VMware NSX Advanced Load Balancer: Install, Configure, Manage

1 Course Introduction

• Introduction and course logistics
• Course objectives

2 Introduction to NSX Advanced Load Balancer

• Introduce NSX Advanced Load Balancer
• Discuss NSX Advanced Load Balancer use cases and benefits
• Explain NSX Advanced Load Balancer architecture and components
• Explain the management, control, data, and consumption planes and their respective functions

3 Virtual Services Configuration Concepts

• Explain virtual service components
• Explain virtual service types
• Explain and configure basic virtual service components such as application profiles and network profiles

4 Virtual Services Configuration Advanced Concepts

• Explain the virtual service advanced components such as Wildcard VIP, Server Name Identification (SNI), and Enhanced Virtual Hosting (EVH)
• Explain the concept of virtual service VIP Sharing
• Explain different authentication mechanisms used for a virtual service such as LDAP, SAML, JSON Web Token, and OAUTH

5 Profiles and Policies

• Explain application profiles and types such as L4, DNS, Syslog, HTTP, and VMware Horizon VDI
• Explain and configure advanced application HTTP profile options
• Describe network profiles and types
• Explain and configure SSL profiles and certificates
• Explain and configure HTTP, network, and DNS policies

6 Pools Configuration Concepts

• Explain pools configuration options
• Describe the available load balancing algorithms
• Explain multiple health monitor types
• Explain multiple Persistence profiles
• Explain and configure pool groups

7 Modifying Application Behavior

• Design and apply application solutions by using application profiles
• Design and apply application solutions by using network, HTTP policies, and DataScripts
• Explain DataScript fundamentals
• Explain and use NSX Advanced Load Balancer analytics to understand application behavior
• Describe and configure client SSL certificate validation
• Describe and configure virtual service DDoS, Rate limiting, and Throttling capabilities
• Modify network profile properties such as TCP connection properties
• Design and apply application solutions by using Persistence profiles

8 NSX Advanced Load Balancer Infrastructure Architecture

• Explain management, control, data, and consumption planes and functions
• Describe control plane clustering and high availability
• Describe controller sizing and process sharing
• Describe Service Engine CPU and NIC architecture
• Explain tenants
• Configure properties of Service Engine groups
• Explain Service Engine group high availability modes
• Describe and configure active-standby high availability mode
• Explain Service Engine placement in multiple availability zones for public clouds
• Describe and configure elastic HA high availability mode (Active-Active, N+M)
• Explain Service Engine failure detection and self-healing
• Describe Service Engine as a router
• Explain virtual service scale-out options such as Layer 2 (Native), Layer 3 (BGP), and DNS-based
• Describe how to upgrade NSX Advanced Load Balancer

9 Introduction to Cloud Connector

• Explain cloud connectors
• Review cloud connector integration modes
• List cloud connector types
• Review the different Service Engine image types in different ecosystems

10 Installing, Configuring, and Managing NSX Advanced Load Balancer in No-Orchestrator Cloud

• Explain No-Access cloud concepts
• Configure No-Access cloud integration on bare metal
• Explain and configure Linux Server Cloud
• Explain and configure VMware No Orchestrator
• Describe the advanced configuration options available in bare metal (Linux Server Cloud)

11 Installing, Configuring, and Managing NSX Advanced Load Balancer in VMware Environment: Cloud Configuration

• Introduce VMware integration options
• Explain and configure VMware Write Access Cloud Connector
• Explain NSX Advanced Load Balancer integration options in a VMware NSX environment
• Explain and configure NSX Cloud Connector for Overlay and VLAN-backed segments

12 AWS Cloud Configuration

• Describe NSX Advanced Load Balancer public cloud integrations
• Explain different AWS components
• Explain and demonstrate AWS public cloud integration
• Deploy VMware NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controller, SEs, and virtual services in AWS Cloud
• Review Multi-AZ Support for virtual services in AWS cloud

13 GCP Cloud Configuration

• Explain different GCP components
• Explain and demonstrate GCP public cloud integration
• Deploy NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controller, SEs, and virtual services in GCP cloud

14 Azure Cloud Configuration

• Describe NSX Advanced Load Balancer public cloud integrations
• Explain different Microsoft Azure components
• Explain and demonstrate Azure public cloud integration
• Deploy NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controller, SEs, and virtual services in Azure Cloud

15 NSX Advanced Load Balancer Enterprise with Cloud Services (Avi Pulse)

• Describe NSX Advanced Load Balancer public cloud services
• Explain different features of NSX Advanced Load Balancer Cloud Services
• Register the controller with Cloud Services

16 DNS Foundations

• Review, discuss, and explain DNS fundamentals
• Describe NSX Advanced Load Balancer DNS and IPAM providers

17 Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB)

• Introduce Global Server load balancing concepts and benefits
• Explain and configure the NSX Advanced Load Balancer infrastructure
• Explain and configure the DNS Virtual Service components
• Explain and configure GSLB Service Engine Group
• Describe and configure GSLB sites
• Explain and configure basic GSLB services to include pools and health monitors
• Describe GSLB Server Load Balancing algorithms
• Explain and configure health monitors based on data plane and control plane
• Describe GSLB Health Monitor Proxy
• Explain GSLB Site-Cookie Persistence
• Explain the different GSLB replication methods

18 Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

• Introduce local authentication in NSX Advanced Load Balancer
• Introduce remote authentication in NSX Advanced Load Balancer
• Review the different types of remote authentication
• Explain granular RBAC using labels

19 NSX Advanced Load Balancer: Troubleshooting

• Introduce infrastructure and application troubleshooting concepts
• Describe troubleshooting based on control plane and data plane
• Explain application analytics and logs
• Describe client logs analysis
• Explain headers troubleshooting and packet capture mechanism
• Describe how to use CLI for detailed data plane troubleshooting
• Explain Service Engine logs
• Explain health monitors troubleshooting
• Explain BGP session troubleshooting
• Describe control plane troubleshooting, clustering, and cloud connector issues

20 Events and Alerts

• Describe NSX Advanced Load Balancer events
• Describe and configure NSX Advanced Load Balancer alerts
• Describe NSX Advanced Load Balancer monitoring capabilities with SNMP, Syslog, and Email

21 Introduction to NSX Advanced Load Balancer Rest API

• Introduce the NSX Advanced Load Balancer REST API interface
• Describe REST API Object Schema
• Explain and interact with REST API interface with browser and command-line utility
• Explain Swagger-based API documentation
• Review the different types of SDKs available in NSX Advanced Load Balancer
• Explain and configure VMware Write Access Cloud Connector
• Explain NSX Advanced Load Balancer integration options in the VMware NSX environment
• Explain and configure NSX Cloud Connector for Overlay and VLAN-backed segments
• Introduce VMware integration options

This course has no prerequisites.

By the end of the course, you should be able to meet the following objectives:

• Describe the NSX Advanced Load Balancer architecture
• Describe the NSX Advanced Load Balancer components and main functions
• Explain the NSX Advanced Load Balancer key features and benefits
• Deploy and configure the NSX Advanced Load Balancer infrastructure within private or public clouds using Write and No-Access Cloud Connectors
• Explain, deploy, and configure Service Engines
• Explain and configure local load balancing constructs such as virtual services, pools, health monitors, and related components
• Explain and configure advanced virtual services and related concepts such as Subject Name Indication, Enhanced Virtual Hosting, and authentication of virtual services
• Explain and modify application behavior through profiles, policies, and DataScripts
• Describe Central licensing management using VMware NSX Advanced Load Balancer Enterprise with Cloud services (formerly Avi Pulse)
• Explain how to configure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) in NSX Advanced Load Balancer
• Configure advanced services such as global server load balancing
• Describe how to use NSX Advanced Load Balancer REST API interfaces and related automation capabilities
• Describe and configure NSX Advanced Load Balancer application and infrastructure monitoring
• Gather relevant information and perform basic troubleshooting of applications that use built-in NSX Advanced Load Balancer tooling
• Identify the key features of VMware NSX Network Detection and Response

• Course Introduction
• Introduction to NSX Advanced Load Balancer
• Virtual Services Configuration Concepts
• Virtual Services Configuration Advanced Concepts
• Profiles and Policies
• Pools Configuration Concepts
• Modifying Application Behavior
• NSX Advanced Load Balancer Infrastructure Architecture
• Introduction to Cloud Connector
• Installing, Configuring, and Managing NSX Advanced Load Balancer in No-Orchestrator Cloud
• Installing, Configuring, and Managing NSX Advanced Load Balancer in VMware Environment: Cloud Configuration
• AWS Cloud Configuration
• GCP Cloud Configuration
• Azure Cloud Configuration
• NSX Advanced Load Balancer Enterprise with Cloud Services (Avi Pulse)
• DNS Foundations
• Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB)
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
• NSX Advanced Load Balancer: Troubleshooting
• Events and Alerts
• Introduction to NSX Advanced Load Balancer Rest API