About network groups
Network group is a collection of similar type of network objects in a data center. Using Resiliency Platform console, you can create network groups of:
Subnets only, if your target data center is AWS
Cloud Subnet if your source and target data center is AWS.
Standard port group/VLANs, if your data center is in VMware environment (It may be source data center or target data center or both). Creating network groups of NSX-T type network and distributed port groups are not allowed.
Using Resiliency Platform console, you can create network group See Adding a network group.
Let us consider a scenario where there are some logical sub group of virtual machines in a resiliency group. Each sub group denotes one recovery domain so that even if virtual machines in one sub group becomes unavailable then virtual machines in other sub groups keep the application available. When you are recovering on AWS cloud data center, you may want the virtual machines in a resiliency group to be a part of different availability zones.
To do this, you need to set up the network pairing where the network objects on the source data center are logically paired with more than one network object in the AWS target data center. Since one network object in one data center cannot be directly paired with more than one network object in target data centers, you need to create network groups.
You can create network groups of VLANs or port groups if your source data center or target data center or both data centers are in VMware environment. These network group are created so that the virtual machines that are connected to different port groups can be migrated to single a network. All the port groups having the same name and ID should be grouped into one network group.
You are not allowed to create network groups if your data center is of Hyper-V virtual machines, Azure, vCloud Director and Google Cloud Platform.
Following is an example of how to use network groups.
The source data center is VMware vSphere and the target data center is AWS. All the virtual machines in the resiliency group on the source data center are connected to same subnet PremSN1. You want some of those virtual machines to be part of availability zone AZ1 connected to subnet AZ1_SN1 and other virtual machines to be part of availability zone AZ2 with subnet AZ2_SN1. You also have subnet AZ1_SN2 in AZ1, and subnet AZ2_SN2 in AZ2. These are to be used for rehearsal purposes.
Now perform the following tasks:
- Set purpose of PremSN1, AZ1_SN1 and AZ2_SN1 as Production.
- Set purpose of AZ1_SN2 and AZ2_SN2 as Rehearsal.
- Create a network group AZNG1 consisting of AZ1_SN1 and AZ2_SN1.
- Map the subnets AZ1_SN1 with AZ1_SN2, and AZ2_SN1 with AZ2_SN2.
- Pair subnet PremSN1 with the network group AZNG1
During the migrate operation, the virtual machines that become part of AZ1 are connected to subnet AZ1_SN1. The virtual machines that become part of AZ2 get connected to subnet AZ2_SN1. When performing rehearsals, the virtual machines that become part of AZ1 are connected to subnet AZ1_SN2 and the virtual machines that become part of AZ2 get connected to subnet AZ2_SN2.