King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology Achieves Reliable, Secure, High-Performance Cloud Services with VMware NSX

King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology’s (KACST) Internet Services Unit (ISU) needed to build a reliable, secure, scalable Public Cloud service that is automated and on demand. It also needed to provide seamless operations for their customers, which includes all of the academic institutions and government organizations in Saudi Arabia. ISU was able to satisfy this requirement by deploying VMware NSX for network and security virtualization and VMware vRealize Automation to automate the service creation and delivery of personalized infrastructure and applications to its customers.

Khaleel K. Al-Jadaan, the Deputy Director and Network Operations Manager of KACST’s Internet Services Unit, says, “A complete and secure cloud service was the top priority. VMware has proved to be the trusted partner, time and time again, to provide compelling and reliable solutions.”

Now KACST’s customers can request new services and manage their existing workloads by accessing the datacenter directly and securely through an automated portal. They can self-provision computational and storage resources, with built-in network and security facilities. And when multi-tier applications are provisioned automatically, all the underlying networking and security are provisioned too. With VMware’s software infrastructure platform in place, ISU is positioned to develop new services rapidly, and start Continue reading

Poland’s Poznań Science and Technology Park Upgrades Its Infrastructure-as-a-Service Model with VMware NSX

Poznań Science and Technology Park—known in Polish as Poznańskiego Parku Naukowo-Technologicznego, or PPNT—supports the incubation of start-ups and technology companies in Poland through co-operation with science, business, and technology enterprises. Its facilities and services include laboratories, office space, and specialized research equipment, as well as IT infrastructure services like server colocation and hosting, system monitoring servers, storage space, and data transmission infrastructure leasing.

To build a virtual, multi-tenant, private infrastructure-as-a-service cloud, on a flexible billing schedule, for its demanding customers, PPNT opted for an integrated solution that included VMware vSphere, VMware vCloud Director, and VMware NSX. The business benefits became clear immediately. PPNT’s new, high-performance environment enabled robust management capabilities, and guaranteed security and fault-tolerant access. Plus, resource provisioning time was reduced from days to seconds.

Says manager of the PPNT DataCenter Tomasz Łukaszewicz: “VMware NSX, the network virtualization platform for the Software-Defined Data Center, enables our customers to create, save, delete, and restore virtual networks on demand, without reconfiguring the physical network. It also provides a better security model.”

Read the complete case study

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Node Africa Deploys Greenfield Data Center Infrastructure, Leads Africa to be Cloud First Continent

Node Africa is a cloud service provider and cloud broker. One of very few hybrid to public cloud providers in Africa, it offers its customers bespoke cloud infrastructure and services including consulting, design, build, and deployment of complex solutions. When the organization launched in Kenya, their challenges included deploying a data center in under two months, and creating a hybrid offering that would reduce bandwidth challenges.

Because of cost constraints, Node Africa chose VMware and the vCloud Air Network program (vCAN) to build its business and data center, so that they would only pay for what they used. Then, using the vCloud Architecture Toolkit—including vSphere, vCloud Director, and NSX—they built a scalable cloud infrastructure in six weeks.

Node Africa CEO Phares Kariuki says, “The amount of money we have saved on networking equipment as a result of using NSX as the basis of our network has been amazing. We saved $10,000 on just our initial network infrastructure investment, that’s big for a green fields start-up.”

Read the complete case study here.

Roger

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Physical Security in a Virtual World – NSX Securing “Anywhere”

This is the second blog post in our Micro-segmentation Defined – NSX Securing “Anywhere” blog series. This blog post walks through security requirements that exist in environments with mixed workload deployment types. A mixed workload environment is one utilizing multiple application deployment models, including applications deployed on both virtual machines and legacy physical servers. We demonstrate how the necessary security requirements for mixed workload environments can be met through using VMware NSX as a platform for micro-segmentation and advanced security services. This blog focuses on the following:

1. Defining security requirements based on application deployment model or environment type
2. Understanding methods of protection in modern data centers
3. How NSX provides micro-segmentation for both physical and virtual workloads
4. How integration with ecosystem security and network controls functions

Security Requirements Differ in Heterogeneous Environments

Due to the evolving threat landscape and growing sophistication of cyber-attacks and threat actors, a single static policy or blanket approach to securing modern data centers is no longer adequate. These types of policies are difficult to manage and take a narrow-focused approach to what needs to be a much broader solution. Today’s private cloud environments are comprised of a variety of workloads and deployment models, whether it be Continue reading

Automation Leveraging NSX REST API Guide

Check-out the new Automation Leveraging NSX REST API Guide.
Authors: VMware NSX Technical Product Management Team

Thanks to all the contributors and reviewers of this document. A brief overview of the guide is provided below. Continue reading

Monitoring VMware NSX SpoofGuard with REST API and Perl

In some prior blogs, we demonstrated leveraging NSX REST API with Python. See prior blogs, Automating Security Group and Policy Creation with NSX REST API and Automating VMware NSX Security Rules Creation using Splunk and Some Code. In this blog, we demonstrate how NSX REST API can be used with the popular Perl programming language.

One of Perl’s key strengths is the vast amount of Perl modules/libraries available via the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN). There is also a CPAN module included with Perl which is used to automatically download and install additional Perl modules from the CPAN repository. The example Perl code in this post demonstrates a simple program that uses a Perl REST client module/library with NSX REST API to retrieve NSX SpoofGuard information.  Continue reading

Arkin Acquisition will Further Simplify VMware NSX Operational Planning and Visibility

VMware NSX is experiencing tremendous growth across the board – in number of customer deployments, sales, and partnerships. Lots of organizations have been vocal in their support of NSX, including Heartland Payment Systems, University of New Mexico, Sugar Creek, Tribune Media, and many others.

These customers are deploying NSX for use cases such as micro-segmentation, automation for IT and developers, and application continuity. We’re helping customers to scale their NSX use cases with a number of new capabilities, resources and tools. Everything from design guides, operations guides, and white papers to courses, certifications, and new product capabilities.

Today we have more good news to share with you on that front. We just announced our intent to acquire one of our strategic technology partners: Arkin. As we have seen among our rapidly growing customer base, the Arkin platform helps IT organizations to simplify planning and operations for NSX, allowing them to quickly scale NSX to thousands of applications.

Arkin brings two important capabilities to VMware. It extends the cross-domain visibility of VMware vRealize Operations to more of the SDDC infrastructure. From compute and storage to networking and security – across network overlays and underlays.

Arkin also helps Continue reading

Gain Deep Insight Into Your NSX Network While Simplifying Management and Operations

We’re excited to announce that VMware NSX, version 6.2.3, is now available for all customers with active support. As we evolve the NSX platform, we continue to place a high degree of emphasis on helping customers operationalize NSX, speed-up deployment, and integrate with more systems from our NSX ecosystem partners. This latest release introduces enhanced network monitoring and troubleshooting tools with expanded hardware partner integration.

Some of the top highlights include:

Native Visibility and Reporting

Resolve problems faster, visualize event trends, trigger alerts, and more, all in real-time with VMware vRealize Log Insight for NSX, now included with NSX Standard, Advanced and Enterprise licenses. This new capability introduces:

• Centralized big data log management built for NSX
• Monitoring and dashboards for network virtualization and security

To learn more about vRealize Log Insight for NSX refer to the FAQ or visit the Log Insight product page here.

Improvements to NSX Management and Operations

Reduce Mean Time to Recovery with improved troubleshooting and operational capabilities.  Key enhancements include:

• Dashboards for health status of components and built-in monitoring of all critical systems communication channels
• Simplified filtering of firewall rules
• Enhancements to central CLI
• New partner services to enable packet capture and Continue reading

A.T. Still University greatly improves firewall performance and security with cost-effective VMware NSX solution

ATSU revolutionized its schools and clinics with the cost-effective security solution, VMware NSX, which increases firewall performance, meets HIPAA compliance, automates services, and improves agility, resulting in more affordable tuition and better healthcare services.

Some of the business benefits:

• easy implementation
• cost effective
• better application performance

“VMware NSX is the most revolutionary development in our data center security in more than a decade. Not only do we save a significant amount of money in hardware costs, the micro-segmentation available through VMware NSX provides a dramatically more secure design than we could get with a physical firewall with DMZs.” — Iain Leiter, Network Engineer, A.T. Still University

Download the case study

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Micro-segmentation Defined – NSX Securing “Anywhere”

The landscape of the modern data center is rapidly evolving. The migration from physical to virtualized workloads, move towards software-defined data centers, advent of a multi-cloud landscape, proliferation of mobile devices accessing the corporate data center, and adoption of new architectural and deployment models such as microservices and containers has assured the only constant in modern data center evolution is the quest for higher levels of agility and service efficiency. This march forward is not without peril as security often ends up being an afterthought. The operational dexterity achieved through the ability to rapidly deploy new applications overtakes the ability of traditional networking and security controls to maintain an acceptable security posture for those application workloads. That is in addition to a fundamental problem of traditionally structured security not working adequately in more conventional and static data centers.

Without a flexible approach to risk management, which adapts to the onset of new technology paradigms, security silos using disparate approaches are created. These silos act as control islands, making it difficult to apply risk-focused predictability into your corporate security posture, causing unforeseen risks to be realized. These actualized risks cause an organization’s attack surface to grow as the adoption of new compute Continue reading

Join a Conversation on Network Virtualization with Leading NSX Industry Experts on June 15th

As technology continues to rapidly evolve, network virtualization is now applied to every aspect of the data center. Before you virtualize your network, it’s important to understand what makes sense for your business, and why. To give you the tools for your next step, we’ve gathered top VMware NSX® industry experts for an open panel discussion on the importance of the network in a virtualized world.

Sign up for our NSX panel webcast on 6/15 and discover valuable insight from these industry leaders. No slides, no scripts, just an open conversation.

Moderated by Joshua Soto, VMware Sr. Product Marketing Manager in Networking & Security, our NSX team will start the session with a discussion on network virtualization and how it completes the virtualization infrastructure. Then they’ll discuss the evolution of the data center, the role of fluid architectures, and how NSX is the network virtualization platform for the Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC).

Don’t miss this chance to hear from leading network virtualization experts in a relaxed, conversational environment.

Register to attend our NSX panel webcast on 6/15 today!

The post Join a Conversation on Network Virtualization with Leading NSX Industry Experts on June 15th appeared first on The Network Virtualization Continue reading

Micro-Fiber, Meet Micro-Segmentation! Columbia Sportswear Virtualizes the Network, Saves Millions

With 110 stores in North America, 46 data center locations, and $2 billion in revenue, Columbia Sportswear is constantly processing huge amounts of data—data whose security was being compromised by their inadequate hardware-defined data center.

When Columbia Sportswear virtualized their network, they not only stepped up their security; they also saved $16 million over a comparable hardware-based security approach.

Download our free ebook: Redefining Networking with Network Virtualization

How? Find out here. Follow their process step by step in the infographic below.

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Packet Pushers Podcast Gets Techical About VMware NSX with Hutto Independent School District

Based in Texas, the Hutto Independent School District comprises more than 6,000 K-12 students on 8 campuses. When they decided to virtualize their network, they had a number of factors to keep in mind. Would the technology support VDI implementation? How would a virtual network affect business as usual? Could they deploy NSX themselves? Could they deploy NSX alongside Cisco ACI?

If you’re familiar with VMware NSX, you may have an inkling about the answers to these questions. But that’s no reason not to listen to this entertaining episode of the Packet Pushers Podcast, our favorite podcast geared toward IT practitioners and professionals.

In this episode, hosts Greg Ferro and Ethan Banks sit down with representatives from theHutto ISD—Director of Technology Travis Brown; Network Administrator Keith Reynolds; and Network Administrator Christopher Harding—to talk about why Hutto decided to virtualize the network, and why they chose to #RunNSX

Take a listen!

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VMware vForum Live Chicago is Here May 25th

VMware vForum Live Chicago is rapidly approaching and if you’re an IT professional interested in exploring the benefits of virtualization, mobility, or cloud, then join our experts in-person for an interactive, all-day event that will take you through technical deep dives of VMware solutions. Sign up today for vForum Live in Chicago on May 25th and discover the myriad ways you can simplify your IT and receive actionable advice on how to deliver an effective cloud strategy from our keynote speakers, breakout sessions, hands-on lab environments, and more. Plus, you’ll have the chance to win some pretty sweet prizes, too!

In the morning, enjoy breakfast with your peers and make sure to snag your VMware lanyard and logo bag at the registration table. Then take a seat in the main plenary and take in our world-class keynote speakers as they divulge tips, tricks and insights into their various fields. Here’s the list of IT’s biggest names and VMware technical leaders who will be presenting:

• Chris Wolf, VMware’s CTO of the Americas – “How to Build a Successful Digital Business in the New Economy”
• Kevin Mitnick, internationally-known Global White Hat Hacker – “Art of Deception: How Hackers and Con Continue reading

Still Using Perimeter Defenses To Protect Your Data Center? Stop, Drop, and Defend—With Micro-Segmentation

There are a lot of reasons that IT organizations are virtualizing their networks more and more—and chief among them is micro-segmentation.

Micro-segmentation, which comes hand-in-hand with network virtualization, divides the data center into distinct segments. Each segment can be secured separately. When security controls and network services are separately defined and communications is isolated, an attacker’s movements are restricted even if a breach in your data center perimeter occurs.

Micro-segmentation doesn’t just improve on traditional perimeter defenses. It is a whole new way of securing the data center.

Sign up to get our FREE “Micro-segmentation for Dummies” eBook, and check out our infographic below to find out more about how it works.

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VMware NSX Fundamentals Live is Coming to a City Near You

Sometimes a webcast isn’t enough – that’s why when VMware brings an NSX seminar to your hometown, you say “yes.” VMware is kicking off the NSX Fundamentals Live U.S. tour, so register now to secure your spot in one of these seminars when it gets to your town.

VMware experts will start off with a business overview of NSX use cases and IT outcomes. Want to know about the future of the software-defined data center and what role network virtualization will play in helping you face new business challenges? Here’s your chance. Want to discover how to bring the operational model of a virtual machine to your data center network, so you can transform the economics of network and security operations? Again, now’s your chance.

Following this business overview, experts will walk you through an in-depth technical overview of NSX architecture and key components. After this session, you’ll fully understand how networking functions and services are implemented within the NSX platform, and how to analyze key workflows for configuring virtual network & security services.

Digital business transformation is creating new opportunities and risks for businesses across every industry. VMware NSX helps you overcome challenges, such as increased risk Continue reading

Infographic: Survey Reveals IT Organizations Underestimate Security Threats

Did you know the average organization’s security has been compromised an average of four times over the past year? If that seems like a lot, well, that’s because it is—especially considering that, according to a survey conducted by Forrester of 210 IT risk and compliance decision-makers, the vast majority of organizations also believe they are “extremely secure.” Fortunately, by virtualizing your network with VMware NSX, you can dramatically strengthen your security with micro-segmentation.

Click here to get our FREE VMware NSX resource kit  your guide to micro-segmentation.

Find out more about leveraging micro-segmentation to build a Zero Trust network in the infographic below.

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VMware NSX SociaLab is Coming to a City Near You!

VMware NSX is indisputably the most widely deployed software network overlay on the market today, and many companies are realizing the valuable payoff that comes with virtualizing the network to improve security, IT automation and application continuity.

Now is your chance to be taught by VMware NSX experts, in-person, as they guide you through technical features, functions, and business use cases – all while you work directly with the solution. Collaborate with peers and ask the experts questions tailored to your case by signing up for a VMware NSX SociaLab near you.

VMware NSX enables a new policy-driven approach to transform the economics of network and security operations.  Whether you’re a beginner, or you’re already working with the NSX platform, these expert-led, hands-on labs will highlight multiple features of NSX such as:

• A Software-Defined Data Center Intro
• NSX Architecture and Components
• Logical Switching
• Data Center Security
• NSX Firewalls
• Service Composer and the NSX Ecosystem
• Security Monitoring and Visibility

Bring your own device, join an interactive environment, and attend a free VMware SociaLab NSX event in your city this May-June.

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VMware NSX: From Turning Point to Tipping Point

I’m very excited that I get the opportunity to report on another exceptional quarter for VMware NSX. As a company, we’re demonstrating that NSX will be an important growth driver for the foreseeable future. We added more than 200 new NSX customers in the quarter, and have more than 120 customers that have spent more than $1M on NSX. Organizations such as Shutterfly, TriZetto, Riverside County, and Royal Bank of Scotland are all making commitments to NSX as a foundational part of their IT future. Production deployments also continued to accelerate. We have more than 340, and in Q1 added the equivalent of one new NSX production deployment each day.

NSX is, indisputably, the leading software network overlay. NSX is proving equally valuable across all hardware underlays. Most notably, we’re starting to see customer proof points of something we’ve said all along – VMware NSX and Cisco ACI can be successfully deployed in the same environment to address different pain points. Just look at customers such as Sugar Creek and Hutto ISD; even the channel recognizes this as reported by CRN.

Executing On the NSX Plan, Reaching the Turning Point

The plan for growing NSX in the market was very Continue reading

May 4th – Get Ready for Next-Generation Cloud Security with NSX and Armor

Shopping for cloud solutions used to mean choosing between performance, elasticity and security — you could get one, maybe two, but never all three. With the help of VMware NSX, Armor Active Cyber Defense has proven that you can achieve the highest level of cloud security while maintaining the high performance and elasticity you demand.

Join our webcast, Next-Generation Cloud Security with VMware NSX and Armor, on May 4 to explore how NSX enhances automation and flexibility.

Learn more about VMware NSX and the key components of the Armor Virtual Private Cloud, including Server, Network and Security Virtualization. VMware and Armor Experts will demonstrate how to architect an environment with fully integrated security that provides the performance and efficiency customers demand from the cloud.

As threat actors display more proficiency, speed and diligence, cloud security is more important than ever. Here’s your chance to explore how VMware NSX can deliver secure cloud environments to you and your customers.

Sign up for our May 4 webcast today and explore the transformative security and automation benefits of VMware NSX.

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