Combining Cisco ACI and VMware NSX Together

 

June 14, 2016

In technology, there are always multiple developers offering different products to address the same problems. Sometimes these products are very similar, as in the case of Jabber vs. Skype for Business. Other times, they operate on fundamentally different principles but have overlapping functionality. IT directors are often asked to choose only one of these technologies for their environment.

However, in rare situations, it can actually be beneficial to combine solutions from competing developers. Integrating both Cisco ACI and VMware NSX to create a software defined network (SDN) is one such example.

 

Cisco ACI vs. VMware NSX

Both Cisco ACI and VMware NSX are packaged as software defined networking solutions, but each technology takes a very different approach to achieving that goal.

  • VMware NSX: NSX is a software overlay application and can be applied to any existing networking equipment. Once installed, new networks can be spun up in moments, much like a virtual machine. Furthermore, NSX can be used to enact micro-segmentation within the environment. Micro-segmentation effectively creates smaller firewalls to surround each VM in the network and prevents east-west traffic of malicious files.
  • Cisco ACI: Instead of a software application, Cisco has placed their networking intelligence in the hardware itself. Nexus switching and other Cisco ACI-enabled gear are deployed in the network. Using their built-in intelligence, the switches and routers can access enhanced features. Network administrators can then create and clone automation templates to dictate network behavior based on the application in question. The result is an SDN environment that is functionally similar to one utilizing NSX.

 

Both Software Defined Networking Technologies Combined

When deploying both NSX and ACI in the same environment, they can be used to fill different roles. ACI and the Cisco hardware it is integrated with can serve as your physical fabric, and above the fabric in the virtual layer, NSX can serve as your network and security virtualization platform.

For example, when you deploy a new hypervisor host, network connectivity will be established using the physical Cisco ACI-enabled hardware. Then, a policy template and network profile can be created using ACI to ensure priority bandwidth for any application. In this example, that application will be our VMware vSphere hosts and the iteration of NSX they are running.

Now, once NSX and ACI are connected in this fashion, vRealize Suite (VMware’s cloud management software) can use NSX to provision resources for a new application and create templates for compute, storage, security, and network services. NSX then enables micro-segmentation for VM security and ACI policy templates can be distributed to the network hardware to ensure performance.

Though the Cisco ACI and VMware NSX are very different in principle and deployment, they are not entirely mutually exclusive. They can be successfully combined, in certain environments, to effectively expedite and simplify application provisioning.

Like what you read? 

SUBSCRIBE

About Mindsight

Mindsight, a Chicago IT services provider, is an extension of your team. Our culture is built on transparency and trust, and our team is made up of extraordinary people – the kinds of people you would hire. We have one of the largest expert-level engineering teams delivering the full spectrum of IT services and solutions, from cloud to infrastructure, collaboration to contact center. Our highly-certified engineers and process-oriented excellence have certainly been key to our success. But what really sets us apart is our straightforward and honest approach to every conversation, whether it is for an emerging business or global enterprise. Our customers rely on our thought leadership, responsiveness, and dedication to solving their toughest technology challenges.

Contact Us

 

For Further Reading

SDN, ACI, and Micro-segmentation, Oh My!





Related Articles

View All Blog Posts

Contact Us
close slider

GET IN TOUCH WITH US

Fill out the form below to get the answers you need from one of Mindsight's experts.

hbspt.forms.create({ portalId: "99242", formId: "dfd06c5c-0392-4cbf-b2cb-d7fb4e636b7f" });