Why NSX labs are the secret weapon for network training

Increasingly, enterprises have come to expect familiarity with software-defined networking. Find out the role that NSX labs can play.



These days, software-defined networking (SDN) is fast becoming the norm. Hardware-centric approaches are increasingly seen as old hat, with enterprises focusing on agile and secure cloud-based environments.

By abstracting network services from physical infrastructure, networking engineers and administrators can provision, route and secure workloads in software and software alone.

VMware NSX is a crucial piece of software in the SDN space. Its policy-driven automation, advanced micro-segmentation and seamless multi-cloud networking make it a stalwart of SDN.

It's fair to say, however, that NSX isn't the kind of software that you can plug in and play with. It requires training – and virtual NSX labs are perhaps the best way to go about it.

That's primarily because they enable learners to master modern networking by doing – not just reading about the theory.

Learners get to build, break and troubleshoot virtual networks in a safe environment – one that closely resembles enterprise deployments yet has no negative real-world effects on production environments.

It's not for nothing they're considered the secret weapon for network training. Here are six reasons why.

1. Hands-on learning without expensive hardware

NSX labs let learners create complex network topologies including virtual switches, routers, firewalls and load balancers.

All can be explored on a single virtualisation platform rather than fiddling around with expensive and maintenance-hungry racks of equipment.

In other words, you get to leverage the benefits of the cloud revolution (lower costs, flexible access) without sacrificing learning quality. If anything, NSX labs open up new possibilities for learning.

It's all about safe experimentation.

2. Safe experimentation

IT is a bit like firefighting. You need to learn how to react to emergencies. But you can't learn that on the job – and recreating the real thing puts you and others at risk. So, what's the answer?

Two words: hands-on training. Just as firefighters battle safely contained blazes, IT professionals learn to troubleshoot key network problems through intentional misconfigurations in controlled lab environments.

And whereas a misconfiguration on the actual network could easily lead to costly downtime, deliberate misconfigurations in an NDX lab won't take down the production network.

This ability to break things safely is at the very heart of the virtual training offering. Routing, security policies and overlays can all be misconfigured, diagnosed and fixed, so the learner is ready to tackle an actual blaze when the time comes.

3. Exposure to SDN

"Rumours of my death," said Mark Twain, "have been greatly exaggerated." The same goes for the death of traditional networking skills.

Nevertheless, many organisations now use virtualisation, network automation and software-defined networking – and IT professionals need to upskill to stay employable.

NSX labs are invaluable in this respect. They teach essential SDN skills such as network virtualisation, overlay networking, distributed firewalls, micro-segmentation, virtual routing and policy-based networking.

Taken together, these skills can help enterprises level up their networking and meet the challenges of an ever-changing IT landscape.

4. Real-world troubleshooting

NSX labs simulate the kinds of scenarios you'll actually encounter in enterprise environments. These range from connectivity failures to routing problems, and from security policy conflicts to performance bottlenecks.

5. Repeatability

Both knowledge and practical skills must be repeated to be learned properly. The tasks we can complete without thinking are the ones we've done again and again and again. But traditional courses and physical hardware don't often allow learners to do this.

NSX labs, by contrast, can be reset in minutes, meaning learners can repeat exercises until they're fully confident.

6. Integration with modern infrastructure

NSX works alongside virtualisation platforms, automation tools and other cloud technologies. NSX labs are important for familiarising learners with how networking fits into a broader IT ecosystem – one that's only growing in complexity.



Who do NSX labs benefit most?

NSX labs are beneficial to all sorts of cloud, IT and networking professionals. They tend to benefit these groups of professionals the most, however:

• Network engineers moving from physical hardware to virtualisation
• Systems administrators expanding into networking
• Cloud engineers learning virtual networking
• Security professionals learning micro-segmentation and east-west traffic controls
• Students preparing for enterprise networking roles
  
  

In all cases, it gives them hands-on, repeatable experience of core activities – not theoretical exercises and traditional book learning.

What skills do NSX labs develop?

A well-designed NSX lab with a substantial underlying infrastructure can help learners acquire a wide range of skills. Core among them are these:

• Creating logical switches and routers
• Configuring distributed firewall rules
• Implementing network segmentation
• Setting up VPNs and load balancers
• Troubleshooting routing and connectivity
• Monitoring traffic flows and security events
• Understanding how virtual and physical networks interact
  
  

All these skills can be repeated in an NSX lab until they're second nature – and because of the sandbox-style nature of the training, they pose no threat to actual production environments.

Why are NSX labs good for employers?

The advantages of NSX labs aren't limited to the cloud engineers who take them. They're also valuable to employers and offer a high ROI.

Why? Because an enterprise that's adopted SDN networking can't expect its much-advertised agility and security to manifest without professionals on the team with practical experience of configuring and troubleshooting virtual networks.

Traditional forms of training don't quite qualify as practical experience. Sure, they provide a lot of knowledge – but if you want staff that know what's under the bonnet, NSX lab experience is the way to go.

It provides realistic, repeatable and hands-on training – a bona fide secret weapon for enterprise-level virtual networking.

Ascend Cloud Solutions provides highly secure, highly reliable lab hosting for VMware training courses, including several NSX courses. Browse our course catalogue to learn more, or get in touch with our experts to discuss your needs in detail.