Skip to main content

VMware on AWS Cloud - Moving VMware HCX from VPN to Direct Connect


One of my customers are in the journey of migrating the workloads from On-Premise Datacenter to VMware Cloud on AWS. They have a 6 node VMC SDDC brought up and they are connected via a VPN tunnel over the public Internet. They also have HCX deployed on premise with multiple stretched networks and two HCX Service Meshes.
The existing service meshes was created over the HCX VPN tunnel for the workload migration. Due to the fact that the customer is now planning for the mass VM migration from On-Premise to VMC, they decided to go with Direct Connect (AWS Direct Connect) 
In this blog spot, I share the steps we performed. 

Architecture: 


We have setup the Direct Connect between On-Prem and AWS Datacenter and the connections are made available in AWS network account. Then created the Transit Virtual interfaces and associated with the Direct connect gateway (detailed steps here). Then attach the Direct Connect Gateway to an SDDC group steps here.  

The high-level architecture looks like: 




Step 1: (Configuration in AWS Network account) 


Once the links from network backbone is setup, the links becomes visible In the AWS network account as below 



Step 2: (Configuration in VMC Console) 

Now the VMC should attach the VIF to the AWS Direct connect gateway using the Private. Once the links are up the status of the Direct connect shows as below. 

Make sure the direct connect is Connected to VMC SDDC group as shown in the picture below 



Post establishing the Direct Connection from On-premise to VMC, the next step to create the Service mesh over the newly created DX links. 

Step 3: (Configuration in VMware HCX) 


Pre-requisites and health check: 

1. In the VMC SDDC - Direct connect tab, make sure the routes are advertised for vSphere management, vCenter and the HCX management network segments. 
2. Update the management firewall rules in VMC SDDC to have the new Direct Connect segments (previously it has the network segments for VPN Connection) 
3. Test the connectivity (ping) from VMC SDDC to the on-premise vcenter segments that is being advertised over the Direct Connect to verify the on-premise vSphere management can communicate with VMC SDDC Management appliances
4. Now the connections are up and ensure there are no live migrations or replications are in progress in HCX. 
5. Change the HCX FQDN Resolution address 
    1. Log in to VMware Cloud Services at https://vmc.vmware.com.
    2. Click Inventory > SDDCs, then pick an SDDC card and click VIEW DETAILS.
    3. Navigate to the Settings tab of your SDDC.
    4. Expand HCX FQDN, and click Edit.
    5. Under Resolution Address select the Private IP address ( new after DX setup) and click SAVE.
6. Verify HCX Connector & HCX Cloud pairing is healthy. The existing HCX site pairing should work without any issues. If not, we need ot update the site pairing.
7.Create the Direct Connect Network Profile in VMware HCX in VMC.
1. Navigate to the SDDC tab and login using the cloudadmin@vmc.local user or login with the enterprise admin credentials. 
2. Navigate to the Infrastructure and Interconnect then the Network profiles
3. Create a new DirectConnectNetwork network profile 
4. Add the IP range, prefix length, and gateway to the network profile and click SAVE. (this is the new IP range for the Direct Connect setup and it should be unique without any overlaps in VMC or On-prem)
5. Check back that the new network segment is advertised over the Direct connect in VMC SDDC Console ->Networking & Security->System->Direct Connect.  The subnet should be visible under Advertised BGP Routes. 
6. Update the on-premise firewalls are allowing the new HCX IP Range to communicate with the vSphere Management network on premise.
8. Redeploy HCX Service Mesh from on premise HCX Connector Manager
9.Update new compute firewall rules in VMC SDDC to referred to the prior VPN connection to the Direct Connect.

Important notes: 

1. Make sure there are no ongoing replications or migrations in the HCX. 
2. Make sure no networks are extended over the Service mesh which we are updating 
3. Redeploy the service mesh on-prem as needed 


Let me know if you need detailed steps. 


Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

HOW TO EDIT THE BCD REGISTRY FILE

The BCD registry file controls which operating system installation starts and how long the boot manager waits before starting Windows. Basically, it’s like the Boot.ini file in earlier versions of Windows. If you need to edit it, the easiest way is to use the Startup And Recovery tool from within Vista. Just follow these steps: 1. Click Start. Right-click Computer, and then click Properties. 2. Click Advanced System Settings. 3. On the Advanced tab, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings. 4. Click the Default Operating System list, and edit other startup settings. Then, click OK. Same as Windows XP, right? But you’re probably not here because you couldn’t find that dialog box. You’re probably here because Windows Vista won’t start. In that case, you shouldn’t even worry about editing the BCD. Just run Startup Repair, and let the tool do what it’s supposed to. If you’re an advanced user, like an IT guy, you might want to edit the BCD file yourself. You can do this
Read more

DNS Scavenging.

                        DNS Scavenging is a great answer to a problem that has been nagging everyone since RFC 2136 came out way back in 1997.  Despite many clever methods of ensuring that clients and DHCP servers that perform dynamic updates clean up after themselves sometimes DNS can get messy.  Remember that old test server that you built two years ago that caught fire before it could be used?  Probably not.  DNS still remembers it though.  There are two big issues with DNS scavenging that seem to come up a lot: "I'm hitting this 'scavenge now' button like a snare drum and nothing is happening.  Why?" or "I woke up this morning, my DNS zones are nearly empty and Active Directory is sitting in a corner rocking back and forth crying.  What happened?" This post should help us figure out when the first issue will happen and completely avoid the second.  We'll go through how scavenging is setup then I'll give you my best practices.  Scavenging s
Read more

AD LDS – Syncronizing AD LDS with Active Directory

First, we will install the AD LDS Instance: 1. Create and AD LDS instance by clicking Start -> Administrative Tools -> Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services Setup Wizard. The Setup Wizard appears. 2. Click Next . The Setup Options dialog box appears. For the sake of this guide, a unique instance will be the primary focus. I will have a separate post regarding AD LDS replication at some point in the near future. 3. Select A unique instance . 4. Click Next and the Instance Name dialog box appears. The instance name will help you identify and differentiate it from other instances that you may have installed on the same end point. The instance name will be listed in the data directory for the instance as well as in the Add or Remove Programs snap-in. 5. Enter a unique instance name, for example IDG. 6. Click Next to display the Ports configuration dialog box. 7. Leave ports at their default values unless you have conflicts with the default values. 8. Click N
Read more