Wow, what a ride it has been.
This blog, from the beginning, has been dedicated to helping a current VMware admin who works in DataCenter Virtualization, to get accustomed with network virtualization, and a big thing for me has been pointing out free resources and opportunities to get the equivalent certs and training that this VMware administrator had to take. So I made posts like:
I was able to talk from this point of view, since that was exactly me! The more I learned about NSX, and the more I looked for information, the more resources I found from amazing people who give a lot back for free.
I'm also very proud to have been selected vExpertNSX in 2016. This was because I shared my enthusiasm for NSX with my VMUG, participated in SocialLabs, vBrownBag and the large latin community. There are many, many, many others that are ahead, technically, over me - this has always been the case in many things - but I decided that I would do my part in letting people know this is the next big thing. If anything, what I want people to feel is a sense of excitement of what's possible, that wasn't possible before!
I decided my first big milestone would be getting the VCP6-NV certification. You may remember from this post that the VCP6.2 NV beta dates coincided with Elver Sena's book release during VMworld (where I actually met him, and got my signed copy!). Meeting Elver was super cool (we got an interview in Spanish done), and having his book, plus the accessible cost of the exam, made me take the plunge, and I got the happy news today that I passed! I wholeheartedly recommend getting the premium edition from Pearson, as those 4 practice exams have lots of questions that I feel helped me a lot!
I think there is a lot more to come for NSX, much more than what we have already seen. I highlighted it is a unique product that offers capabilities no other product can match, especially in security. Likewise, it requires some skills, and busting silos inside companies. I even have some ideas for what will come in the future, when NSX will simply be able to handle all IT assets in the company, starting with IPAM. I know now its next step is that it will be able to handle all IT assets, being the one glue for real visibility and automation, on premises and in the cloud.
My next milestone> I'm looking forward to more experience with NSX (vExperts have both NSX and vRealize Network Insight licenses for homelab use, while vExpertNSX's have had it for a little more time than that) and taking on the VCAP6-NV exam. I already have some great vCommunity resources lined up from Gabriel Maciel and Clinton Prentice and Iwan Hoogendoorn. I just wish I had some real networking switches to play with, but I hear Tim Davis, the official Face of #vExpertNSX, may find some cheap for my homelab - and with a little work, we can make some cool blog posts!
If anything in this blog post, I want you to Get excited about NSX, and do something about it. Go for that first cert, push for a POC or some licenses in your company, and play with it. Dive deep. I guarantee you that it is time well spent, and may I hear about your success soon!
PD, if anyone is still thinking you can't download NSX, I would like to remind you that you can; because it's the only supported upgrade of VCNS, almost all paying customers can access the bits, and this has been the case since NSX 6.2.3. The documentation is public, you can play all day in the HOLs, and everything you need to "hop on" is available.
This is a very quick recap of some major events which have happened within the last few months regarding NSX:
1) The first major licensing change for NSX was announced back in May 2016. If you are buying NSX today, you should read KB 2145269 . The typical customer that starts with micro-segmentation needs at least the Advanced tier, while customers upgrading from VCNS (which is no longer under support on September 19, 2016) can use the cheapest version of the product. This post by the register is a nice summary.
2) NSX 6.2.3 was recalled as it had problems (KB 2146227 and KB 2146293 are two examples) that caused downtime. 6.2.4 was released shortly after to correct this, and customers were advised to skip 6.2.3. This link is great to keep up to date with any NSX KBs and issues: http://blogs.vmware.com/kb/nsx
3) VCP-NV Exam news : the first version of the VCP-NV exam, VCPN610, was retired on November 30, 2015. The current version is called VCP6-NV and its code is 2V0-641. This is based on NSX v6.0. A new version of the exam, 2V0-642 which is based on NSX 6.2, is now in Beta (go to mylearn.vmware.com, head to the Pearson site using the new single sign on, and check under the Beta category). At a cost of only $50, it's worth taking, even if the timeline makes this more of a "practice run" than a serious study target.
4) The official study guide for the VCP6-NV 2V0-641 was officially released August 17. This book was written by Elver Sena Sosa, who I had the pleasure to meet in VMworld (more on that in another post). I bought my copy and had him sign it :)
Right now you can get it a discount using this post-VMworld promotion: http://www.pearsonitcertification.com/promotions/vmware-press-138356
If the promotion expires, you can also get it from my Amazon affiliate link below and you would automagically send me a very small cut of the sale price :)
This is a very short post but I want to start pointing people in the right direction.
You may or may not know that testing VMware server virtualization is a fairly easy affair. Sign up for an account at my.vmware.com, request a product trial for vSphere, and once you locate the downloads, you could be burning your first ESxi ISO and using it to boot almost any home computer. Likewise, you can get the installer for VMware workstation very easily and within a time limit, discover all you want from the product with no limitations.
VMware's NSX is not offered this way. There is a big reason why: there are several layers that need to be in place before you can run NSX, and being fair, you have to be fairly comfortable with ESXi and networking to be able to grasp the concepts needed to understand what NSX does.
For your typical VCP or VCAP (VMware certified individuals) this sounds like a bother, but this is actually a good thing. NSX is a very broad-encompassing product that is useful for not just server administrators, but network and ITSEC professionals as well. Thus, reserving the actual installers is a protection from complexity - the installers are actually only available if you undergo a formal trial with VMware and they assist you in the validation and installation of your test.
So, how can anyone see and test or learn about NSX on their own? VMware has a site dedicated to Hands On Labs that has several NSX sessions. This is not a click-click simulation - this is a real lab, dedicated to you, that even has step by step explanations and tasks you must complete before moving to the next step. This is essentially free training - no need to setup your own lab, VMware provides one over the network!
The link for the "VMware NSX Introduction" hands on lab:
http://labs.hol.vmware.com/HOL/catalogs/lab/2125
The lab is also not particularly restricted. You can tinker around and if you somehow make it stop working, you can end it and start over. This is quite the free service that VMware offers and their recommended path to start learning about NSX.
As a bonus, if you are totally unfamiliar with VMware's products, this is now their introductory lab for virtualization, "Virtualization 101: vSphere with Operations Management 6"
http://labs.hol.vmware.com/HOL/catalogs/lab/2085
As you can tell from the links, VMware offers most of their portfolio through the Hands On Labs, and is continually adding more. You can't beat this much free training.
More posts coming soon, starting with the theory behind network virtualization. See you soon!
