Where Network Virtualization Fits Into Data Center Initiatives
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
WHITE PAPER Where Network Virtualization Fits Into Data Center Initiatives The Role of Network Virtualization in the Modern, Secure Data Center and in Hybrid Cloud Strategies Table of Contents Supporting the Velocity of Business Change with Network Virtualization . 3 What Would You Virtualize in Your Network? . 4 How Network Virtualization Fits Into Your Existing Physical Network . 5 Leverage What You Have Rather Than Rip and Replace . 5 Physically Fit and Not Locked In . 6 How Network Virtualization Fits Into Software-Defined Data Center . 7 Security with Micro-Segmentation . 7 IT Automation . 8 Application Continuity . 9 VMware NSX: The Leading Network Virtualization Platform . 10 A True Network Virtualization Platform vs . Virtualization Features . 10 “Any” Thing Is Possible . 11 Iron Is Slow to Grow, While NSX Network Virtualization Is Exponentially Speedy . 11 Integrated Best-of-Breed Networking and Security Services . 12 Conclusion . 13 WHITE PAPER / 2 Supporting the Velocity of Business Change with Network Virtualization For years, the networking infrastructure has been referred to as the “plumbing” of the enterprise. Certainly routers and switches have become incredibly sophisticated over the years. But increasingly, the constraints of physical networks are being exposed by the management, agility, scalability and security demands required for hybrid cloud strategies and the modern, secure data center. When you enter the world of network virtualization, the pace of change accelerates. You can transform data center economics and operations. The obstacles of physical networks vanish, while all of your physical transport capacity becomes simpler and easier to use. The result is a transformative model with service delivery that matches the velocity demands of today’s businesses. When a technology fundamentally changes an old model to support new strategies, it is natural to ask, “Where does this fit into my data center initiatives?” In this paper, we look at where network virtualization fits with these IT goals: Reducing the cost Accelerating and complexity (and simplifying) of existing physical private and infrastructure assets hybrid cloud (without disrupting your initiatives existing infrastructure) Improving data center Moving towards security, automation the Software-Defined and applications Data Center (SDDC) continuity WHITE PAPER / 3 What Would You Virtualize in Your Network? Network virtualization is conceptually very similar to server virtualization (see Figure 1). Application Application Application Workload Workload Workload x86 Environment Software L2, L3, L4-7 Network Services Server Hypervisor Decoupled Network Virtualization Platform Requirement: x86 Requirement: IP Transport Hardware Physical Compute and Memory Physical Network Figure 1: Network virtualization is similar to server virtualization, with equally impressive benefits . With server virtualization, a software abstraction layer (server hypervisor) reproduces the familiar attributes of an x86 physical server (e.g., CPU, RAM, Disk, NIC) in software, allowing them to be programmatically assembled in any arbitrary combination to produce a unique virtual machine (VM) in a matter of seconds. With network virtualization, the functional equivalent of a “network hypervisor” reproduces the complete set of Layer 2 to Layer 7 networking services (e.g., switching, routing, access control, firewalling, QoS, and load balancing) in software. As a result, they, too, can be programmatically assembled in any arbitrary combination, this time to produce a unique virtual network in a matter of seconds. Not surprisingly, similar benefits are also derived. For example, just as VMs are independent of the underlying x86 platform and allow IT to treat physical hosts as a pool of compute capacity, virtual networks are independent of the underlying IP network hardware and allow IT to treat the physical network as a pool of transport capacity that can be consumed and repurposed on demand. WHITE PAPER / 4 How Network Virtualization Fits Into Your Existing Physical Network In retrospect, it may seem like compute virtualization happened overnight. But compute virtualization with VMware vSphere® was never an “all or nothing” proposition. IT organizations appreciated the fact that virtualizing servers with VMware was low risk, incremental and non-disruptive. The same tenants—low risk, incremental and nondisruptive— are true with network virtualization as architected by VMware. This is why network virtualization has moved up so quickly on the IT agenda. Leverage What You Have Rather Than Rip and Replace IT organizations would rather not be forced to rip and replace the physical network in order to realize the benefits of agility, automation, and security. The right network virtualization technology should be a completely non-disruptive solution, which means: • Requires no changes to existing applications and workloads • Allows you to incrementally implement virtual networks at whatever pace you choose (without any impact to existing applications and network configurations) • Extends visibility to existing networking monitoring and management tools to deliver increased visibility into virtualized networks In addition to being non-disruptive, network virtualization can help increase IT uptime and agility by enabling networking professionals to perform fewer activities that are manual and error-prone (as shown in Figure 2). For example: • Provisioning: Manipulating a multitude of VLANs, subnets, firewall rules, load balancers and ACL, QoS, VRF and MAC/IP tables; in an enterprise network, provisioning also involves multiple vendor-specific command line interface (CLIs), exacerbating the “time and error” problem. • Ongoing change management: Painstaking box-by-box tasks required to ensure that changes to the network for the placement and mobility of one application do not adversely impact other applications. This can free up valuable time for senior networking professionals for strategic data center initiatives, such as global network architecture design and traffic engineering. WHITE PAPER / 5 Virtual Switch Hypervisor Virtual Network Virtual Switch Hypervisor Existing Physical Network Simplified IP Backplane, No VLANs, No ACLs, No Firewall Rules Figure 2: Network virtualization preserves but greatly simplifies the existing physical network . At the virtualization level, you gain the ability to define policies for applications continuity with QoS, uptime and performance . With micro-segmentation, you can create pervasive, granular and adaptable security to protect the data center . Physically Fit and Not Locked In Network virtualization actually opens up more possibilities for hardware and vendor choices. Because the physical network is only required for reliable high-speed packet forwarding, you have the freedom to pick the right products without being held captive by compatibility restrictions. It gives IT greater freedom in hardware choices going forward—which is not something that traditional network vendors are keen to see. What does that mean for the future? It means that you can support next-generation fabrics and topologies from any vendor. Imagine the ability to follow your own roadmap for success, rather than letting a single vendor set your agenda or pace. WHITE PAPER / 6 How Network Virtualization Fits Into Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) With network virtualization, you can achieve the operational model of a VM for the entire data center. You can programmatically create, snapshot, store, move, delete and restore entire applications environments with the same simplicity and speed that you spin up a VM. Create any network topology in minutes or even seconds. Generally, companies have a specific problem to solve when they start down the path of network virtualization. So what might send network virtualization to the top of your agenda? Let’s look at three of the most common problems that network virtualization solves easily. Security with Micro-Segmentation Data center security is a major concern for IT. Security breaches within the walls of the data center continue to escalate, along with the costs of loss and remediation. The average company experiences two successful attacks each week, according to a global survey by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.1 Security administrators are under pressure to secure workloads faster. The new model for data center security will be: a) software-based, b) use the principle of micro- segmentation, and c) embrace a Zero Trust2 (ZT) model. The ZT model says that in a more virtualized world there should be no distinction between trusted and untrusted networks or segments—protection must be pervasive and granular. In order to build a ZT model, you need a virtualized network that provides micro-segmentation. Use the principle Embrace a Software- of micro- Zero Trust (ZT) based segmentation model 1 . Global State of Information Security Survey 2015, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2014 2 . Leverage Micro-Segmentation to Build a Zero Trust Network, Forrester Research 2015 WHITE PAPER / 7 Micro-segmentation is not about “building up” but “infusing into.” It’s analogous to how plants can be engineered at the molecular or cellular levels for pest and disease resistance. That’s why VMware describes micro-segmentation as the ability to “build security into your network’s DNA.” Security policies are enforced by firewall controls that are integrated into the hypervisors already distributed throughout the data center. That means you have an instantly ubiquitous