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This chapter provides an overview of the Cisco Virtual Wide Area Applications Services (vWAAS) solution and describes the main features that enable Cisco vWAAS to overcome the most common challenges in transporting data over a wide area network.
This section has the following topics:
The following are some of the benefits of deploying Cisco vWAAS on your system:
– Use vWAAS to create value-added WAN optimization services on a per-application basis, for optimized delivery to remote branch-office users.
– Associate vWAAS services with application server virtual machines as they are moved in response to dynamic load demand in the cloud, to offer rapid delivery of WAN optimization services, with minimal network configuration or disruption.
– Deploy vWAAS in public clouds, with the Cisco Nexus 1000V Series, to obtain benefits similar to benefits vWAAS produces in private cloud environments.
Cisco Virtual WAAS (vWAAS) is a virtual appliance—for both enterprises and service providers—that accelerates business applications delivered from private and virtual private cloud infrastructure. Cisco vWAAS enables you to rapidly create WAN optimization services with minimal network configuration or disruption.
Cisco vWAAS supports WAN optimization in a cloud environment where physical WAE devices cannot usually be deployed. Virtualization also provides various benefits like elasticity, ease of maintenance, and a reduction of branch office and data center footprint.
As shown in Figure 1-1, you can enable vWAAS at the branch and/or the data center:
vWAAS supports on-demand provisioning and teardown, which reduces the branch office and data center footprint. Cisco vWAAS software follows the VMware ESXi standard as the preferred platform to deploy data center applications and services.
Figure 1-1 vWAAS in Virtual Private Cloud at WAN Edge, in Branch Office and Data Center
The following hypervisors are supported for Cisco vWAAS:
The following platforms are supported for Cisco vWAAS:
For details on the interoperability of the hypervisors and platforms supported for vWAAS, see Table 1-12.
This section contains the following topics:
Table 1-1 shows the default number of CPUs, memory capacity, disk storage and supported ISR platforms for each ISR model.
Table 1-1 ISR Models: CPUs, Memory, Disk Storage and Supported ISR Platforms
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Note For vWAAS with WAAS Version 6.2.3x or WAAS Version 6.3.1, ISR-4321 with profile ISR-WAAS-200, ISR-WAAS RAM is increased from 3 GB to 4 GB. For this increase in ISR-WAAS RAM to be implemented, you must complete a new OVA deployment of WAAS version 6.2.3x or 6.3.1; the increase in ISR-WAAS RAM is not automatically implemented with an upgrade to WAAS 6.2.3x or 6.3.1.
Table 1-2 shows the default number of CPUs, memory capacity and disk storage for each vWAAS model.
Table 1-2 vWAAS Models: CPUs, Memory and Disk Storage
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For the vWAAS models noted below, follow these operating guidelines for CPU, memory, and disk storage:
Note For vWAAS with WAAS Version 6.2.3x or WAAS Version 6.3.1, ISR-4321 with profile ISR-WAAS-200, ISR-WAAS RAM is increased from 3 GB to 4 GB. For this increase in ISR-WAAS RAM to be implemented, you must complete a new OVA deployment of WAAS version 6.2.3x or 6.3.1; the increase in ISR-WAAS RAM is not automatically implemented with an upgrade to WAAS 6.2.3x or 6.3.1.
Table 1-3 shows the VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) block size and associated vWAAS maximum disk file size. For more information on VMware and vWAAS interoperability, see Table 1-12.
Table 1-3 VMware VMFS Block Size and vWAAS Maximum File Size
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Note For vWAAS models that have a disk size greater than 256 GB, a VMFS block size greater than 1 MB is required.
Table 1-4 shows the OVA and NPE OVA file for each vWAAS model (all models are available with WAAS version 4.3.1 and later, except as noted):
Table 1-4 OVA and NPE OVA Files, by vWAAS Model
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This section contains the following topics:
Table 1-5 shows the number of managed nodes and disk storage for each vCM model, as well as the required and recommended number of vCPUs and the required and recommended memory capacity.
Note Cisco vWAAS installation packages are configured with the minimal required amounts of CPU and memory resources to accommodate the various hypervisor setups. These minimal requirements are sufficient for initial setup and a limited number of nodes.
However, as the number of managed devices on your system increases, the Central Manager service can experience intermittent restarts or flapping—device states when under resource shortage. To remedy this, please configure the recommended values for number of CPUs and memory shown in Table 1-5.
Table 1-5 vCM Models: Managed Nodes, vCPUs, Memory, and Disk Storage
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Note If your WAAS Central Manager restarts intermittently with the following vCM models - vCM-500, vCM-1000, or vCM-2000 - it may be due to insufficient system resources. To remedy this, for these vCM models we recommend that you upgrade your system with the CPU and memory resources show in Table 1-6.
Table 1-6 Recommended CPU and Memory Upgrade for vCM-500, vCM-1000, and vCM-2000
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Table 1-7 shows the OVA and NPE OVA file for each vCM model (all models are available with WAAS version 4.3.1 and later, except as noted):
Table 1-7 OVA and NPE OVA Files, by vCM Model
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Table 1-8 shows the default number of CPUs, memory capacity, disk storage and supported ISR platforms for ISR models.
Table 1-8 ISR Models: CPUs, Memory, Disk Storage and Supported ISR Platforms
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Note For vWAAS with WAAS Version 6.2.3x or WAAS Version 6.3.1, ISR-4321 with profile ISR-WAAS-200, ISR-WAAS RAM is increased from 3 GB to 4 GB. For this increase in ISR-WAAS RAM to be implemented, you must complete a new OVA deployment of WAAS version 6.2.3x or 6.3.1; the increase in ISR-WAAS RAM is not automatically implemented with an upgrade to WAAS 6.2.3x or 6.3.1.
Consider the following guidelines when using Cisco vWAAS with WAAS:
Note For vWAAS with WAAS Version 6.2.3x or WAAS Version 6.3.1, ISR-4321 with profile ISR-WAAS-200, ISR-WAAS RAM is increased from 3 GB to 4 GB. For this increase in ISR-WAAS RAM to be implemented, you must complete a new OVA deployment of WAAS version 6.2.3x or 6.3.1; the increase in ISR-WAAS RAM is not automatically implemented with an upgrade to WAAS 6.2.3x or 6.3.1.
Note When selecting the format in the vSphere Client for the virtual machine’s disks for vWAAS with VMware vSphere ESXi, you must choose the Thick Provision Eager Zeroed disk format for vWAAS deployment; this is the format recommended with vWAAS deployment for a clean installation.
– Upgrade to the latest UCS-E firmware (Version 3.1.2), available on the Cisco Download Software Page for UCS E-Series Software, UCS E160S M3 Software.
– Verify that you have installed the critical Windows Server updates, available on the Microsoft Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 Update Rollup page. You can also obtain the standalone update package through the Microsoft Download Center by searching for KB2887595.
Note When upgrading vWAAS, do not upgrade more than five vWAAS nodes at the same time on a single UCS box. Upgrading more than five vWAAS nodes at the same time may cause the vWAAS devices to go offline and diskless mode.
If needed, change the SCSI controller type to VMware Paravirtual by following these steps:
b. From the VMware vCenter, navigate to vSphere Client > Edit Settings > Hardware.
d. From the Change Type drop-down list, verify that the SCSI Controller Type is set to VMware Paravirtual. If this is not the case, choose VMware Paravirtual.
f. Power up the vWAAS, with WAAS Version 6.1.x or later.
For more information on setting the SCSI Controller Type and on the vWAAS VM installation procedure, see the Cisco Virtual Wide Area Application Services Installation and Configuration Guide.
Note For a vCM-100 model used with the RHEL KVM or KVM on CentOS hypervisor, with the default memory size of 2 GB:
When you upgrade to WAAS Version 6.2.3 from an earlier version, or downgrade from WAAS Version 6.2.3 to an earlier version, and use either the restore factory-default command or the restore factory-default preserve basic-config command, the vCM-100 may not come up due to GUID Partition Table (GPT) boot order errors.
CAUTION: The restore factory-default command erases user-specified configuration information stored in the flash image, including the starting configuration of the device, and also removes data from the disk, user-defined partitions, and the entire Central Manager database.
To resolve this situation, follow these steps:
1. Power down the vWAAS using the virsh destroy vmname command or the virt manager.
2. Power up the vWAAS using the virsh start vmname command or the virt manager.
This upgrade/downgrade scenario does not occur for vCM-100 models whose memory size is upgraded to 4 GB.
This section contains the following topics:
Table 1-9 DRE Disk, Default OC, and Default Akamai Connect Cache by WAVE Model
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Table 1-10 shows the default DRE disk capacity, object cache capacity, and Akamai Connect cache capacity, by vWAAS model.
Table 1-10 Default DRE, OC, and Akamai Connect Cache, by vWAAS Mode
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This section has the following topics, which show the hypervisors supported for Cisco vWAAS and Virtual Central Manager (vCM).
Table 1-11 shows the file formats for hypervisors supported for vWAAS and vCM, for WAAS Version 6.x and later.
Table 1-11 File Formats for Hypervisors Supported for vWAAS and vCM
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Cisco ISR-WAAS is the implementation of vWAAS running in a Cisco IOS-XE software container on a Cisco ISR4400 Series router. “Container” in this context refers to a KVM hypervisor that runs virtualized applications on the Cisco ISR-4400 Series router.
Cisco vWAAS for VMware ESXi provides cloud-based application delivery service over the WAN in ESX/ESXi-based environments. Cisco vWAAS on VMware vSphere ESXi is delivered an OVA file. The vSphere client takes the OVA file for a specified vWAAS model, and deploys an instance of that vWAAS model.
For more information, see Chapter 3, “Cisco vWAAS and VMware vSphere ESXi”.
Cisco vWAAS on RHEL KVM (Red Hat Enterprise Linux Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is a virtual WAAS appliance that runs on a RHEL KVM hypervisor. Cisco vWAAS on RHEL KVM extends the capabilities of ISR-WAAS and vWAAS running on the Cisco UCS E-Series Servers.
Note Cisco vWAAS on RHEL KVM can also be deployed as a tar archive (tar.gz) to deploy Cisco vWAAS on Cisco Network Functions Virtualization Infrastructure Software (NFVIS). The NFVIS portal is used to select the tar.gz file to deploy vWAAS.
For more information, see Chapter 4, “Cisco vWAAS on KVM”.
Cisco vWAAS for Microsoft Hyper-V, available for vWAAS with WAAS Version 6.1.x and later, provides virtualization services through hypervisor-based emulations.
Cisco vWAAS on Microsoft Hyper-V extends Cisco networking benefits to Microsoft Windows Server Hyper-V deployments.
For more information, see Chapter 5, “Cisco vWAAS on Microsoft Hyper-V”.
Microsoft Azure is a Microsoft cloud computing platform that can be used to build and host applications online, using the Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisor. Cisco vWAAS in Azure is available for vWAAS with WAAS Version 6.2.1x and later. Cisco vWAAS in Azure is also part of WAAS support for Office 365, and end-to-end solution with enterprise branch offices.
For more information, see Chapter 6, “Cisco vWAAS in Microsoft Azure”.
Cisco vWAAS is supported on the following platforms:
This section contains the following topics:
For each hypervisor used with vWAAS, Table 1-12 shows the types of platforms supported for vWAAS, including minimum WAAS version, host platform, and disk type.
Note For vWAAS for WAAS Version 6.2.x with Cisco Enterprise NFVIS, the vWAAS must run as an unmanaged VM.
Table 1-12 Platforms Supported for vWAAS, by Hypervisor Type
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For each hypervisor used with vWAAS, Table 1-13 shows the components used to deploy vWAAS, including package format, deployment tool, pre-configuration tool (if needed), and network driver.
Table 1-13 Components for Deploying vWAAS, by Hypervisor Type
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For each hypervisor used with vWAAS, Table 1-14 shows the components used to manage vWAAS, including vCM model, vWAAS model, number of instances supported, and traffic interception method used.
Table 1-14 Components for Managing vWAAS, by Hypervisor Type
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Cisco UCS E-Series servers and UCS E-Series NCEs (Network Compute Engines) provide platforms for Cisco vWAAS and Cisco ISR routers. Table 1-15 shows the supported operating systems, Hypervisors, Cisco ISR routers, and minimum version of IOS-XE used.
Table 1-15 vWAAS and UCS E-Series Interoperability
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When calculating memory requirements for your vWAAS system, include the following parameters:
– A minimum of 2 GB of memory is needed for VMware v5.0, v5.1, or v6.0.
– A minimum of 4 GB of memory is needed for VMware v5.5.
– Table 1-16 shows memory and disk storage for Cisco UCS E-Servers/NCEs
– Table 1-18 shows vCPUs, ESXi server datastore memory, and disk space by vWAAS model.
– Table 1-19 shows vCPUs, ESXi server datastore memory, and disk space by vCM model.
Example1: A deployment of vWAAS-750 on the UCS-E140S, using VMware v6.0.
1. UCS-E140S has a default value of 8 GB memory (which can be expanded to 48 GB).
2. vWAAS-750 requires 6 GB memory + VMware v6.0 requires 2 GB memory = 6 GB memory, which is below the default memory capacity of the UCS-E140S.
3. You can deploy vWAAS-750 on the UCS-E140S without adding additional memory to the UCS-E140S DRAM.
Example1: A deployment of vWAAS-1300 on the UCS-E140S, using VMware v6.0.
1. UCS-E140S has a default value of 8 GB DRAM, (which can be expanded to 48 GB).
2. vWAAS-1300 requires 6 GB memory + VMware v6.0 requires 2 GB DRAM = 8 GB memory, which equals the memory capacity of UCS-E140S.
3. To deploy vWAAS-1300 on the UCS-E140S, you must add additional memory to the UCS-E140S memory.
Note For the vWAAS datastore, you can use either SAN storage or local storage on the ESXi server. NAS (Network-Attached Storage) storage should only be used in nonproduction scenarios (for test purposes, for example).
Table 1-16 Memory and Disk Storage for Cisco UCS E-Servers/NCEs
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Table 1-17 VMware ESXi Versions Supported for Cisco WAAS
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This section has the following topics:
Table 1-18 vCPUs, ESXi Server Datastore Memory, and Disk Space by vWAAS Model
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Table 1-19 vCPUs, ESXi Server Datastore Memory, and Disk Space by vCM Model
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Consider the following guidelines when using Cisco vWAAS with WAAS: