VMware laces data centre networking software with intelligent load balancing, security and analytics

Refreshed networking and security stack looks to boost application traffic automation, compliance, visibility and scale across the data centre, cloud and edge sites

At VMware world in San Francisco, VMware announced a range of updates to its NSX networking software to improve the security and management of cloud application traffic running on virtual machines, containers or bare metal.

VMware said the updates have turned its networking software into “complete software-defined networking and security stack built for the multi-cloud era”, as the company ramps up its network-virtualisation efforts with software that enables customers to automate data centre workload deployment across edge sites, private data centres and public clouds.

A key pillar of the updates is NSX Advanced Load Balancer, technology that VMware inherited from Avi Networks when it acquired the company in June. The load balancing technology comprises a software-defined load balancer and intelligent web application firewall combined with advanced analytics.

The services are delivered a as dynamic multi-cloud fabric which automates traffic decisions and provides application analytics and elastic load balancing. Customers can add these services to any application on the cloud running on virtual machines, containers or bare metal.

VMware is also adding a new distributed analytics engine to its NSX-T, the company’s data centre software that offers Layer 2 to Layer 7 services for workloads running on all types of infrastructure, including VMs, containers, physical servers and both private and public clouds.

The NSX Intelligence analytics engine is designed to reduce security blind spots by visualising application network data traffic across the data centre, including virtualised and containerised workloads at the packet level. VMware said NSX Intelligence provides customers holistic context for security troubleshooting and improves collaboration between infrastructure and security teams.

“VMware brings the one-click public cloud experience to the entire enterprise through an automated, software-defined network architecture,” said Tom Gillis, senior vice president and general manager, networking and security business unit, VMware.

“VMware is a leader in next-generation software-defined networking and security, delivering consistent, pervasive connectivity and intrinsic security to apps, data and users wherever they reside. We extend this virtual infrastructure across public and private clouds, all the way to the network edge, and our advanced analytics capabilities provide the visibility and troubleshooting needed to make the Virtual Cloud Network easy to operate.”