There are three
categories of
vCloud Director
networks: external networks, organization VDC networks, and vApp networks.
Additional infrastructure objects such as Edge Gateways and network pools are
required by most categories of networks and must be created by a system
administrator.
You must be a system
administrator to create an external network, a directly connected organization
VDC network, a network pool, or an Edge Gateway. An organization administrator
can create and modify routed and isolated organization VDC networks, and any
user who has vApp Author rights can create and modify a vApp network.
vApp Networks
A vApp network is a
logical network that controls how the virtual machines in a vApp connect to
each other and to organization VDC networks. Users can create and update vApp
networks and connect them to organization VDC networks. See
About vApp Networks.
Organization VDC
Networks
An organization VDC network
allows virtual machines in the organization VDC to communicate with each other
and to access other networks, including organization VDC networks and external
networks, either directly or through an Edge Gateway that can provide firewall
and NAT services.
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A direct organization VDC
network connects directly to an eternal network. Only a system administrator
can create a direct organization VDC network.
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A routed organization VDC
network connects to an external network through an Edge Gateway. A routed
organization VDC network also requires the containing VDC to include a network
pool. After a system administrator has provisioned an organization VDC with an
Edge Gateway and associated it with a network pool, organization administrator
or system administrators can create routed organization VDC networks in that
VDC.
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An isolated organization
VDC network does not require an Edge Gateway or external network, but does
require the containing VDC to be associated with a network pool. After a system
administrator has created an organization VDC with a network pool, organization
administrators or system administrators can create isolated organization VDC
networks in that VDC.
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Most types of organization
VDC networks do not provide any network services. Isolated organization VDC
networks can specify a
DhcpPoolService, which
provides DHCP addresses from several pools of IP address ranges. All other
services, such as NAT, firewall, and load balancing, are configured by a system
administrator on the Edge Gateway to which the network connects.
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Types of Organization VDC Networks and Their Requirements
Organization VDC Network Connection
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Direct connection to an external network.
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Provides direct layer 2 connectivity to machines and networks outside of the organization VDC. Machines outside of this organization VDC can connect directly to machines within the organization VDC.
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The cloud must contain an external network.
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Routed connection to an external network.
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Provides controlled access to machines and networks outside of the organization VDC via an Edge Gateway. System administrators and organization administrators can configure network address translation (NAT) and firewall settings on the gateway to make specific virtual machines in the VDC accessible from an external network.
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The VDC must contain an Edge Gateway and a network pool.
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No connection to an external network.
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Provides an isolated, private network that machines in the organization VDC can connect to. This network provides no incoming or outgoing connectivity to machines outside this organization VDC.
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The VDC must contain a network pool.
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By default, only virtual
machines in the organization VDC that contains the network can use it. When you
create an organization VDC network, you can specify that it is shared. A shared
organization VDC network can be used by all virtual machines in the
organization.
Edge Gateways
An Edge Gateway is a virtual
router for organization VDC networks.
You must be a
system administrator to create an Edge Gateway.
An Edge Gateway can provide
any of the following services, defined in the
GatewayFeatures element
of the Edge Gateway's
Configuration.
FirewallService
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GatewayDhcpService
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Provides DHCP services
to virtual machines on the network. A variant of this service,
DhcpService, is
intended to provide DHCP services in vApp networks. See
Gateway DHCP Service Configurations.
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GatewayIpsecVpnService
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Defines one or more
virtual private networks that connect an Edge Gateway to another network in or
outside of the cloud.
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LoadBalancerService
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NatService
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Provides network address
translation services to computers on the network.
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StaticRoutingService
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For an example of adding
services to an Edge Gateway, see
Configure Edge Gateway Services.
For more
information about any of these services, see the
vShield
Administration Guide.
External Networks and
Network Pools
External networks and
network pools are vSphere resources backed by vSphere portgroup, VLAN, or
DVswitch objects. A system administrator must create them, as described in
Create an External Network
and
Create a Network Pool.
As a system administrator, you must supply a reference to an external network
when you create an Edge Gateway. An organization VDC must include a reference
to a network pool or it will not be able to able to contain routed or isolated
networks. See
Retrieve a List of External Networks and Network Pools