Nexus 1000v on VMware question

[warquezho0612]

Im new to UCS, our instructor explain to us that there are two ways to implement this virtually,

1) Software base - using nexus 1000v

2) Hardware base - using nexus 5000/7000

In our training, only the implementation of the nexus 1000v is though to us.

Now I'am in the client doing a demo installation, the hardware/software equipment that they have are

- UCS 5108 Chassis (4 halfwidth blades)

- 2x6120XP Fabric Interconnect

- vmware esxi / vsphere 4.1 / vcenter 4.1

     Note: They don't have MDS switch for SAN (They have noSAN network as of the moment)

I've already installed the vmware ESXi host vsphere and vcenter. My question is does nexus 1000v a requirement for internal switching of the Operating System on the ESXi host on the B200 Blade server? Or a standalone vswitch on the vmware ESXi can do the job? I'm just a bit confuse if do I need to implement the nexus 1000v just like in our lab in our training...

[abbharga]

Hi,

With Vmware ESX/ESXi installed on the UCS blade, it would work and can be used the same way as on any other hardware.

For the network connectivity to the ESX host as well as the VMs running on it, you can use the vSwitch and/or either of the dvs n1k/vmware DVS.

With the use of Nexus1000v the host / VMs can use all the features and benefits which it provides.

Here is the URL to the whitepaper for running N1K on UCS for your reference:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps9441/ps9902/white_paper_c11-558242.html

Hope this helps!

./Abhinav

[warquezho0612]

Thanks for the link, I will read the whitepaper in a while,.. So the nexus 1000v is not realy a requirement for esxi host and vm in that esxi host when deploying ucs as there is a vswitch on the vmware itself, it just adds granularity..

Now if I do have nexus 5k or 7k... would I still be needing the nexus 1000v or the vswitch in the vmware? Because as far as I know, nexus 1000v is a software deployment and if I have nexus 5k or 7k which is a hardware type of nexus then I don't need to have nexus 1000v or vswitch?

- Hardware base = nexus 5k/7k

- Software base = nexus 1kv / vmswitch

[rewilkin]

Here is a clarification, N1kv is software based deployed as a .ova file through Vcenter or hardware based as the nexus 1010 server(cisco c200 server)

For the software based, you have to deploy and manage the nexus 1k through Vcenter server. You create the port profiles and port groups through Vcenter.

The nexus 1010 is the hardware based running the nexus software on a dedicated cisco rack mount server. You manage the server through the CIMC and setup the n1kv just as you would the software based, with port profiles and port groups.

Sent from Cisco Technical Support iPad App

[richard.pugh]

For a simple answer to your question, no, the 1000v is not a requirement for VMware on B200 blades and UCS.

All you need is an uplink network, which can now be 1gb (not fully recommended as it defeats the purpose of 10Gbe Unification) and internal storage on the blade.

If you are wanting VMware to participate in a shared storage environment, then either an FC switch attached or directly attach the Storage to the expansion port, or use IP Based storage like iSCSI or NFS.

[warquezho0612]

I think I saw in one site the answer to my question.

Nexus 1000v is the Software implementation for VMs which replaces the vSwitch for much better features in the ESX/ESXi hosts with VEM acting as module which resides in the ESX/ESXi hosts and VSM acting as the supervisor module which can be a bare-metal server or one of the VMs

Hardware implementation is done from the UCSM and vmware vCenter, and again VEM acting as the module which resides in the ESX/ESXi host.

Now my question is this. Does Hardware implementation needs a VSM? If it does then where in the world is does the VSM resides in Hardware implementation? Is it in the Nexus 5k/7k or Nexus 1010?

[richard.pugh]

If deploying the hardware version then you wod be deploying the Nexus 1010 which are the VSM's.

Sent from Cisco Technical Support iPhone App

[mipetrin · Accepted solution]

Hi all,

In short, you are NOT required to utilize a Nexus 1000v when utilizing VMware ESX/ESXi on a UCS Blade. Besides the Nexus 1000v, you may utilize the standard vSwitch or Distributed vSwitch with UCS blades.

Additionally, there seems to be some confusion with many different concepts being cross-referenced, so I will try to clarify these.

1) VN-Link in Software (Nexus 1000v)

2) VN-Link in Hardware (Palo PTS, also known as VM-FEX)

With option 1, this is where you would typically run the Nexus 1000v VSM on an ESX/ESXi server within your environment. However, Cisco also provides the option to utlize the Nexus 1010 to run the Nexus 1000v VSMs. Thereby having a dedicated server for the VSMs instead of sharing with another ESX/ESXi server hosting other production virtual machines. Additionally, once the VSM is deployed as a virtual machine, the VSM is where a network admin would configure the port-profiles before being available for use by the server admin within vCenter.  If you chose to run the VSMs on a Nexus 1010, the deployment would involve creating a virtual service blade on the Nexus 1010. However, once the VSM is deployed, it acts the same way as a VSM running on any other ESX/ESXi server.

With option 2, this is where you would configure the UCS to interact with vCenter (utilizing some components from the Nexus 1000v, such as the VEM, however there is no VSM). This implementation does not require integration with the Nexus 5000/7000 as you have thought. Configuration is then performed via the UCSM.

The Nexus 5000/7000 series switches are physical switches whereas the Nexus 1000v is strictly within the virtual environment. Therefore it is important to understand exactly which concept one is referring to.

Hope that helps to clarify things.

Regards,

Michael

[warquezho0612]

Thank you very much Michael for a very informative information!

A few last questions to add since I don't have any experience yet in the Hardware implementation:

1. What are the components need in Hardware implementation? Is it only

     - UCS (5108 chassis, 61x0 FI, 2104 I/O module,)

     - Esxi host

     - VMs

     - vCenter

     - vSphere

2. And which is better to implement in based on your experiece in a production environment? is it the Software base of Hardware base implementaion? And what are the advantages and disadvantages of the each?

[mipetrin · Accepted solution]

Hi,

1)

You will also require:

   - Cisco VIC (Palo card, M81KR) in each blade that you want to utilize this feature

   - Nexus 1000v VEM component installed on each ESX server

   - VMware Enterprise Plus licensing; which is required for vDS usage

2)

In regards to the implementation, working in the TAC, I see more customers implementing VN-Link in software (Nexus 1000v) when using UCS rather than VN-Link in hardware (VM-FEX/Palo PTS).

   - Cisco VN-Link in hardware is a hardware-based method of handling traffic to and from a virtual machine on a server with a VIC adapter. This solution replaces software-based switching with ASIC-based hardware switching and improves performance.

   - With Nexus 1000v; It allows a customer to have advanced networking features such as Netflow or ERSPAN (to name a few).

More information on this topic available with the following documents:

[Whitepaper] Best Practices in Deploying Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switches on Cisco UCS B and C Series Cisco UCS Manager Servers

[Whitepaper] Unify Virtual and Physical Networking with Cisco Virtual Interface Card

UCS Manager GUI Configuration Guide - VN-Link in Cisco UCS

Cisco Virtual Machine Fabric Extender (VM-FEX) and Cisco VIC

Hope that helps

Regards,

Michael

[warquezho0612]

Hi Michael,

Just an additional questions

1. Is nexus1000v can only be implemented in as a VM in ESXi or it can also run on a bare-metal server? I think my instructor mentioned that it can run on a real hardware (not the 1010v hardware), just want to clarify

2. If implementing the VN-Link (Hardware) does not have any VSM involved, and nexus 1010v is a hardware based VSM that cisco develop, can the VN-Link (Hardware) implementation be combined to nexus 1010v so that it can have a VSM?

[abbharga · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Here are the inouts:

1. Is nexus1000v can only be implemented in as a VM in ESXi or it can  also run on a bare-metal server? I think my instructor mentioned that  it can run on a real hardware (not the 1010v hardware), just want to  clarify

Abhinav: There are only two ways to implement the n1K VSM

i) As a VM on the ESX/ESXi platform

ii) As a VSB on the Nexus1010.

The VSM cannot run on a bare-metal server/ hardware.

2.  If implementing the VN-Link (Hardware) does not have any VSM involved,  and nexus 1010v is a hardware based VSM that cisco develop, can the  VN-Link (Hardware) implementation be combined to nexus 1010v so that it  can have a VSM?

Abhinav: Correct the VN-Link inplementation does not require the VSM.

No the VN-Link implementation cannot use the N1K VSM.

./Abhinav

[warquezho0612]

Thanks abbharga,

This discussion have given me lots of usefull information, before I end may I know what is the difference between nexus 1000v as a VM and nexus 1010v as a real hardware? Does one benefits the other or their functionality is exactly the exam except one is a VM and the other is a real hardware?

[abbharga]

No actual difference in functionality rahter then just running one in the ESX environment and the other on a dedicated hardware.

The traffic is not shared between the VM and VSM on the same ESX host.

The activities / maintenace on the ESX environment do not impact the VSM.

./Abhinav