Sure, here is the blog post based on the information provided:
Using Private VLANs to Create a Multi-Layered Nested ESXi Environment – Part 1
As someone who has been in the virtualization community for a long time, I’ve had many people ask me about my lab setup and how I manage to have such a large number of workloads running on a single host. The truth is that I’ve always taken a minimalist approach to my lab setup, preferring to keep things simple and cost-effective whenever possible. This approach has allowed me to maintain a highly functional lab with a relatively small footprint and low operating costs.
In this two-part blog post, I will be discussing how I have configured my physical standalone host to handle all the networking and Nested ESXi requirements without the need for external switching or routing. In Part 1, we’ll dive into how I use Private VLANs to create a multi-layered network on a single host while leveraging network segmentation within the Nested ESXi environment.
Before we begin, let me provide some background information on my lab setup. As many of you know, I purchased a SuperMicro 5028D-TNT4 back in late 2016 when I first started working with Veeam. This host has been purring along without missing a beat for the past five years, and I haven’t needed to upgrade the compute or memory from its initial purchase spec. With 128GB of RAM, I’ve been able to run a number of top-level and nested workloads to facilitate my needs. In terms of hard drives, I’ve found two SSDs and one large HDD to be sufficient, although I do have a decent offsite backup policy just in case.
Now, let’s dive into how I use Private VLANs to create a multi-layered network on a single host. As anyone who has done their VCAP will know, Private VLANs are an essential tool for creating a multi-layered network within a Nested ESXi environment. The key advantage of using Private VLANs is that they allow you to mimic a multi-layered network on a single host without the need for external switching or routing.
To set up Private VLANs, I first create a trunk port group that contains all the VLANs for the Nested ESXi Host networking to carry traffic. This trunk port group is then connected to the outside world via a virtual router (VYOS) that is configured with a number of interfaces that plug into the top-level port groups and an uplink that is placed on the external network. Each interface on the VYOS is assigned to a different VLAN, allowing for easy routing between subnets.
Once the Private VLANs are set up, I create one interface per nested subnet, which in turn means that the Edge Router (VYOS) needs to have each port group connected as a separate interface. From here, the Edge has the interfaces configured and will provide routing and firewalling between the subnets, to, from, and within the whole environment. Gateways are set up as shown below:
In the old days, you needed to configure promiscuous mode on the virtual switches and port groups to have Nested ESXi hosts communicate with each other. However, with the introduction of Mac Learning, this is no longer necessary. To configure Mac Learning, I use the MacLearn PowerShell module to set up the Port Groups on my physical ESXi host. Below, you can see an example of how I configured the port groups before and after applying the changes:
As you can see, the MacLearning options have allowed me to create a multi-layered network on a single host without the need for external switching or routing. In Part 2 of this blog post, we’ll dive into how Nested ESXi looks within this environment and discuss future posts on how NSX-T deployment, setup, and configuration have gone as well as look at how Veeam can help protect lab workloads for peace of mind when working in a single host situation.
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading, and I hope you found this post informative and helpful. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or comments, and check back soon for Part 2 of this blog post!