MODULE – 5

VIRTUALIZED DATA
CENTER –
NETWORKING

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. 1

 Module 5: Virtualized Data Center –
Networking

Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:

• Describe network virtualization in VDC
• Describe VDC network infrastructure and components
• Describe Virtual LAN (VLAN) and Virtual SAN (VSAN) and their
benefits
• Describe the key network traffic management techniques in
VDC

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 2
 Module 5: Virtualized Data Center –
Networking
Lesson 1: VDC Networking Overview
Topics covered in this lesson:
• Overview of network virtualization
• Overview of network that is virtualized
• Virtualization tools that enable network virtualization
• Benefits of network virtualization

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 3
Network Virtualization
Network Virtualization
It is a process of logically segmenting or grouping physical network(s) and
making them operate as single or multiple independent network(s) called
“Virtual Network(s)”.

• Enables virtual networks to share network resources

• Allows communication between nodes in a virtual network
without routing of frames
• Enforces routing for communication between virtual networks
• Restricts management traffic, including ‘Network Broadcast’,
from propagating to other virtual network
• Enables functional grouping of nodes in a virtual network

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 4
Network Virtualization in VDC
• Involves virtualizing physical Physical Server Physical Server
and VM networks
Physical Network

• Consists of following physical Hypervisor Hypervisor

components:
 Network adapters, switches, PNIC PNIC

routers, bridges, repeaters,

and hubs
• Provides connectivity Physical
 Among physical servers Network

running hypervisor Client

 Between physical servers and
clients
 Between physical servers and PNIC – Physical NIC

storage systems
Storage Array

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 5
Network Virtualization in VDC (contd.)
VM Network
Physical Server Physical Server
• Resides inside physical server
• Consists of logical switches VNIC VNIC VNIC VNIC VNIC VNIC

called “virtual switches” VM Network Hypervisor

VM Network Hypervisor
Kernel Kernel
• Provides connectivity among
VMs inside a physical server PNIC PNIC

• Provides connectivity to
Hypervisor kernel
Physical
• Connects to physical network Network

Client

PNIC – Physical NIC

VNIC – Virtual NIC

Storage Array

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 6
 Network Virtualization in VDC (contd.)
• VM and physical networks are virtualized to create virtual
networks; for example: virtual LAN, virtual SAN

Virtual Network 1

VM1 VM3
VNIC VNIC
PNIC PNIC

Virtual Switch Physical Switch Virtual Switch

Physical Switch
PNIC PNIC

VM2 VM4
VNIC VNIC

Virtual Network 2

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 7
Network Virtualization Tools
• Physical switch Operating System (OS)
 OS must have network virtualization functionality
• Hypervisor
 Uses built-in networking and network virtualization functionalities
 To create virtual switch and configuring virtual networks on it
 Or, uses third-party software for providing networking and
network virtualization functionalities
 Third-party software is installed onto the hypervisor
 Third-party software replaces the native networking functionality of
the hypervisor

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 8
Benefits of Network Virtualization

Benefit Description
• Restricts access to nodes in a virtual network
Enhances from another virtual network
security • Isolates sensitive data from one virtual network
to another
Enhances • Restricts network broadcast and improves
performance virtual network performance
• Allows configuring virtual networks from a
Improves centralized management workstation using
manageability management software
• Eases grouping and regrouping of nodes
• Enables multiple virtual networks to share the
Improves same physical network, which improves
utilization and utilization of network resource
reduces CAPEX • Reduces the requirement to setup separate
physical networks for different node groups

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 9
 Module 5: Virtualized Data Center –
Networking
Lesson 2: VDC Network Infrastructure
Topics covered in this lesson:
• Network infrastructure and components
• Network connectivity and traffic flow
• Features and functions of network components

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 10
Components of VDC Network Infrastructure
• VDC network infrastructure includes both virtual and physical network
components
 Components are connected to each other to enable network traffic flow

Component Description
• Connects VMs to the VM network
Virtual NIC
• Sends/receives VM traffic to/from VM network
Virtual HBA • Enables a VM to access FC RDM disk/LUN assigned to the VM
• Is an Ethernet switch that forms VM network
• Provides connection to virtual NICs and forwards VM traffic
Virtual switch
• Provides connection to hypervisor kernel and directs
hypervisor traffic: management, storage, VM migration
Physical adapter: • Connects physical servers to physical network
NIC, HBA, CNA • Forwards VM and hypervisor traffic to/from physical network
• Forms physical network that supports Ethernet/FC/iSCSI/FCoE
Physical switch, • Provides connections among physical servers, between
router physical servers and storage systems, and between physical
servers and clients

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 11
 Network Connectivity and Traffic Flow:
Example 1 Physical server

VM1 VM2 VM3

Traffic type: VNIC VNIC VNIC

• VM Hypervisor
Kernel

Traffic type: Virtual Switch

• VM (Ethernet)

• Management
• IP storage PNIC

• VM migration
Traffic type:
• Management
• IP storage
• VM migration
Physical Switch
(Ethernet)

Clients Physical Servers

NAS/iSCSI Storage Array

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 12
 Network Connectivity and Traffic Flow:
Example 2 Physical server

VM1 VM2 VM3

Traffic type: VNIC VNIC VNIC Traffic type:
• VM Hypervisor
• Management
Kernel • VM migration

Virtual Switch
Traffic type: (Ethernet)
• VM
• Management PNIC FC / iSCSI HBA

• VM migration
Traffic type:
• FC or iSCSI
storage
Physical Switch Physical Switch
(Ethernet) (FC/Ethernet)

Clients Physical Servers

FC/iSCSI Storage Array

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 13
 Network Connectivity and Traffic Flow:
Example 3 Physical server

VM1 VM2 VM3

Traffic type: VNIC
Traffic type:
VNIC VNIC

• VM Hypervisor • IP storage
Kernel • Management
• VM migration

Traffic type: Virtual Switch

• VM (Ethernet)
• Management
• FC/IP storage CNA

• VM migration
Traffic type:
• FC storage

Physical Switch
(FCoE)

Clients Physical Servers

NAS/FC/iSCSI Storage Array

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 14
Virtual Network Component: Virtual NIC
• Connects VMs to virtual switch
• Forwards Ethernet frames to virtual switch
• Has unique MAC and IP addresses
• Supports Ethernet standards similar to physical NIC

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 15
Virtual Network Component: Virtual HBA
• Enables a VM to access FC RDM disk/LUN assigned to the VM
• Configured using N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) technology
 Single physical FC HBA or CNA port (N_port) to function as multiple
virtual N_ports, each with its own WWN
 A virtual N_port acts as a virtual HBA port
• Hypervisor kernel leverages NPIV to instantiate virtual N_ports
 Assigns the virtual N_ports to the VMs
• Enables zoning and LUN masking at VM level
Virtual HBA

Virtual HBA

Virtual HBA Fabric Switch

Physical HBA

Physical Server Storage Array

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 16
Virtual Network Component: Virtual Switch
• Is a logical OSI layer 2 switch that supports Ethernet protocol
• Resides inside a physical server
• Is created and configured using hypervisor
• Maintains MAC address table for frame forwarding
• Directs network traffic to/from VMs and hypervisor kernel
 VM to VM within physical server
 VM to physical network
 Hypervisor kernel: IP storage, VM migration, and management

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 17
Virtual Network Component: Virtual Switch
(contd.)
• May connect to multiple physical NICs
 Connection to multiple NICs performs load balancing and failover

Physical Server

VM1 VM2 VM3

VNIC VNIC VNIC

Hypervisor
Kernel

Virtual Switch

PNIC PNIC PNIC

Load balancing
and failover
Physical Switch

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 18
Virtual Network Component: Virtual Switch
(contd.)
• May have no connection to any physical NIC
 If virtual switch has no connection to physical NIC, it directs VM
traffic within the physical server
Physical Server
VM with Firewall
Application

VM1 VM2
VNIC VNIC VNIC

Hypervisor
Kernel

Virtual Switch 1 Virtual Switch 2

PNIC

Physical Switch

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 19
Virtual Network Component: Virtual Switch
(contd.)
• No direct connection between virtual switches
• Frames may be transferred between virtual switches via a VM
• Physical NICs are not shared between virtual switches

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 20
Virtual Switch: Ports and Port Group
• Types of ports
 Hypervisor kernel port: Provides connectivity to hypervisor kernel
 VM port: Provides connectivity to virtual NICs
 Uplink port: Provides connectivity to physical NIC
• VM port group: Mechanism for applying uniform network policy
settings to a group of VM ports
 Policy example: Security, load balancing, and failover across PNICs
• VMs connected to a VM port group share common configuration
 Eliminates configuring policies to VM ports individually
VM port

Hypervisor PG 1 PG 2 PG 3
kernel port VM port groups
Uplink ports
Virtual Switch

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 21
Distributed Virtual Switch
• Aggregation of multiple virtual switches distributed across
multiple physical servers
Benefit

• Centralizes VM network management

• Maintains network policies during VM migration

VNIC VNIC VNICs VNIC VNIC

VNIC VNIC VNIC VNIC
VNICs
A B C D E A B C D E
A B C D E F G H I J

Virtual Switch + Virtual Switch Distributed Virtual Switch

PNIC PNIC PNIC PNIC PNIC PNIC

PNIC PNIC

Physical network Physical network

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 22
Physical Network Component: NIC
• Physical NICs are used as inter-switch-links between virtual and
physical Ethernet switches
 Transfer VM and hypervisor kernel traffic
• Physical NICs are not addressable from network
 IP address not assigned (prohibits OSI layer 3 access)
 MAC addresses not available (prohibits OSI layer 2 access)
• Virtual NIC and hypervisor kernel are addressable from network
 Have their own MAC and IP addresses
 Are used as source address in Ethernet frames

• Ethernet frames are transferred through physical NICs without

modification

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 23
Physical Network Component: HBA and CNA
Type of
Description
Adapter
• Transfers hypervisor storage I/Os (SCSI I/Os) to iSCSI
storage systems
•Has built-in iSCSI initiator
iSCSI • Encapsulates SCSI I/O into iSCSI frames and then
HBA encapsulates iSCSI frames into Ethernet frames
• Uses its own MAC and IP addresses for transmission of
Ethernet frames over the Ethernet network
• Offloads iSCSI processing (SCSI to iSCSI) from hypervisor
•Transfers hypervisor storage I/Os (SCSI I/Os) to FC storage
systems
FC HBA • Encapsulates SCSI data into FC frame
• Uses its own FC address for transmission of frames over
FC network
•Hypervisor recognizes as an FC HBA and as an NIC
CNA  NIC : Used as a link between virtual and physical switches
 FC HBA : Provides hypervisor access to the FC storage

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 24
 Module 5: Virtualized Data Center –
Networking
Lesson 3: VLAN and VSAN Technologies
Topics covered in this lesson:
• Definition and benefits of VLAN and VSAN
• VLAN configuration
• VLAN and VSAN trunking and tagging
• Convergence of VLAN and VSAN traffic using FCoE

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 25
Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN)
VLAN

A logical network, created on a LAN or across LANs consisting of physical and

virtual switches, enabling communication among a group of nodes,
regardless of their location in the network.

Benefit

• Controls broadcast activity and improves network performance

• Simplifies management
• Increases security levels
• Provides higher utilization of switch and reduces CAPEX

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 26
Configuring VLAN
• Define VLAN IDs on physical switch
 Each VLAN is identified by a unique number: VLAN ID
• Choose necessary VLAN IDs from hypervisor’s built-in VLAN ID
pool
 Required for virtual switches
• Assign VLAN ID to physical and virtual switch ports
 To include switch ports to a VLAN
 To enable grouping of switch ports into VLANs

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 27
Configuring VLAN (contd.)
• Nodes become VLAN members when connected to VLAN ports
• Switch forwards frames between switch ports that belong to
common VLAN
• VLAN traffic is transferred through routers
 During inter VLAN communication
 When VLAN spans different IP networks
• VM and storage systems may be members of multiple VLANs
 Requires support of respective operating system

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 28
VLAN Trunking
VLAN Trunking

It is a technology that allows traffic from multiple VLANs to traverse a single

network connection

• Single connection (Trunk link)

carries multiple VLAN traffic
• Single port (Trunk port) to VLAN 10,20,30 VLAN 10,20,30
send/receive multiple VLAN
traffic over trunk link VLAN 10 VLAN 20 VLAN 30 Trunk link
• Trunk port is included to all
VLANs
VLAN 10,20,30 VLAN 10,20,30
• VLAN trunking is enabled by
tagging Ethernet frames
Without Trunking With Trunking

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 29
Benefits of VLAN Trunking
• Eliminates the need for dedicated network link(s) for each VLAN
• Reduces inter-device links when the devices have more than one
VLAN
 Reduces the number of virtual NICs, storage ports, and switch
ports
 Reduces management complexity

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 30
VLAN Tagging
VLAN Tagging
It is a process of inserting or removing a marker (tag) with VLAN-specific
information (VLAN ID) into the Ethernet frame

• Supported sending device inserts tag field in the Ethernet frame

before sending to a trunk link
• Supported receiving device removes tag and forwards to the
interface tied to a VLAN
• Trunk ports transfer and receive tagged frames

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 31
VLAN Trunking Scenario
• Sales group: Includes VM1, VM4, and VM5
• Finance group: Includes VM2 and VM5
• Marketing group: Includes VM3 and VM5

VLAN 10
VM4
VM1
VLAN 10

Frame

VLAN 20 Tr
VLAN 20 u nk
Trunk link Trunk link lin
VM2 k

VLAN 30
VM5
VM3
VLAN 10, 20, 30

Physical Server Physical Server

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 32
Virtual Storage Area Network (VSAN)
Physical
VSAN Servers

A logical fabric on an FC SAN that

VSAN ID added at
enables communication among a ingress point indicating
group of nodes, regardless of their membership

physical location in the fabric. Fabric Switch

• A VSAN has its own fabric services ISL carries tagged traffic
from multiple VSANs
Trunk Link

(name server, zoning), configuration,

and set of FC addresses
• Benefits of VSAN are similar to VLAN
Storage Array Storage Array
• VSAN tagging enables multiple VSAN
traffic to pass through a trunk link
Fabric Switch

VSAN header removed at

egress point

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 33
Convergence of VLAN and VSAN
• FCoE ( Fiber Channel Over Ethernet) converges VLAN and VSAN:
requires a VLAN for each VSAN
• VLAN must be unique for each VSAN
• VLANs configured for VSANs should not be used for LAN traffic
VLAN Trunk
100, 200, 300, 400 VSAN
Physical
server 100
with CNA
FCoE Switch Fabric Switch 200

VLAN VSAN FCoE VLAN Trunk

100 N/A NO
100,200

200 N/A NO VLAN

300 100 YES 100

400 200 YES 200

Ethernet Switch

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 34
 Module 5: Virtualized Data Center –
Networking
Lesson 4: Network Traffic Management
Topics covered in this lesson:
• Requirements for network traffic management
• Key network traffic management techniques

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 35
Requirements for Network Traffic
Management
• Load balancing
 Distributes workload across multiple IT resources
 Prevents over/under utilization of resources, and optimizes
performance
• Policy-based management
 Allows using a policy for distribution of traffic across VMs and
network links
 Allows using a policy for traffic failover across network links
• Resource sharing without contention
 Enables guaranteed service levels when traffic from multiple
virtual networks share physical network resources
 Sets priority for bandwidth allocation to different types of traffic

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 36
Key Network Traffic Management Techniques

1. Balancing client workload: Hardware based

2. Balancing client workload: Software based
3. Storm control
4. NIC teaming
5. Limit and share
6. Traffic shaping
7. Multipathing

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 37
Technique 1 – Balancing Client Workload:
Hardware Based

• A device (physical switch/router) distributes client traffic across

multiple servers – physical or virtual machines
• Clients use IP address (virtual) of the load balancing device to
send requests
• Load balancing device decides where to forward request
• Decision making is typically governed by load balancing policy,
for example: Round robin, Weighted round robin, Least
connections

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 38
Technique 2 – Balancing Client Workload:
Software Based

• Performed by software running on a physical or virtual machine

 Example: DNS server load balancing
 Allows multiple IP addresses for a domain name
 Maps domain name to different IP addresses in a round robin
fashion
 Allows clients accessing a domain name to send requests to different
servers
 Example: Microsoft Network Load Balancing
 A special driver on each server in a cluster balances clients’ workload
 The driver presents a single IP address (virtual) to all clients – each IP
packet to reach each server
 The driver maps each request to a particular server – other servers in
the cluster drop the request

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 39
Technique 3 – Storm Control
• Prevents impact of storm on regular LAN/VLAN traffic
 Storm: Flooding of frames on a LAN/VLAN creating excessive traffic
and degrading network performance
• Counts frames of a specified type over 1-second and compares
with the threshold
• Switch port blocks traffic if threshold is reached and drops the
subsequent frames over the next time interval

Source: “Catalyst 3550

Multilayer Switch
Software
Configuration Guide” –
Cisco Systems, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 40
Technique 4 – NIC Teaming
• NIC teaming is a technique that Logically groups physical NICs
connected to a virtual switch
 Creates NIC teams whose members can be active and
standby
 Balances traffic load across active NIC team members
 Provides failover in the event of an NIC/link failure
 Allows associating policies for load balancing and failover at a
virtual switch or a port group

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 41
Technique 5 – Limit and Share
• Limit and share are two network parameters, configured at the distributed
virtual switch. These parameters are used to control different types of
outbound network traffic such as VM, IP storage, VM migration, and
management, when these traffic types compete for a physical NIC or NIC
team
Configurabl
Description
e Parameter
• Sets limit on maximum bandwidth per traffic
type
Limit  Traffic type will not exceed limit
• Is specified in Mbps
• Applies to an NIC team
• Specifies relative priority for allocating
bandwidth to different traffic types
Share
• Is specified as numbers
• Applies to a physical NIC

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 42
 Technique 6 – Traffic Shaping
• Traffic shaping controls network bandwidth so that business-critical
applications have the required bandwidth to ensure service quality.
• Controls network bandwidth at virtual/distributed virtual switch or port
group
•Parameter
Prevents impact Description
on business-critical application traffic by non-critical traffic
flow
Average
•Data transfer rate allowed over time
•Workload at a switch port can intermittently exceed av. Bandwidth
Bandwidth
• Burst: When the workload exceeds the average bandwidth, it is called burst
Peak Bandwidth • Max data transfer rate without queuing/dropping frames
• Max amount of data allowed to transfer in a burst
Burst Size •Burst size = bandwidth × time
•Bandwidth in a burst can go up to peak bandwidth

Burst size = bandwidth x time Example:

Peak bandwidth Average bandwidth = 1 Kbps, Peak
Bandwidth

bandwidth = 4Kbps, Burst size = 3 Kb

• Burst with data rate 3 Kbps can stay
Average bandwidth for 1 second or,
• Burst with data rate 1.5 Kbps can stay
Workload for 2 seconds, etc.
Time

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 43
Technique 7 – Multipathing
Physical server
Multipathing Hypervisor Kernel
Multipathing
A technique allowing a physical server to use
multiple physical paths for transferring data HBA 1 HBA 2
between the physical server and a LUN on a
storage system.

• Is built into hypervisor or provided by third-

party vendor
• Recognizes alternate I/O path to a LUN and SC 1 SC 2
enables failover
• Performs load balancing by distributing I/O to SC –
Storage
all available paths Controller

LUN 0 LUN 1

Storage array

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 44
 Module 5: Virtualized Data Center –
Networking
Concept in Practice:
• Cisco Nexus 1000V
• EMC PowerPath/VE

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 45
Cisco Nexus 1000V
• Is a third-party distributed virtual switch for VMware ESX/ESXi
• Separates VDC network and compute administration
 Compute administrators to provision VMs
 Network administrators to configure VDC network within ESX/ESXi
server, and external physical network
 Ensures consistent networking configuration and policy

• Consists of two components

Component Description
Virtual • Runs inside hypervisor and replaces virtual switch
Ethernet functionality
Module (VEM)
Virtual • Cisco NX-OS network operating system running in
Supervisor a VM
Module (VSM) • Controls multiple VEMs as one distributed virtual
switch
• Configuration in VSM propagated to VEMs
automatically
Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 46
EMC PowerPath/VE
Physical server
• Provides multipathing solution for
VMware ESX/ESXi and Microsoft Hyper-V
• Delivers advanced multipathing compared
to hypervisor’s native multipathing Hypervisor Kernel
PowerPath/VE

HBA HBA HBA HBA

EMC and Non-EMC Storage Arrays

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 47
PowerPath/VE Features

Feature Description
Dynamic load • Distributes I/O requests to a LUN across all available
balancing paths, rather than overloading a single path
Automated
• Optimizes performance by dynamically changing I/O
performance
traffic allocation to paths depending on load
optimization
• Automatically redistributes I/O traffic from a failed
Dynamic path failover
path to functioning paths
Wide variety storage • Supports EMC Symmetrix VMAX, VNX, VNXe,
array support CLARiiON, VPLEX, and non-EMC arrays
• Periodically tests both live and dead paths
• Identifies failed path before application attempts to
Automatic path
pass I/O
testing • Automatically restores a path to service when the
path is available
Monitoring and • Provides statistics for all I/O for all paths and
alerting generates alerts to notify the status

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 48
Module 5: Summary
Key points covered in this module:
• Virtualization of physical and VM network
• VDC network infrastructure
• VLAN and VSAN trunking
• Key network traffic management techniques

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 49
Check Your Knowledge
1. What are the benefits of network virtualization?
2. List the components of VDC network infrastructure.
3. Describe three key features of virtual switch.
4. Why are VM port groups configured?
5. What are the benefits of VLAN trunking?
6. What is VLAN tagging?
7. How does storm control prevent regular VLAN traffic from
being disrupted by storm?
8. How is network traffic controlled using limit and share?
9. What is multipathing?

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 50
Exercise on VDC Networking: Business Profile
• Organization recently migrated their applications to a VDC
• The VDC has three physical servers running hypervisor, that are
managed from a management server
 Majority of VMs are used to provide Web service to their clients
 These VMs host MS Windows server 2008 and Web application
 Remaining VMs either run internal applications or are used for
testing
• Each physical server has two physical NICs
 Additional slots are not available to install more NICs
• Physical servers are connected to each other and to an iSCSI
storage array via a single physical LAN switch
 Organization cannot afford to purchase additional LAN switch

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 51
Exercise on VDC Networking: Current
Situation/Issues
• The organization has configured one virtual switch in each
physical server to transfer all types of traffic
• The organization is using a single VLAN to transfer all network
traffic
• Often, the performance of Web servers are impacted by other
VM traffic
 For the same reason, the VM migration is delayed
• During a broadcast, all network traffic slows down
• The organization has implemented common traffic shaping
policy across all virtual switches
• The organization has enabled NIC teaming, although clients
often experience mixed performance

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 52
Exercise on VDC Networking: Organization’s
Requirement
• To optimize the performance of the web traffic and VM
migration traffic
• To control broadcast traffic
• To apply different traffic shaping policies for different traffic
types
• To balance client workload across all web servers

• Task:
 You are asked to change the existing network configuration to
meet organization’s requirements
 Justify all changes that are required

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 53
 MODULE 5 QUIZ

Copyright © 2011 EMC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Virtualized Data Center – Networking 54