About external networks

An external network enables you to define IP ranges and a network tag, to allow the virtual datacenters to connect directly to each other, or to other networks outside of the virtual infrastructure.

For an external network, the administrator should configure the same network tags on all switches in the Abiquo environment.

Also, if you will use IP addresses outside Abiquo, reserve them inside Abiquo, by making them unavailable.

if you want to manage the IPs outside of the Abiquo platform, you can use an unmanaged network, which is an external network with IPs managed outside of the Abiquo platform, for example, by a corporate DHCP server.

Open

External networks can be used:

• Adhoc - create and use in existing virtual datacenters, connected to VMs in virtual datacenters.

• Default for virtual datacenter - assign as the default network for a virtual datacenter when you create the virtual datacenter (instead of the default private VLAN). If you deploy a VM in the virtual datacenter with no network configuration, Abiquo will assign a VNIC in the external network.

• Default for enterprise -assign as the default network for an enterprise for a specific datacenter. When you create a new virtual datacenter for the enterprise in this datacenter, the external network will be the default. But you can override this at virtual datacenter level.