about_VMM_2012_Virtual_Networking

Updated: January 15, 2013

Applies To: System Center 2012 - Virtual Machine Manager, System Center 2012 SP1 - Virtual Machine Manager

about_VMM_2012_Virtual_Networking

TOPIC
    about_VMM_2012_Virtual_Networking

SHORT DESCRIPTION
    Provides an overview of Virtual Networking in Virtual Machine Manager (VMM)
    for System Center 2012 and the VMM command-line interface.

LONG DESCRIPTION
    Networking in VMM for System Center 2012 includes several enhancements that
    enable administrators to efficiently provision network resources for a 
    virtualized environment. 

  Logical Networks
    
      A logical network together with one or more associated logical network 
      definitions (also called network sites) is a user-defined named grouping
      of IP subnets, VLANs, or IP subnet/VLAN pairs that is used to organize
      and simplify network assignments. Logical networks represent an 
      abstraction of the underlying physical network infrastructure which
      enables you to model the network based on business needs and connectivity
      properties. After a logical network is created, it can be used to specify
      the network on which a host or a virtual machine is deployed. Users can
      assign logical networks as part of virtual machine and service creation
      without having to understand the underlying network details.

      At least one logical network must exist for you to deploy virtual
      machines and services. By default, when you add a Hyper-V host to VMM
      management, VMM automatically creates logical networks that match the
      first DNS suffix label of the connection-specific DNS suffix on each
      host network adapter. 

      To create a logical network through the VMM command shell, use the
      New-SCLogicalNetwork cmdlet. After you have created the logical network,
      you can use Set-SCLogicalNetwork to modify its properties.

    Logical Network Definitions 

        After you create a logical network, you can create one or more logical 
        network definitions (also known as network sites) that you can 
        associate with your logical network. A logical network definition
        associates one or more subnets, VLANs and subnet/VLAN pairs with a
        logical network, and enables you to define the host groups to which
        the logical network definition is available. 

        To create a logical network definition by using the VMM command shell,
        use the New-SCLogicalNetworkDefinition to create the object. You can
        subsequently modify the logical network definition by using the
        Set-SCLogicalNetworkDefinition cmdlet.

      Assigning logical networks to host groups

            To make a logical network available to a host, you must associate
            the logical network with a host group. You assign a logical network
            to a host group when you use the New-SCLogicalNetworkDefinition
            cmdlet to create a logical network definition (also called a 
            network site). You can add host groups at a later time by using the
            AddVMHostGroup parameter with the Set-SCVMHostGroup cmdlet.


    Static IP Address Pools 

        If you associate one or more IP subnets with a network site, you can
        create static IP address pools from those subnets. Static IP address
        pools enable VMM to automatically allocate static IP addresses to
        Windows-based virtual machines that are running on any managed Hyper-V,
        VMware ESX or Citrix XenServer host. VMM can automatically assign
        static IP addresses from the pool to stand-alone virtual machines, to
        virtual machines that are deployed as part of a service, and to
        physical computers when you use VMM to deploy them as Hyper-V hosts.
        Additionally, when you create a static IP address pool, you can define
        a reserved range of IP addresses for load balancer virtual IP (VIP)
        addresses. VMM automatically assigns a virtual IP address to a load
        balancer during the deployment of a load-balanced service tier.

        You can create a static IP address pool using the 
        New-SCStaticIPAddressPool cmdlet, and configure associated information
        such as default gateways, Domain Name System (DNS) servers, DNS
        suffixes, and Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) servers. 

        IP address pools support both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. However, you
        cannot mix IPv4 and IPv6 addresses in the same IP address pool.

  MAC Address Pools

      VMM can automatically assign static MAC addresses to new virtual network
      devices on Windows-based virtual machines that are running on any managed
      Hyper-V, ESX or XenServer host. VMM has two default static MAC address
      pools; the default MAC address pool (for Hyper-V and XenServer), and the 
      default VMware MAC address pool (for ESX hosts). You can also create
      custom MAC address pools that are scoped to specific host groups.

      To create a MAC address pool, use the New-SCMACAddressPool cmdlet. To
      update the settings for an existing MAC address pool, use the 
      Set-SCMACAddressPool cmdlet.

      To allocate MAC addresses from a MAC address pool, use the 
      Grant-SCMACAddress cmdlet. You can later return the allocated MAC 
      address to the MAC address pool by using the Revoke-SCMACAddress cmdlet.


  Load Balancer Integration

      In VMM, you can use Microsoft Network Load Balancing (NLB) or you can add
      supported hardware load balancers to VMM. By adding a load balancer to 
      VMM, you can load balance requests to the virtual machines that make up a
      service tier. By default, NLB is added as an available load balancer when
      you install VMM. You can add a load balancer to VMM using the
      Add-SCLoadBalancer cmdlet. 

      To add supported hardware load balancers, you must install a 
      configuration provider, available from the load balancer manufacturer.
      The configuration provider is a plug-in to VMM that translates VMM
      PowerShell commands to API calls that are specific to a type of load
      balancer. Specify the configuration provider when you use the 
      Add-SCLoadBalancer cmdlet by using the ConfigurationProvider parameter.

      Before you can use a hardware load balancer or NLB, you must create
      associated virtual IP (VIP) templates.

    VIP Templates

        A virtual IP (VIP) template contains load balancer-related
        configuration settings for a specific type of network traffic. Create
        a load balancer VIP template by using the New-SCLoadBalancerVIP cmdlet. 

SEE ALSO
    about_VMM_2012
    about_VMM_2012_Cmdlet_and_Parameter_Name_Mapping
    about_VMM_2012_Cmdlet_Backward_Compatibility
    New-SCLogicalNetwork
    Set-SCLogicalNetwork
    New-SCLogicalNetworkDefinition
    Set-SCLogicalNetworkDefinition
    Set-SCVMHostGroup
    New-SCStaticIPAddressPool
    New-SCMACAddressPool
    Set-SCMACAddressPool
    Grant-SCMACAddress
    Revoke-SCMACAddress
    Add-SCLoadBalancer
    New-SCLoadBalancerVIP