Cisco first impressed me with virtual data center technologies with their Nexus 1000V. This is a software replacement for the Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS) of VMware. The idea is to have Cisco engineers feel much more comfortable working with the network switch (although software-based) that the virtual machines are connecting to in software.
The Nexus 1000V provides a consistent operating system and set of features that Cisco network engineers are completely comfortable with. In fact, Cisco even created a physical appliance, the Nexus 1010 to host the software powering the 1000V. This product has been replaced with the Nexus 1100.
Now engineers feel very comfortable as they are actually connecting to a physical box for management and configuration of the virtual switch. This was a very intriguing and successful initiative and was quickly followed up with the Cisco ASA 1000V Cloud Firewall. Yes, a software-based virtual firewall for cloud-based environments that features all of the goodies that a Cisco Security Engineer is excited about with the Adaptive Security Appliance appliances, not to mention the consistent interface for the operating system.
Cisco Cloud Services Router (CSR) 1000V - AX Pkg. Max Performance. Save to list. (0); Version 16.6.1. The AX Technology Package for Maximum Performance version of Cisco's Cloud Services Router (CSR1000V) delivers the maximum performance available in AWS cloud for virtual. Linux/Unix, Other Cisco IOS XE.
As I write this, the current version of the ASA 1000V Cloud Firewall is ASA 1000V Version 8.7(1). It provides edge features and functionality (including site-to-site VPN, NAT, and DHCP), acts as a default gateway, and secures the virtual machines (VMs) within the tenant against any network-based attacks. Certainly adding to the complexity of the installation of this product is the fact that it has so many dependencies. Of course, many of these may already be deployed and configured successfully in your environment. The requirements for a successful ASA 1000V implementation are: • Compatible hardware that runs the VMware vSphere Hypervisor software • The VMware vSphere Hypervisor software itself • vCenter Server software • The Cisco Nexus 1000V • The Cisco Virtual Network Management Center (VNMC) appliance • The Cisco ASA 1000V itself Optionally, you can also implement the Cisco Virtual Security Gateway (VSG).
The Cisco VSG is a service appliance required to segment inter-VM traffic within a tenant. If implemented, this is also managed using the Cisco Virtual Network Management Center (VNMC) appliance. Once the required products for the ASA 1000V are configured, Cisco Security Engineers will indeed feel right at home with their virtual ASA configurations.
For example, here is a sample configuration in which connection limits and timeouts are configured for all traffic passing through the firewall. You should note that this configuration is precisely consistent with that I would make on a hardware-based ASA appliance. ASA1000V(config)# class-map CONNS ASA1000V(config-cmap)# match any ASA1000V(config-cmap)# policy-map CONNS ASA1000V(config-pmap)# class CONNS ASA1000V(config-pmap-c)# set connection conn-max 1000 embryonic-conn-max 3000 ASA1000V(config-pmap-c)# set connection timeout idle 2:0:0 embryonic 0:40:0 half-closed 0:20:0 dcd For more information on the Cisco 1000v Cloud Firewall, visit the homepage for the product.
You might also be interested in the Getting Started Guide, which is located. This article is published as part of the IDG Contributor Network.
The Cisco Cloud Services Router (CSR) 1000v is a full-featured Cisco IOS XE router, enabling enterprise-class networking services in the Azure cloud. The following are examples of how the CSR is being used to enable enterprise-class hybrid clouds. • Extend enterprise VPN architectures into your private cloud: The CSR 1000v supports IPsec, DMVPN, FlexVPN, Easy VPN, and SSLVPN, and configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting with familiar IOS commands. No per-tunnel VPN fees. • Interconnect multiple regions and clouds: Using dynamic routing protocols such as EIGRP, OSPF, and BGP for multi-tier architectures within Azure, and interconnect with corporate locations or other clouds. • Secure, inspect, and audit hybrid cloud network traffic: Zone Based Firewall provides an application-aware firewall. IP SLA and Application Visibility and Control (AVC) can discover performance issues, fingerprint application flows, and export detailed flow data.!!!!!
Note - Important Update - Please Read!!!!! • Azure now requires that the CSR 1000v be deployed in a new Resource Group. The CSR 1000v can still be attached to an existing network. • If the CSR 1000v is attached to an existing Virtual Network, the existing network's route tables will not be altered.