Cisco Cisco Prime Virtual Network Analysis Module (vNAM) 6.1 White Paper
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Cisco Virtualized Multiservice Data Center (VMDC) Virtual Services Architecture (VSA) 1.0
Design Guide
Chapter 3 VMDC VSA 1.0 Design Details
System Level Design Considerations
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Automatic bypass of pass-through traffic; vWAAS automatically offload pass-through traffic to
vPath.
vPath.
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Policy-based configuration; policies defined in the Nexus 1000V VSM are propagated to VMware
vCenter and applied to the specified VM.
vCenter and applied to the specified VM.
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VM mobility awareness; if a VM is moved, vPath continues to intercept and redirect traffic without
requiring network changes.
requiring network changes.
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Fault-tolerant persistent performance; the vWAAS Data Redundancy Elimination (DRE) cache can
deploy in SAN. VMware HA creates a new VM using the same DRE cache storage if vWAAS fails.
deploy in SAN. VMware HA creates a new VM using the same DRE cache storage if vWAAS fails.
vNAM
The vNAM extends the Cisco Prime Network Analysis Module portfolio maximizing deployment
flexibility in the virtual/cloud environment. The vNAM combines application awareness, deeper
visibility into the network and rich performance analytics to accelerate operational decisions. It can be
deployed easily anywhere in the network to improve or assure services levels. For example, vNAM can
be deployed in the tenant container to monitor hosted workloads, at remote sites to monitor the end-user
experience, or wherever there is a need to eliminate network blind spots. It can be installed on x86
platforms with ESXi and KVM virtualization infrastructures.
flexibility in the virtual/cloud environment. The vNAM combines application awareness, deeper
visibility into the network and rich performance analytics to accelerate operational decisions. It can be
deployed easily anywhere in the network to improve or assure services levels. For example, vNAM can
be deployed in the tenant container to monitor hosted workloads, at remote sites to monitor the end-user
experience, or wherever there is a need to eliminate network blind spots. It can be installed on x86
platforms with ESXi and KVM virtualization infrastructures.
The vNAM gathers information from the network in multiple ways:
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Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN), Remote SPAN (RSPAN), encapsulated remote SPAN (ERSPAN)
from Cisco switches.
from Cisco switches.
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VLAN access control list (VACL)-based captures, used in conjunction with SPAN when supported
by the switching platform.
by the switching platform.
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Promiscuous mode enabled on VMWare vSwitch for ESXi deployments.
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Cisco WAAS to deliver end-to-end visibility into WAN optimization infrastructure.
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Cisco Performance Agent to extend visibility into remote sites.
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NetFlow (Versions 5 and 9).
Deployed in the tenant network container, Cisco Prime vNAM analyzes the TCP-based interactions for
the hosted workload to monitor performance in terms of metrics such as transaction time, server
response time, and application delay. Setting performance thresholds helps to proactively detect
performance problems, troubleshoot application response time concerns, and minimize the risks of
violating service-level objectives. Cisco Prime vNAM also provides insight into network usage by
applications, top talkers, and conversations to help optimize use of cloud infrastructure.
the hosted workload to monitor performance in terms of metrics such as transaction time, server
response time, and application delay. Setting performance thresholds helps to proactively detect
performance problems, troubleshoot application response time concerns, and minimize the risks of
violating service-level objectives. Cisco Prime vNAM also provides insight into network usage by
applications, top talkers, and conversations to help optimize use of cloud infrastructure.
Refer to
for more details.
System Level Design Considerations
The following system level design considerations are defined:
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