Hybrid Pod Directives¶

Hybrid pods contain both real equipment and virtual machines. To transport network traffic between virtual machines and real equipment, each virtual machine host server is connected to a physical control switch and configured for 802.1Q (trunking mode).

The network interface that connects to the control switch on the VM host server is associated with the NETLAB+ inside virtual switch (typically vswitch1). The designated inside vswitch is specified by the NETLAB+ administrator in the Virtual Machine Host Server settings and can be specified on a per-host basis. Each VLAN within the inside vswitch is backed by a virtual portgroup within the virtual switch.

Using NETLAB+ versions 2011.R2 (and later) with VMware vSphere, VLAN port groups for hybrid pods can be automatically created and removed from the inside vswitch using the following configuration directives in the pod design.

The pod.auto.net.control_switch.vlans setting is used in conjunction with the pc.<i>.net.vnic.<n>.vlan directive, which bind virtual network adapters (vNIC) to a particular VLAN. Letters are used as VLAN identifiers instead of numbers, because the actual VLAN numbers cannot be determined at design time. NETLAB+ binds VLAN letters to VLAN numbers when a pod is started.

Terminology¶

Control Switch:: Physical switches that allow NETLAB+ to transport network traffic between virtual machines and real equipment in a hybrid pod. The control switch can also provide layer 2 connectivity between real equipment ports through VLAN maps.
Physical Port:: Physical ports on the control switch that are used to connect to the virtual machine host servers. Physical port numbers cannot be determined in a pod design as pod types are abstractions.
Relative Port:: Relative port numbers are control switch number relative to the pod design. The first control switch port is +0, the second control switch port is +1, etc.
VLAN Map:: A VLAN map is a table that maps VLANs to physical ports on the control switch. VLAN maps are used to provide layer 2 connectivity between real equipment ports and between port groups on a virtual switch. VLAN maps cannot be currently specified for virtual machine networking interfaces. Virtual machine VLANs remain fixed regardless of lab exercise. This is to maintain backward compatibility with a large installed base of standalone VMware host implementations that cannot support this feature. To overcome this limitation, real network device interfaces must move into the same VLANs with virtual machines (which remain fixed regardless of lab exercise).
Control Switch Directive:: Provides default hints for administrators to configure control switch ports.

pod.auto.net.control_switch.vlans¶

The VLANs that are used to transport network traffic between virtual machines and real equipment in a hybrid pod.

Synopsis

pod.auto.net.control_switch.vlans=<vlan_list>

<vlan_list> is a comma-separated list of VLAN letters (A-Z) that are used to transport network traffic between virtual machines and real equipment in a hybrid pod. VLANs that never require interaction with virtual machines can be omitted.

Note

Virtual machines in a pod always are pinned to a specific VLAN letter, regardless of lab exercise. Real lab equipment connected to control switch ports may change VLANs on a per lab basis.

Examples

csw.rcpn.<n>.peer.name¶

The name of the lab device that is connected to the control switch port. This provides a hint to the system administrator about the name of the device connected to the control switch port.

Synopsis

csw.rcpn.<n>.peer.name=<label>

<n> is the relative control switch port number (0, 1, etc.)
<label> is a text string to identify the lab device connected to the control switch port.

Examples

csw.rcpn.<n>.peer.type¶

The type of lab device that is connected to the control switch port. This provides a hint to the system administrator about the type of device connected to the control switch port.

Synopsis

csw.rcpn.<n>.peer.type=<type>

<n> is the relative control switch port number (0, 1, etc.)
<type> is a text string to identify the type of lab device connected to the control switch port.

Value	Meaning
`ROUTER`	Control port is connected to a router.
`SWITCH`	Control port is connected to a switch.
`FIREWALL`	Control port is connected to a firewall.
`STATIC`	Control port is connected to a device other than a router, switch, or firewall. It does not run spanning tree protocol, CDP or other protocols that may interfere with the control switch.

These values are significant and affect the the hint provided to the system administrator. Improper configuration of control ports properly can result in network connectivity issues.

Important

If this directive is omitted, NETLAB+ will not make any assumptions about the type of device connected to the control switch port and will not provide a default hint. The system administrator must specify the correct type of device connected to the control switch port at the time of pod deployment. It is recommended to always specify the type of device connected to the control switch port to reduce the chance of network misconfiguration by the system administrator.

Critical

A control port connected to a lab switch must by type SWITCH to disable spanning tree protocol (STP) on the port. Failure to do so can result in network loops and significant connectivity failures.

Examples

csw.rcpn.<n>.peer.intf¶

The interface on the lab device that is connected to the control switch port. This provides a hint to the system administrator about the interface on the lab device connected to the control switch port.

Synopsis

Where:

<n> is the relative control switch port number (0, 1, etc.)
<interface> is a text string to identify the interface on the lab device connected to the control switch port.

Since interface names on lab devices vary by model, this directive is a hint only and may not be used by the system. The convention is to use E followed by a number for Ethernet interfaces. For example, E0, E1, E2, etc.

Examples