references.   Coverage includes: • The absolute basics: network models, layers,  and interfaces, and why they matter • Building networks that are less complex,  more modular, and fully interoperable • Improving your virtual network stack: tips, tricks, and techniques for avoiding common pitfalls • Collaborating more effectively with network  and storage professionals • Understanding Ethernet, Advanced Layer 2, Layer 3, and modern converged infrastructure • Mastering virtual switching and understanding how it differs from physical switching • Designing and operating vSphere standard  and distributed switching • Working with third-party switches, including Cisco Nexus 1000V • Creating powerful, resilient virtual networks to handle critical storage network traffic • Deploying rackmount servers with 1 Gb and  10 Gb Ethernet • Virtualizing blade servers with converged  traffic and virtual NICs   Christopher Wahl has acquired well over a decade of IT experience in enterprise infrastructure design, implementation, and administration. He has provided architectural and engineering expertise in a variety of virtualization, data center, and private cloud based engagements while working with high performance technical teams in tiered data center environments. He currently holds the title of Senior Technical Architect at Ahead, a consulting firm based out of Chicago. Steve Pantol has spent the last 14 years wearing various technical hats, with the last seven or so focused on assorted VMware technologies. He is a Senior Technical Architect at Ahead, working to build better datacenters and drive adoption of cloud technologies.  

Table of Contents:
Foreword xix   Introduction xxi   Part I Physical Networking 101   Chapter 1 The Very Basics 1 Key Concepts 1 Introduction 1 Reinventing the Wheel 2 Summary 6   Chapter 2 A Tale of Two Network Models 7 Key Concepts 7 Introduction 7 Model Behavior 9     Layering 9     Encapsulation 9 The OSI Model 10 The TCP/IP Model 12     The Network Interface Layer 12     The Internet Layer 13     The Transport Layer 14     The Application Layer 14     Comparing OSI and TCP/IP Models 15 Summary 16   Chapter 3 Ethernet Networks 17 Key Concepts 17 Introduction 17 Ethernet 18     History and Theory of Operation 18     Ethernet Standards and Cable Types 19     Ethernet Addressing 23 Extending Ethernet Segments: Repeaters, Hubs, and Switches 24     Switching Logic 25 Summary 26   Chapter 4 Advanced Layer 2 27 Key Concepts 27 Introduction 27     Concepts 28     Trunking 30 Loop Avoidance and Spanning Tree 32     Spanning Tree Overview 32     PortFast 35     Rapid Spanning Tree 35 Link Aggregation 36     What Is Link Aggregation? 36     Dynamic Link Aggregation 39     Load Distribution Types 41 Summary 42 Reference 43   Chapter 5 Layer 3 45 Key Concepts 45 Introduction 45 The Network Layer 46     Routing and Forwarding 46     Connected, Static, and Dynamic Routes 46     The Gateway of Last Resort 47 IP Addressing and Subnetting 47     Classful Addressing 48     Classless Addressing 48     Reserved Addresses 50 Network Layer Supporting Applications 50     DHCP 50     DNS 51     ARP 51     Ping 52 Summary 52   Chapter 6 Converged Infrastructure 53 Key Concepts 53 Introduction 53 Concepts 54     Converged Infrastructure Advantages 54 Examples 55     Cisco UCS 55     HP BladeSystem 57     Nutanix Virtual Computing Platform 59 Summary 60   Part II Virtual Switching   Chapter 7 How Virtual Switching Differs from Physical Switching 61 Key Concepts 61 Introduction 61 Physical and Virtual Switch Comparison 62     Similarities 62     Differences 63     Switching Decisions 63 Physical Uplinks 65     Host Network Interface Card (NIC) 65 Virtual Ports 66     Virtual Machine NICs 67     VMkernel Ports 67     Service Console 67 VLANs 68     External Switch Tagging (EST) 68     Virtual Switch Tagging (VST) 68     Virtual Guest Tagging (VGT) 69 Summary 70   Chapter 8 vSphere Standard Switch 71 Key Concepts 71 Introduction 71 The vSphere Standard Switch 72     Plane English 72     Control Plane 72     Data Plane 73 vSwitch Properties 73     Ports 73     Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) 74 Security 75     Promiscuous Mode 75     MAC Address Changes 76     Forged Transmits 77 Discovery 78     Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) 79 Traffic Shaping 80     Traffic Shaping Math 82 NIC Teaming 82     Load Balancing 83     Network Failure Detection 84     Notify Switches 86     Failback 86     Failover Order 87 Hierarchy Overrides 87 VMkernel Ports 88     Port Properties and Services 88     IP Addresses 89 VM Port Groups 90 Summary 91   Chapter 9 vSphere Distributed Switch 93 Key Concepts 93 Introduction to the vSphere Distributed Switch 93     Control Plane 94     Handling vCenter Failure 94     Data Plane 96 Monitoring 96     Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) 97     Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) 97     NetFlow 98     Port Mirroring 101 Private VLANs 105     Primary VLAN 106     Promiscuous VLAN 106     Secondary VLANs 106     Community VLANs 107     Isolated VLAN 108 Distributed Port Groups 108     VMkernel Ports 109     Virtual Machines 110 Traffic Shaping 111     Egress 111 Load Balancing 112     Route Based on Physical NIC Load 112 Network I/O Control 115     Network Resource Pools 116     Shares 117     User-Defined Network Resource Pools 119 Summary 120   Chapter 10 Third Party Switches–1000V 121 Key Concepts 121 Introduction 121 Integration with vSphere 122     Architectural Differences 123 Virtual Supervisor Module 124     Port Profiles 126 Virtual Ethernet Module 128     Layer 2 Mode 129     Nexus 1000V in Layer 3 Mode 130     VEM Maximums 132 Advanced Features 132     A Comment on Nexus OS 132 Licensed Modes of Operation 132     Essential Edition 133     Advanced Edition 133 Summary 134   Chapter 11 Lab Scenario 135 Key Concepts 135 Introduction 135 Building a Virtual Network 135 Architectural Decisions 136     Network Design 136     Host Design 137     Data Traffic Design for Virtual Machines 138 Lab Scenario 139 Summary 143   Chapter 12 Standard vSwitch Design 145 Key Concepts 145 Introduction 145 Standard vSwitch Design 146     Sample Use Case 146     Naming Conventions 147 Ensuring Quality of Service 149 Network Adapters 151 Virtual Machine Traffic 153     Virtual Machine Port Groups 153     Failover Order 156 VMkernel Ports 158     Management 158     vMotion 161     Fault Tolerance 166     NFS Storage 168     VMkernel Failover Overview 170 Final Tuning 172 Confi guring Additional vSphere Hosts 173 Summary 173   Chapter 13 Distributed vSwitch Design 175 Key Concepts 175 Introduction 175 Distributed vSwitch Design 176     Use Case 176     Naming Conventions 177 Ensuring Quality of Service 178     Network IO Control 178     Priority Tagging with 802.1p 180     Differentiated Service Code Point 181 Creating the Distributed vSwitch 182 Network Adapters 185 Distributed Port Groups for Virtual Machines 186     Load Based Teaming 188 Distributed Port Groups for VMkernel Ports 190     Management 191     vMotion 193     Fault Tolerance 194     iSCSI Storage 195     VMkernel Failover Overview 196 Adding vSphere Hosts 198     Creating VMkernel Ports 204     Moving the vCenter Virtual Machine 208 Final Steps 212     Health Check 212     Network Discovery Protocol 214 Other Design Considerations 215     Fully Automated Design 215     Hybrid Automation Design 216     Which Is Right? 216 Summary 216   Part III You Got Your Storage in My Networking: IP Storage   Chapter 14 iSCSI General Use Cases 219 Key Concepts 219 Introduction 219 Understanding iSCSI 220     Lossless Versus Best Effort Protocols 220     Priority-Based Flow Control 220     VLAN Isolation 222     iSCSI with Jumbo Frames 222 iSCSI Components 223     Initiators 224     Targets 224     Naming 225     Security with CHAP 227 iSCSI Adapters 229     Software iSCSI Adapter 230     Dependent Hardware iSCSI Adapters 231     Independent Hardware iSCSI Adapters 232 iSCSI Design 233     NIC Teaming 234     Network Port Binding 236     Multiple vSwitch Design 236     Single vSwitch Design 238 Boot from iSCSI 239 Summary 241   Chapter 15 iSCSI Design and Confi guration 243 Key Concepts 243 Introduction 243 iSCSI Design 244     Use Case 244     Naming Conventions 245     Network Addresses 246 vSwitch Confi guration 247     iSCSI Distributed Port Groups 247     VMkernel Ports 250     Network Port Binding 254     Jumbo Frames 256 Adding iSCSI Devices 258     iSCSI Server and Targets 258     Authentication with CHAP 261     Creating VMFS Datastores 263     Path Selection Policy 265 Summary 267   Chapter 16 NFS General Use Cases 269 Key Concepts 269 Introduction 269 Understanding NFS 269     Lossless Versus Best Effort Protocols 270     VLAN Isolation 271     NFS with Jumbo Frames 271 NFS Components 272     Exports 272     Daemons 272     Mount Points 273     Security with ACLs 275 Network Adapters 276 NFS Design 276     Single Network 277     Multiple Networks 278     Link Aggregation Group 280 Summary 283   Chapter 17 NFS Design and Confi guration 285 Key Concepts 285 Introduction 285 NFS Design 285     Use Case 286     Naming Conventions 286     Network Addresses 287 vSwitch Confi guration 288     NFS vSwitch 288     Network Adapters 290     VMkernel Ports 291 Mounting NFS Storage 294 Summary 296   Part IV Other Design Scenarios   Chapter 18 Additional vSwitch Design Scenarios 297 Key Concepts 297 Introduction 297 Use Case 298     Naming Standards 298 Two Network Adapters 299     With Ethernet-based Storage 299     Without Ethernet-based Storage 300 Four Network Ports 300     With Ethernet-based Storage 300     Without Ethernet-based Storage 301 Six Network Ports 302     With Ethernet-based Storage—Six 1 Gb 303     Without Ethernet-based Storage—Six 1 Gb 304     With Ethernet-based Storage—Four 1 Gb + Two 10 Gb 304     Without Ethernet-based Storage—Four 1 Gb + Two 10 Gb 305 Eight Network Adapters 306     With Ethernet-based Storage—Eight 1 Gb 306     Without Ethernet-based Storage—Eight 1 Gb 307     With Ethernet-based Storage—Four 1 Gb + Four 10 Gb 308     Without Ethernet-based Storage—Four 1 Gb + Four 10 Gb 309 Summary 310   Chapter 19 Multi-NIC vMotion Architecture 311 Key Concepts 311 Introduction 311 Multi-NIC vMotion Use Cases 312 Design 312     Verifying Available Bandwidth 313     Controlling vMotion Traffi c 314     Distributed vSwitch Design 314     Standard vSwitch Design 317     Upstream Physical Switch Design 317 Confi guring Multi-NIC vMotion 318     Distributed Port Groups 318     VMkernel Ports 320     Traffic Shaping 321 Summary 322   Appendix A Networking for VMware Administrators: The VMware User Group 323 The VMware User Group 323   Index 325