How to Deploy a Nexus 1000v lab with VMware Workstation or Fusion

[Robert Burns]

• Introduction
• Related Information

Introduction

This document details how to deploy a Nexus 1000v lab using a single workstation.  This guide leverages VMware Worstation as the client hypervisor, however VMware Fusion can be substituted also.

Related Information

How to Deploy a Nexus 1000v lab with a single ESX host
How to remove an orphaned 1000v DVS

[nmeadows02]

I tried to create this lab and found it to be unsatisfactory.......in my opinion studying  for Data Centre , and particularly, what Cisco call "virtualization", which means studying Nexus 1000v and understanding it in some depth..........you will be far better served creating a proper lab. I don't mean spending vast amounts of money, 2 old laptops from ebay with as much RAM as you can get, with an old 3550/60 switch (and if you're serious about networking, you should have at 1 of these at home anyway). Vmware, give us a 60 day Enterprise licence for ESXi, which you install from a bootable CD, connect to your switch and you have a lab, but one where you can understand the interaction between the ESXi servers and the upstream switch.....this is crucial in the real world, because the upstream switch would be a UCS Fabric interconnect or a Nexus 4000i (HP) or a Nexus 5K. They all work differently....and if you haven't had to pull your hair out, understanding how the Vmware networking works with the Cisco networking......I'm not sure you're getting what you should from a "virtualization lab". I truly hope the N1Kv as a product forges ahead, but if it doesn't the lessons to be learnt in terms of vPath, service chaining, software switching, profiles and port-groups are principles that must stand those following data centre in good stead. Of course I understand the temptation to start a lab on your own laptop......but I personally found I spent so much time working Vmware workstation nerd knobs, and no time understanding how this all works together in a way that I am likely to find in a work situation. I hope that helps....and there's one more thing........if you get the N1Kv installed, you can then download for free the VSG which is a L2 firewall which "service-chains" with the N1Kv, and ASA1000v, which is a L3 firewall which also service chains........Cisco are letting you try this for free...it's brilliant stuff and if you install this and read Cisco multi tenant data center design document you get an understanding of how Data Centres will/might go!!!!

Neil Meadows