Manage networks

Display virtual datacenter networks

To display the networks available to a virtual datacenter:

1. Go to Virtual datacenters → select virtual datacenter → Network.

• The default network is highlighted with a star symbol

• A network with an internet gateway is highlighted with a globe symbol

• In public cloud, to synchronize networks and IP addresses, click the round arrows synchronize button

• In AWS, you can filter the list of private networks by Availability Zone

Screenshot: Private networks in private cloud

Screenshot: Private networks in public cloud (AWS)

In the Networks list, to view the pool and allocation of IPs:

• To display all the IPs in the virtual datacenter, click the All button at the top of the list

• To display the IPs in a network, click the Network name

You can then:

• Use the slider at the bottom of the list to move through the pages 

• Filter the list by entering text in the Search box. The filter works with all the columns of the table including:

  • IP Address

  • MAC address

  • Network name

  • Virtual appliance using the IP

  • VM using the IP

  • Provider ID of the entity using the IP (for example, a load balancer)

Create a private network

Private networks are only available within a virtual datacenter. However, your cloud provider may configure an external gateway for your virtual datacenter.

To create a private network:

1. Go to Virtual datacenters → select virtual datacenter → Network → Private

2. Click the + add button  and complete the dialog

Create private network

Create private network Amazon

You can configure static routes when you create or edit a network. However, you should check with your systems administrator about when your VM will receive changes to static routes.

IPv6 Strict network

IPv6 Non-strict network

Create IP addresses in private networks

To create new IP addresses in a private network do these steps.

1. Go to Virtual datacenters → optionally select a virtual datacenter

2. Go to Networks → Private → select a private network

3. On the Private IPs page, click the add + button and enter details

Or you can add an IP directly to a VM. To do this:

1. Go to Virtual datacenters → Edit VM → Network

2. Click the add + button and enter details (or drag the Auto-generated IP label into the Network pane)

Enter the Number of IPs to create and the From IP address (the first in the range). The From IP address must be a new address that does not already exist in the network. After creating the first IP address, the platform will try to create the other IPs and it will skip any existing IP addresses. 
For example, if you have IP addresses in network 30.30.30.30, which are 30, 33, and 34 and then you request 3 new IPs from 30.30.30.31. The new IPs created should be as follows: 31, 32, 35. 

When you add IPv6 addresses on strict networks, you don't need to set the starting address. On non-strict IPv6 networks, Abiquo recommends that you create an automatic IP address, or you can enter a From IP address manually.

Edit a private network

To edit a private network

1. Go to Virtual datacenters → select a virtual datacenter → Network

2. Select Private and select the network

3. Click the pencil edit button below the Networks list

4. If there are no VMs deployed in the network, you can change the Name, Gateway, Static routes, and make the network the new default for the virtual datacenter

   1. The gateway must be an IP address inside the range defined by the network address and the network mask

5. Optionally, change the DNS settings. The new settings will apply to all VMs deployed after you save the network

6. Click Save

Delete a private network

You can delete a private network if no VMs are using its IPs and it is not the default network for the virtual datacenter.

To delete a private network:

1. Go to Virtual datacenters → select a virtual datacenter → Network → Private

2. Select the network and click the delete button below the networks list. 

Display onboarded external networks

The platform automatically onboards external networks when you onboard virtual datacenters from vCloud Director.

To display onboarded external networks

1. Go to Virtual datacenters → Network

2. Select a vCloud VDC

3. Go to External

Delete an onboarded external network

If an onboarded network has been deleted in the provider, its name will display in light gray text. If a VM is using an IP from this network, then you cannot deploy the VM.

If there are no VMs using the IPs of an external network that was already deleted in the provider, to delete the network in the platform, select it and click the delete button.

Set the default network for a virtual datacenter

Each virtual datacenter requires a default network. If you deploy a VM without assigning a NIC, the platform will add one from the default network. You cannot unselect the default network, instead you must assign a new default network to replace it.

To set a network as the default, you will require privileges to access this network in the virtual infrastructure.

To assign a network as the default for a virtual datacenter do these steps:

1. Go to Virtual datacenters → select virtual datacenter → Network → network type, e.g. Private

2. Create or edit a network

3. Select the Default network checkbox 

   • This default will override the platform default network and any network set for the enterprise in the datacenter

   • The new default network will apply to all VMs deployed after you set it

   • For a public network that is the virtual datacenter default, obtain IP addresses for your VMs before you deploy

Obtain IP addresses from public networks

In public networks you can reserve or purchase public IP addresses for your VMs. Reserved IPs may be charged while they are reserved, even if they are not used in VMs. 

To add new public IP addresses to your virtual datacenter:

1. Click the + Add button on the Public IPs page to display the list of available public IPs

   1. To move between pages, use pagination controls such as arrows and page numbers

   2. To filter your search, enter an IP address or Network name in the Search filter box

2. Select IP addresses to add them to your virtual datacenter 

3. Click Add to reserve the IPs

The platform will add the IPs to your VDC

You can also reserve public IPs directly from the Edit VM dialog.

Obtain public IP addresses in public cloud

During onboarding from public cloud, the platform will onboard existing public IP addresses in providers that support them, such as AWS and Azure. You can obtain them from the provider and assign them to your virtual datacenters and VMs.

To add public IP addresses to your virtual datacenter, so that you can later assign them to your VMs:

1. Go to Virtual datacenters → Select a public cloud virtual datacenter → Network → Public

2. On the Allocated public IPs page, click the + add button

3. To add the public IP to a virtual datacenter, click the Add to VDC link near the IP address

Now when you edit a VM in the VDC and go to Network → Public, the platform will display the public IP address and you can add it to your VM.

To obtain a public IP directly for a VM, click Purchase public IPs.

Synchronize public IP addresses with the cloud provider

To onboard any public IP addresses that were already created in your cloud provider, or update changes made directly in the provider:

1. Go to Virtual datacenters → select a public cloud virtual datacenter → Network → Public

2. Click the double arrow synchronize public IPs button (beside the + add button)

Release a reserved public IP address

You can release a public IP if it is not assigned to a VM.

In private cloud, to release a public IP that belongs to a public network, select the IP in the IP list and click the delete button.

In public cloud, click the link to Remove from VDC and then click the delete button.