44 | Virtual Server Networking
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Both VMware and Citrix Xen provide SDKs and APIs for accessing their
configuration objects. VSN requires Layer 3 connectivity to access a hypervisor.
Figure 5-1 shows an example of the network architecture in which a Dell FTOS
switch is connected to multiple servers, each of which may run a different type of
hypervisor. The vCenter hypervisor from VMware is a centralized server
management system that can manage multiple vSphere operating systems on which
multiple virtual machines (VMs) can run. The VMware ESX server is a single unit,
that may be managed by the hypervisor or act as an independent unit. The Citrix Xen
hypervisor uses a distributed management methodology under which a number of
XenServers are grouped in a management domain, with a master server managing the
other units in the domain.
Minimal packet drops may be seen when migrating VMS from one server to another.
THe drops may vary from one second or higher, depending on the load on the server
and network.
FTOS supports up to eight hypervisor sessions. A hypervisor session can consist of a
single hypervisor unit (ESX, ESXi, XenServer) or a centralized hypervisor (vCenter,
Xenpool). A vSphere client is used to manage a single VMware hypervisor. A
vCenter server is a centralized management server for managing multiple VMware
hypervisors.
Figure 5-1. Virtual Server Networking example
VSN subscribes to hypervisor for any change to be notified to switch. Depending on
the hypervisor mode configured, FTOS may automatically update its configuration,
provide provisioning for configuration changes, or require system administrator
intervention.
vCenter
Citrix Xen
S60 FTOS
VMVMVMVM
VM
VM
vSphere
VM
VM
vSphere
vSphere
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