Posts

Posted on

Adding an AWS Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) to direct traffic between web servers on Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2)

One of the great things about running a virtualized infrastructure on NC2 on AWS is the close proximity to all the cloud native services. One of those highly useful services is the AWS ELB or Elastic Load Balancer.

In this post we show how to get floating IP addresses from the VPC in which NC2 is located and to assign them to a number of web servers running as VMs on NC2. Then we create a Load Balancer target group and finally we create an Application Load Balancer (ALB) and attach it to the target group.

Architecture

In this blog post we only cover the deployment of the web servers and the load balancer, however, Route 53 can also be leveraged for DNS and AWS WAF for security and DDOS protection purposes as illustrated below

Preparing some web servers

We first deploy a few test web servers. In this case the wonderfully named Jammy Jellyfish edition of Ubuntu Server as a cloud image. Feel free to download the image from here:

https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/releases/22.04/release-20240319/ubuntu-22.04-server-cloudimg-amd64.img

Prism Central makes it very easy to deploy multiple VMs in one go.

When deploying, make sure to use the cloud-init script to set the password and any other parts to make the VM usable after 1st boot:

#cloud-config
password: Password1
chpasswd: { expire: False }
ssh_pwauth: True

Now we have our VMs ready. I’ve installed the Apache web server to serve pages (apt install apache2) but feel free to use whatever works best in your setup.

I used the following index.html code to show the server ID

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ cat /var/www/html/index.html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Welcome</title>
    <style>
        body {
            display: flex;
            justify-content: center;
            align-items: center;
            height: 100vh;
            margin: 0;
            font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
            background-color: #f0f0f0;
        }
        .message-container {
            max-width: 300px;
            padding: 20px;
            text-align: center;
            background-color: #ffffff;
            border: 1px solid #cccccc;
            border-radius: 10px;
            box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <div class="message-container">
        <script>
            // Fetch the hostname
            document.write("Welcome to Server 1");
        </script>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

Configure floating IP addresses for the web servers

Next we request a few floating IP addresses from the VPC which NC2 is deployed into and then assign one IP each to our web servers. Luckily Prism Central makes also this very easy to do – in a single step! From “Compute & Storage”, select “Floating IPs” under “Network & Security”:

After assigning the IPs we can see that each VM have both an internal and an external IP address, where the “external” IP comes from the AWS VPC CIDR range

Creating an AWS LB target group

Next we create a target group for the AWS ALB which we deploy in the next step. The LB target group simply contain the Floating IP addresses we just assigned as well as a health check for the web root of these web servers.

We create an “IP address” target group and set the health check to be HTTP, port 80 and the path as “/” or the web root.

We then add the Floating IP addresses we created previously

Create the Application Load Balancer (ALB)

Finally we create the ALB and assign it to our target group

Test of the ALB

Now we’re all done and can access our ALB to see if it shows balances between the NC2 VMs as expected.

We’re getting a different web server each time we refresh the page – all good!

That’s all for now. Hope that was helpful and thank you for reading!

Posted on

How to find OEM ESXi installer ISOs on Broadcom’s webpage

If you’re using Dell servers for your DC or home lab, there used to be an option to download the ESXi ISO file directly from the Dell support site under “Enterprise Software”. This year the ability to download ISO images pre-loaded with Dell drivers has been removed from the Dell support site and moved to Broadcom.

It can be a challenge to find these, so please refer to the below steps to get your ISO images downloaded:

Step 1: Navigate to the Broadcom Support portal.  Log in or create an account if you have not already done so.

Step 2: Nexxt to your username on the top right-hand side, click the cloud icon and select VMware Cloud Foundation.

Step 3: You should now have a side-menu to the left. Click on My Downloads.

Step 4: We actually have to search here to find the downloads we’re looking for. Use the top right-hand side search bard and enter “VMware vSphere”. Choose VMware vSphere when the results show up.

Step 5: Select ESXi and then navigate to the Custom ISOs tab

Step 6: Download your favorite ISO image with drivers pre-loaded for your particular brand of server 🙂

Posted on

Using ChatGPT as a translation service

This is a quick note to show a concept of using the ChatGPT API for translation. In this case for English to Japanese, but it could be changed into any language. Since we want to talk to it we use Amazon Transcribe to turn speech into text. That text is sent to ChatGPT for translation. When the translated text comes back we feed it into Amazon Polly to turn it into speech again.

This is all running on a Raspberry Pi 3b+

Source code

Source code can be found on GitHub:

https://github.com/jonas-werner/chatBot

Quick demo video

Posted on

Migrating VMs from VMware Cloud on AWS (VMC) to Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS (NC2)

Summary

In this blog post we explore two ways to use Nutanix Move 5.3 to migrate Virtual Machines from an existing VMware Cloud on AWS (VMC) environment to Nutanix Cloud Clusters on AWS (NC2). This is done while preserving both IP and MAC addresses of the VMs being migrated.

The most straight forward method is to deploy NC2 into the Connected VPC. This is a VPC which is attached at time of deployment of the VMware Cloud on AWS environment and is owned by the customer. Alternatively, we can deploy NC2 into a completely separate VPC and connect to the VMware Cloud on AWS cluster through a VMware Transit Connect (VTGW).

Architecture overview

The two methods are illustrated below. Method 1 is recommended due to the ease of setup, simple networking and no data transfer charges. However, care need to be taken to ensure there is no overlap with any existing resources deployed into the Connected VPC. For example by creating new private subnets in the Connected VPC specifically for the NC2 deployment.

Method 2 covers migrating via a VMware Transit Connect (VTGW). Although it has additional routing considerations, this is also a fully viable option. In this example we peer the VTGW with a normal customer-controlled AWS Transit Gateway (TGW). Note that with Method 2 the VTGW can also connect directly to a VPC without the need for a TGW, but this will limit the routing options for the customer.

It’s important to keep in mind that both options can migrate VMs from VMC without changing IP or MAC addresses. Neither option require L2 Extension of user VM networks. This underlines the ease of which a migration like this can be done. There are of course some caveats. Refer to the VM networking section below for more detail.

Method 1: Migrate from VMC to NC2 deployed into the VMC Connected VPC
Method 2: Migrate VMs via VTGW into a separate or new VPC

VM networking

The whole migration can be done without L2 extension of VM networks. On the VMware Cloud on AWS side Virtual Machines in VMC are connected to overlay networks created with NSX-T using the VMC management console. These are represented by the “10.3.0.0/24” network in this example. The same CIDR ranges can be created as overlay networks by using Nutanix Flow on the NC2 cluster. Thereby, when VMs are migrated from VMC to NC2, they don’t need to change their IP or MAC addresses.

Note that if L2 Extension is not used, there is no communication between the overlay networks in NC2 and the overlay networks in VMC. Therefore, plan the migration so that VMs which need to communicate are moved together.

Also note that Flow does not advertise the overlay networks into the VPC route table. As long as VMware Cloud on AWS is attached to the connected VPC, the routes for the VMs will point to the active ENI created during the VMC cluster deployment. Destroying the VMC cluster will remove these ENIs and the corresponding routes from the Connected VPC route table.

Migration tool: Move

The Nutanix Move migration tool has with the recent 5.3 release added support for migrations from VMware Cloud on AWS. In this example, Move is deployed into the NC2 cluster. Both the VMC and the NC2 environments have been registered with Move and the inventories of both show up and are available for migration. More details in the Move deployment section below.

Method 1: Deploy NC2 into the Connected VPC

If there is enough space to deploy NC2 into the already existing Connected VPC in the customer account, this is the easiest and most straight-forward option. Connectivity and routing between the Connected VPC and the VMware Cloud on AWS environment is already configured as part of the VMC deployment. Do make sure that the CIDR ranges of any existing subnets are sufficient for deployment of NC2 and that there aren’t already resources deployed into those subnets which could interfere with the NC2 components. If the VPC CIDR range has space for new subnets, consider creating new private subnets to hold the NC2 deployment.

  • Benefits
    • No need to create new VPC and subnets
    • VPC is already connected to VMC and routing is configured
    • Data transfer is free of charge
    • High link / data transfer speed

  • Drawbacks
    • VPC may already be fully populated with resources
    • VPC may not have the correct CIDR ranges for NC2

Method 1: Steps to deploy

Simply sign up for NC2 or start a trial and deploy through the NC2 deployment wizard. Select the latest version – 6.8, to get Flow overlay networking and the centralized management through Prism Central included.

Note that NC2 can only be deployed into private AWS subnets and that internet connectivity need to be present. If no direct internet connectivity is available, proxy support is also available through the deployment wizard.

VMware Cloud on AWS automatically updates the default route table in the connected VPC with the routes to vCenter, ESXi and the user networks. However, if NC2 is deployed into a subnet which doesn’t use the default route table those routes won’t be present. Ensure the subnet NC2 is deployed into is updated with the routes to the VMware Cloud on AWS environment. Particularly the management subnet which holds vCenter and the ESXi hosts. Also, if necessary, update the security group on the active VMC ENI to allow access from the NC2 subnet.

After the NC2 cluster is deployed, follow the steps further down in this article to open the VMC firewall for vCenter and ESXi, deploy Move 5.3 on top of NC2 and register both the NC2 cluster and the VMC vCenter instance.

Method 2: Deploy NC2 into a separate VPC and migrate through a VTGW

If deploying NC2 into the Connected VPC is not possible or desirable, there is another option available. VMware Cloud on AWS supports creating a VMware Transit Connect (VTGW). The VTGW is a VMware-controlled Transit Gateway (TGW) – basically a regional cloud router. The VTGW can in turn be attached either directly to another VPC or peered with a customer controlled TGW. The TGW can then be attached to one or several VPCs of the customers choosing. Do keep cross-AZ and cross-region charges in mind when planning the architecture so that they can be minimized or avoided.

  • Benefits
    • Once set up, migration is straight forward
    • The customer can use any VPC for the NC2 deployment, including a new one
    • High link / data transfer speed

  • Drawbacks
    • Routing requires additional steps and knowledge
    • Data transfer is charged (roughly 2 cents/Gb)
    • Although this example use a TGW and a VTGW, data transfer charges do not end up being doubled. The peering attachment does not incur data transfer charges unless they go across AZs or regions.
    • (V)TGW attachments are charged (roughly 7 cents/h in ap-northeast-1)

Method 2: Steps to deploy: Create the VTGW

Unless already present, go to the AWS console and deploy a Transit Gateway (TGW) in the same region as VMC. Then, in the VMware Cloud on AWS management console, go to “SDDC groups” and deploy a new VTGW. Once deployed, navigate to the “External TGW” tab, click “Add TGW” and enter the account number and the ID of the customer TGW to connect to as well as the regions to use.

In the “Routes” box, enter the CIDR range of the VPC which NC2 is to be deployed into. In this example, “10.90.0.0/16”.

This will advertise the NC2 VPC CIDR to VMware Cloud on AWS and also create a peering attachment invitation from the VMware AWS account to the customer AWS account.

Method 2: Steps to deploy: Configure the TGW

The invitation to add the peering attachment can be accepted through “Transit Gateway Attachments” in the AWS console in the customer account.

While here, take the opportunity to add an attachment to the VPC into which NC2 will be deployed.

Accepting the peering invitation in the AWS console

In the customer AWS account, navigate to the Transit Gateway route table section, select the route table for the TGW peered with VMC and add the routes for the VMC networks. In this case “10.2.0.0/16”, “10.3.0.0/16” and “10.4.0.0/16”. Note that these are added as Static routes.

In addition we have the “10.90.0.0/16” network added via the VPC attachment. There is no need to add static routes for this network as it is propagated automatically.

Method 2: Steps to deploy: Configure the routes to the VMC cluster in the NC2 VPC

The final step for the routing is to add the routes for VMware Cloud on AWS into the route table(s) of the VPC which NC2 is to be deployed into. In our example, “10.2.0.0/16”, “10.3.0.0/16” and “10.4.0.0/16” are added as routes via the TGW attachment. “10.90.0.0/16” is our local network and there is a quad-zero route to the internet via a NAT GW.

This concludes the setup steps specific to Method 2. Please continue with the firewall settings, NC2 cluster deployment and Move installation below.

Firewall settings: Allow Move to access the VMC vCenter and ESXi hosts

Move requires access to the VMC vCenter instance and the ESXi hosts in order to migrate virtual machines. Through the VMware Cloud on AWS console, add a Management Gateway firewall rule to allow the NC2 VPC to access these resources.

  • Add the NC2 VPC CIDR range to an MGW inventory group
    • Navigate to “Networking & Security”
    • Click “Groups” under “Inventory”
    • Click “Management Groups” to edit the groups pertaining to the MGW
    • Add or modify a group and add the CIDR range of the VPC which NC2 is deployed into
      • To modify an existing group, click the 3-dot menu on the left of the group and select “Edit”
Adding the NC2 VPC CIDR range to an MGW inventory group
  • Add the MGW inventory group to the MGW firewall rules
    • Navigate to “Networking & Security”
    • Click “Gateway Firewall” under “Security”
    • Click “Management Gateway” to edit rules for the MGW
    • Update the rules for ESXi and vCenter by adding the MGW inventory group containing the NC2 VPC CIDR range with the action “Allow”
Adding the MGW inventory group to a MGW firewall rule allowing access to ESXi and vCenter from the NC2 VPC

Deploy the NC2 cluster

Sign up for NC2 or start a trial and deploy through the NC2 deployment wizard. Select the latest version – 6.8, to get Flow overlay networking and the centralized management through Prism Central included. When asked, select the VPC and the private subnets desired. In this case subnets in the “10.90.0.0/16” VPC.

After the NC2 cluster is deployed, deploy Move 5.3 on top of NC2 and register both the NC2 cluster and vCenter from the VMC environment.

Install Move and register NC2 and VMC

Download Move 5.3 from the download page: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/downloads?product=move

Follow the Move manual to deploy Move 5.3 on the NC2 cluster in AWS: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/list?type=software&filterKey=software&filterVal=Move

VDDK upload: After Move is deployed, add the NC2 and VMC environments. After adding the VMC environment it will prompt for a VDDK file. This file can be downloaded from the VMware support site. The version used in this example is: “VMware-vix-disklib-7.0.3-19513565.x86_64”. Please use the Linux version.

Migrate the VMs to NC2

If IP retention is desired, use Flow in Prism Central to create an overlay VPC and subnet which matches the CIDR range of the NSX-T subnet in VMC from which the VMs will be migrated. In this example “10.3.0.0/24” is used.

Now the only thing remaining is to create a Migration Plan in Move where VMC is the source and NC2 is the target. Ensure to select the correct target network to ensure IP retention works as expected.

Wrap up

This has been an example of the steps required for migrating Virtual Machines from VMware Cloud on AWS (VMC) to Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) without changing the IP or MAC addresses of the migrated VMs. For more information or for a demo, please reach out to your Nutanix representative or partner.

Additional resources

Posted on

Custom ESXi image builder

When running a home lab for vSphere, hardware is oftentimes not on the official VMware / Broadcom HCL. Creating custom images is therefore a must to get the required drivers for storage, networking and other hardware. I created a (very popular) script on GitHub for this a while back but it’s been years and changes have made it obsolete.

Recently I was pondering updating my scripts to align with all the recent changes but at the same time I came across a bunch of scripts by “itiligent” on GitHub. They worked so well that I switched to using them instead of the scripts I had created previously.

If you’re looking for a way to create custom ISO images for ESXi, do check it out:

https://github.com/itiligent/ESXi-Custom-ISO/tree/main