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NCD – Configuring Common VM Network Behaviors

← NCD – vApp/VM

Navisite Cloud Director (NCD) provides the ability to quickly configure common network behaviors (e.g., FTP, SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS) for virtual machines (VMs), including the automatic creation of necessary firewall and Network Address Translation (NAT) rules. Two types of behaviors are available:
  • Public Service behaviors automatically configure network settings to allow a VM to be accessed publicly via the internet. Only necessary ports are opened.

  • Internal Service behaviors automatically configure network settings to allow a VM to be accessed internally on a vDataCenter (vDC) network. Only necessary ports are opened.
If errors are encountered while a behavior is being added, Navisite Cloud Director attempts to automatically correct them. Certain errors require user intervention for correction.

Note: A virtual machine (VM) must be in a powered on state in order to successfully configure network behaviors for it, or a configuration error occurs. If necessary, click the Power On (Start) button at the top of the VM detail page to power on the VM before configuring network behaviors.

VM network behaviors can be added, modified, and deleted at the VM detail page. Navigate to the VM detail page as follows:
  1. At the Navisite Cloud Director Dashboard page, click vApps in the navigation bar on the left side of the page. The vApps page appears, displaying a list of configured vApps.

  2. In the vApps page list, locate and click on the name of the vApp containing the VM to be configured. The vApp detail page appears.

  3. In the "Children" section of the vApp page, click VMs to display a list of VMs within the vApp.

  4. In the "Name" column, click the name of the VM to be configured. The VM detail page appears.

  5. Click Behaviors in the "Configuration" section of the VM detail page. The "Behaviors" list displays any behaviors configured for the VM.

    6.  

    Note: Certain behaviors can only be added to a VM once. If such a behavior has already been added to the VM, it will no longer be available for selection.

Adding/Modifying Public Service Behaviors

To add or modify a Public Service behavior for a VM:
  1. To add a new Public Service behavior, click +Add Behavior. The Behaviors page appears.

    To edit an existing Public Service behavior, click the appropriate "gear" icon in the "Behaviors" list. The Public Service page appears. Proceed to Step 3, below.

  2. To add a new Public Service behavior, click +Add Behavior in the "Public Service" section of the Behaviors page. The Public Service page appears.



  3. From the "VM NIC" drop-down menu, select the network interface controller (NIC) that is connected to the network on which the service is to be configured.

  4. In the "Public IP" field, enter or select the public IP address to be used in order to gain access to the VM. To create a new public IP address for this purpose, select "Add new public IP."

  5. Select a protocol for the service from the "Protocol" drop-down menu. Available options include TCP, UDP, TCP & UDP, ICMP, and Any.

  6. In the "Port" field, enter or select a port number for the service. The following notations and values are valid for the "Port" field:

    • A port number (an integer from 1-65535)
      • Select FTP from the drop-down menu to select port 21
      • Select SSH from the drop-down menu to select port 22
      • Select HTTP from the drop down menu to select port 80
      • Select HTTPS from the drop-down menu to select port 443
    • "Any" or "-1" (equivalent values)

  7. Click Add/Update Behavior to configure or update the behavior, or Cancel to cancel the operation.

Adding/Modifying Internal Service Behaviors

To add or modify an Internal Service behavior for a VM:
  1. To add a new Internal Service behavior, click +Add Behavior. The Behaviors page appears.

    To edit an existing Internal Service behavior, click the appropriate "gear" icon in the "Behaviors" list. The Internal Service page appears. Proceed to Step 3, below.

  2. To add a new Internal Service behavior, click +Add Behavior in the "Internal Service" section of the Behaviors page. The Internal Service page appears.



  3. From the "VM NIC" drop-down menu, select the network interface controller (NIC) that is connected to the network on which the service is to be configured.

  4. In the "Public IP" field, enter or select the public IP address to be used in order to gain access to the VM. To create a new public IP address for this purpose, select "Add new public IP."

  5. Select a protocol for the service from the "Protocol" drop-down menu. Available options include TCP, UDP, TCP & UDP, ICMP, and Any.

  6. In the "Port" field, enter or select a port number for the service. The following notations and values are valid for the "Port" field:

    • A port number (an integer from 1-65535)
      • Select FTP from the drop-down menu to select port 21
      • Select SSH from the drop-down menu to select port 22
      • Select HTTP from the drop down menu to select port 80
      • Select HTTPS from the drop-down menu to select port 443
    • "Any" or "-1" (equivalent values)

  7. Click Add/Update Behavior to configure or update the behavior, or Cancel to cancel the operation.

Repairing Behaviors

The details of any errors encountered during behavior creation are displayed in the "Information" column of the "Behaviors" list, accompanied by a red X.

While Navisite Cloud Director attempts to automatically correct error conditions, certain errors require you to click the Repair button in the "Behaviors" list in order to correct them.

When elements of the behavior are successfully configured, they are displayed in the "Information" column with a green check mark. When an entire behavior is successfully configured, a green check mark appears in the "Status" column for the behavior.

Deleting Behaviors

To delete an existing behavior for a VM, click Delete in the "Behaviors" list row corresponding to the behavior to be deleted.

Deleting Associated Firewall/NAT Rules

Any firewall and NAT rules associated with a particular VM behavior must be manually removed when a behavior is deleted from the VM.


  • What are Behaviors?
  • Typical Workflow: Create a vApp with a VM and make it publicly available over the Internet


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