Networking for VMware Administrators

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

Part I Physical Networking
Chapter 1 The Very Basics
Chapter 2 A Tale of Two Network Models
Chapter 3 Ethernet Networks
Chapter 4 Advanced Layer 2
Chapter 5 Layer 3
Chapter 6 Converged Infrastructure

Part II Virtual Switching
Chapter 7 How Virtual Switching Differs from Physical Switching
Chapter 8 vSphere Standard Switch
Chapter 9 vSphere Distributed Switch
Chapter 10 Third Party Switches–1000V
Chapter 11 Lab Scenario 135
Chapter 12 Standard vSwitch Design
Chapter 13 Distributed vSwitch Design

Part III You Got Your Storage in My Networking: IP Storage
Chapter 14 iSCSI General Use Cases
Chapter 15 iSCSI Design and Confi guration
Chapter 16 NFS General Use Cases
Chapter 17 NFS Design and Confi guration

Part IV Other Design Scenarios
Chapter 18 Additional vSwitch Design Scenarios
Chapter 19 Multi-NIC vMotion Architecture

Appendix A Networking for VMware Administrators: The VMware User Group