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For a while now we have known that vCloud Networking and Security’s days where numbered…with the release of NSX as a replacement+ product it had been communicated to current vCNS customers that an upgrade to NSX-v would be on the cards to ensure continued support and functionality. The date has now been set for the EOA of vCNS and in somewhat of a surprise to me VMware also last week announced the EOA for NSX-v 6.1.x will reach end of availability later in the year.

VMware has announced the End of Availability (“EOA”) of the VMware vCloud Networking and Security 5.5.x which will commence on September 19, 2016

VMware has announced the End of Availability (“EOA”) of the VMware NSX for vSphere 6.1.x and will commence on October 15, 2016

In both cases the VMwareKBs state that the products will continue to function. However, support will no longer be available, nor update releases or patches…so end of the day use at your own risk and don’t expect any help is the proverbial hits the fan.

The EOA and Support of NSX-v, while a surprise can be dealt with fairly easily by existing NSX-v customers. To get the most out of NSX-v in terms of the enhanced capabilities and features you should be running a version of 6.2.x and there is a new major release just around the corner (to be announced later in the year possibly). The only current caveat is upgrades from 6.1.5 to 6.2.0 are not supported…you must upgrade from 6.1.5 to NSX 6.2.1 or later to avoid a regression in functionality.

With regard to existing vCNS customers who are not Service Providers or have not gotten their hands on…let alone wrapped their heads around NSX-v this isn’t fantastic news. This Reddit post sums up some of the feeling out there in regards to the upgrade path for vCNS to NSX-v. To sum up the general feeling that I have come across…NSX-v is a lot more expensive than what vCNS was (in most cases it was part of the general vSphere/vCloud editions and bundles) and existing users of vCNS are finding it hard to justify that cost when considering the fact that some of the best NSX-v features are surplus to their requirements.

End of the day here there aren’t too many options for vCNS customers, but there is talk about VMware releasing an NSX-Lite version to satisfy the gap that exists between current customer requirements of vCNS features vs the all in nature of the NSX-v feature set…the clock is now ticking!

vCloud Director and vCNS:

Tom Fojta blogged earlier in the week that VMware have released an additional whitepaper for for vCAT SP that goes through a vCNS upgrade to NSX in vCloud Director Environments. I’ve also covered that in my vCloud Director NSX Retrofit series here.

References:

https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2144733

https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2144769