Best Practices for vSphere Integration

Gigamon recommends the following best practices to ensure smooth operations of GigaVUE-FM and GigaVUE-VM in the vSphere environment:

How to Use Jumpstart Configuration for making changes

Always use jumpstart when there are no maps or gsops configured. Using jumpstart will clear any pre-existing configurations. Additionally, use the command write memory to save all the changes

How to Use Out-of-Band Networks for Management Port

Gigamon recommends deploying the GigaVUE-VM node’s Management port on a network that is out-of-band from that used by the IP interface or Network Ports.

How to Use Dedicated VMNIC for IP Interface

For optimal performance, Gigamon recommends maintaining the IP interface on a dedicated VMNIC rather than sharing the same VMNIC as the Management or Network Ports.

How to Prevent Migration of GigaVUE-VM Nodes Operating in Clusters

GigaVUE-FM supports a maximum of one GigaVUE-VM node per ESXi host. Because of this, you will want to configure GigaVUE-VM nodes operating in clusters to prevent them from migrating automatically when a host becomes unavailable, possibly resulting in multiple GigaVUE-VM nodes on the same ESXi host. The procedure is slightly different depending on whether the node is deployed in a High-Availability (HA) cluster or a DRS cluster.

Note:  

To prevent GigaVUE-VM node migration in High Availability Clusters:

1.   Open the vSphere client, select the vSphere Cluster with the GigaVUE-VM nodes, and select Edit Settings.
2. Select vSphere HA > Virtual Machine Options.
3. Sort the Virtual Machine column by name and select all GigaVUE-VM nodes.
4. Set the VM Restart Priority option to Disabled.

To prevent GigaVUE-VM node migration in DRS Clusters:

1.   Open the vSphere client, select the vSphere Cluster with the GigaVUE-VM nodes, and select Edit Settings.
2. Select vSphere DRS > Virtual Machine Options.
3. Sort the Virtual Machine column by name and select all GigaVUE-VM nodes.
4. Set the Automation Level option to Disabled.

Configure GigaVUE-VM Nodes to Restart Automatically After Reboot

In addition to preventing GigaVUE-VM nodes operating in clusters from migrating automatically when an ESXi host reboots, you can also configure them to restart automatically when the ESXi host is back up. After making the changes listed above to prevent automatic migration, do the following to ensure the GigaVUE-VM nodes restart automatically with the ESXi host:

1.   Select the ESXi host where the GigaVUE-VM node is deployed.
2. Select the Virtual Machine Startup/Shutdown option in the Configuration tab.
3. Select Properties.
4. Select Allow virtual machines to start and stop automatically with the system.
5. In the Startup Order section, move the GigaVUE-VM node to the Automatic Startup section.

GigaVUE-VM Nodes and Maintenance Mode

Maintenance Mode is a commonly used vSphere feature used for host servicing. When a host enters the maintenance node, its virtual machines are automatically shut down. When a host exits the maintenance mode, its virtual machines are turned back on by GigaVUE-FM.

How to Shape Tunnel Traffic

Depending on the amount of traffic to be tunneled by a GigaVUE-VM node and any other traffic on the VMNIC, bandwidth constraints can become a concern. You can tune traffic rates using the vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS) Traffic Shaping features for the Network port-group:

• Enable the Traffic Shaping Egress option for the Network port-group (not the Tunnel port-group).
• Track the ratio of tunneled traffic to other traffic on the VMNIC to avoid contention.
• You can also send Tunneled traffic to a dedicated VMNIC to avoid contention issues using either of the following techniques:
• NIC Teaming Load Balancing policies
• Dedicated VMNICs for Tunnel traffic