Step-by-step VMware Cloud Foundation 4.3 design and install AVNs

In my previous post Step-by-step VMware Cloud Foundation 4.3 design and install Edge Nodes we completed deployment of edge node cluster in VMware cloud foundation management domain and successfully deployed T0 and T1 router instance for dynamic routing. For dynamic routing we used BGP in real world deployment your network team will enable BGP on uplink devices, however if you are doing it in LAB then you need to enable BGP on your uplink router which would be in our case CSR1000v. Please refer to my post where I have enabled it on our virtual router. 

Now as we are advancing with the deployment its time we create AVNs for hosting vRealize components. As each component will be placed on a AVN based on its usage and compliant with VMware Validated Designs.

I have already talked about VMware validated designs in my post Home Lab Step-by-Step-NSX-T 3.1 design and Install-P1 I would recommend to have a look at it once.

What are AVNs?

As stated by Rick Walsworth in his blog post   "AVNs are software-defined overlay networks that serve as specialized purpose in the Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC). These networks can span a defined zone of clusters and traverse NSX Edge Service Gateways for their North-South ingress and egress (think of it as the on-ramp to the SDDC) and implements software-defined networking based on NSX in the management domain." 

In past application virtual networks were vxlans as software defined networking product was NSX-V however with newer releases of VMware Cloud foundation VMware is leveraging NSX-T hence these are overlay segments. Now instead of edge services gateways, we have edge node appliances and T0 and T1 router instances.

Benefits of AVNs

Application Virtual Networks provide the following key benefits highlighted by Rick in his post which still holds true :

• Provide a software-defined network topology for applications in VCF.
• NSX edge device for load balancing
• Simplified data mobility and future disaster recovery failover procedures
• Improved security and mobility of management applications

My personal favorite is ability to span layer 2 networks over layer 3 without changing anything on the physical network, spanning is not limited to between racks but within multiple sites which are geographically apart, which makes our "Architects" life easy while designing DCDR.

How to add AVNs? watch video.

How to install VMware Cloud Foundation 4.3 step by step series Part-6

How to add AVNs? Steps.

1) In order to add AVNs we need to login to SDDC manager.

2) Navigate to workload domains.

3) Click on three dots ellipses symbol in front of management domain and select option Add AVNs.

4) You will get add AVNs wizard. On general screen choose overlay-backed NSX segments.

5) On next screen you need to select edge cluster and T1 for connecting overlay segments gateway.

6) In settings screen provide AVN details and validate settings.

7) review AVN summary and finish wizard.

8) Once all the tasks are successfully complete, your AVNs are ready for hosting vRealize suite products.

In my next post Step-by-step VMware Cloud Foundation 4.3 design and install VRLCM I will show you how to add vRealize lifecycle manager in VMware cloud foundation management domain.

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