Information About the Cisco VSG
This section describes how to install and complete the basic configuration of the Cisco VSG for VMware vSphere software.
Host and VM Requirements
The Cisco VSG has the following requirements:
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ESXi platform running VMware software release 5.x and requiring a minimum of 4 GB RAM to host a Cisco VSG VM.
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Virtual Machine (VM)
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32-bit VM is required and “Other 2.6.x (32-bit) Linux” is a recommended VM type.
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2 processors (1 processor is optional.)
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2-GB RAM
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3 NICs (1 of type VMXNET3 and 2 of type E1000)
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Minimum of 3 GB of SCSI hard disk with LSI Logic Parallel adapter (default)
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Minimum CPU speed of 1 GHz
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There is no dependency on the VM hardware version, so the VM hardware version can be upgraded if required.
Cisco VSG and Supported Cisco Nexus 1000VE Series Device Terminology
The following table lists the terminology is used in the Cisco VSG implementation.
Term |
Description |
---|---|
Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS) |
Logical switch that spans one or more VMware ESX servers. It is controlled by one VSM instance. |
ESXi |
Virtualization platform used to create the virtual machines as a set of configuration and disk files. |
NIC |
Network interface card. |
Open Virtual Appliance or Application (OVA) file |
Package that contains the following files used to describe a virtual machine and saved in a single archive using .TAR packaging:
|
Open Virtual Machine Format (OVF) |
Platform-independent method of packaging and distributing Virtual Machines (VMs). |
vCenter Server |
Service that acts as a central administrator for VMware ESXi hosts that are connected on a network. vCenter Server directs actions on the VMs and the VM hosts. |
Virtual Service Engine (VSE) |
Part of the Cisco Nexus 1000VE Series switch that switches data traffic. It runs on a ESX/ESXi host. Up to 64 VSEs are controlled by one VSM. All the VSEs that form a switch domain should be in the same virtual data center as defined by the VMware vCenter Server. |
Virtual Machine (VM) |
Virtualized x86 PC environment in which a guest operating system and associated application software can run. Multiple VMs can operate on the same host system concurrently. |
VMotion |
Practice of migrating virtual machines live from server to server. (The Cisco VSGs cannot be moved by VMotion.) |
vPath |
Component in the Cisco Nexus 1000VE Series switch with a VSE that directs the appropriate traffic to the Cisco VSG for policy evaluation. It also acts as fast path and can short circuit part of the traffic without sending it to the Cisco VSG. |
Virtual Security Gateway (VSG) |
Cisco software that secures virtual networks and provides firewall functions in virtual environments using the Cisco Nexus 1000VE Series switch by providing network segmentation. |
Virtual Supervisor Module (VSM) |
Control software for the Cisco Nexus 1000VE Series distributed virtual device that runs on a virtual machine (VM) and is based on Cisco NX-OS. |