Using the network map, you can view a detailed network model of the data sources that are added to VMware Aria Operations for Networks.

Note:
  • The network map is available only for Enterprise and NAV license users who use XL brick.
  • Also, network map is supported for a few data sources only. For more information, see Supported Products and Versions.

To access this page, on the VMware Aria Operations for Networks home page, click Network Map.

The network map contains several elements.

The Network Map user interface contains several elements such as Summary, Alerts, and Paths.
Table 1. Elements
Elements Description
Summary (1) A summary of your data center which includes an alert chart, switches, routers, firewalls, load balancers, transport nodes, and other entities.
Alerts (2) The list of available alerts in your network when you click the Alerts tab.

You can also search for alerts using the search bar that is available in the Alerts tab. To get more details about an alert, click + (if available). To see related alerts, click Expand all.
Entities (3) Entities and groups of entities in your network . All the virtual entities are shown in logical groups. For more details, see Entities on the Network Map.
Paths (4) The paths between specified entities. For details, see Paths on a Network Map.
Network Topology (5) An end-to-end interactive topology map of your network including physical and virtual devices. For details, see Network Topology Map.
Alerts (6) Hide or show the alerts on the network topology map.
Edit (7) Rearrange entities and groups, create groups, and delete groups. To learn about how to create and delete a group, see Add, Edit, or Delete a Group.
Zoom In/Zoom Out (8) Zoom in or zoom out of map by clicking the (+) or the (-) button.
Fit to screen (9) Rearrange the map to fit the current screen.
Legend (10) Show or hide the meaning of each of the icons used in the network topology.

Network Topology Map

The network topology map is a map of your entire network at a particular time. VMware Aria Operations for Networks constructs this map based on the data collected from all the data sources that are available in VMware Aria Operations for Networks and supports network map.

VMware Aria Operations for Networks does the following actions:
  • Automatically arranges all the virtual entities in different groups for better management.
  • Shows the parts of the network affected by alerts so that you can quickly troubleshoot issues.
  • Allows you to zoom the network map to see additional details such as group name, entity name, details of an entity, and so on.

Entities on the Network Map

To see the list of entities and groups of entities available in your network, click Entities. All the virtual entities are shown in logical groups. The list of entities can include NSX virtual entities, physical switches, physical firewalls, and so on. For details, see Supported Products and Versions.

To see details about the entities or the groups, click that entity or group. When you click an entity or group, you can see the details of that entity or group and the location of that entity or group in the topology map. You can click (More details) to view more details about that entity and click Back to summary to return to the entities list.

You can also search entities or IP addresses in your network using the search bar available in the Entities tab. For samples queries, see Search Queries for Entities.

Auto-layout Map

In the Network Topology, you can auto arrange selected entities or your entire map to best fit your screen.

To auto-arrange your Network Topology, in Network Topology page, click Edit button > Continue > Auto-layout map. You can either auto-arrange entire network topology or a few selected entities.

Note: Read the instruction on the UI carefully while using the auto-layout feature.

Network Map Scope

In the network map, you can view a subset of the network map using the Network Map Scope; this option enables you to view a much focused version of the network map.

With the Network Map Scope, you create a subset of the network map by selecting the entities you are interested in, and the network map creates a network topology only with those selected entities. You can do the following activities in the network map with Network Map Scope:

  • Create simple scopes by selecting your choice of entities.
  • Edit, modify, or delete existing scopes.
  • Toggle between All entities and user-defined scopes using Scope drop-down menu.
  • Create multiple simple scopes as per your requirement. You can create up to 10 scopes in the network map.

To create a simple scope, do the following:

  1. In the Network Map page, select New Scope > Create Scope.
  2. In the Network Map Scope window, from the Scope by drop-down menu, select one of the following:
    • Entities: Select entities you want to view in the network map.

      All the entities are segregated in two major categories, virtual entities and physical entities, And each major category has multiple different entity types.

      Note: In the simple scope, you can select entity categories. You cannot select individual entities from the Scope drop-down menu.
      Note: The Network Map Scope considers only VMware overlay components such as the Edge transport node, the host transport node, and so on as virtual entities, and all third-party virtual appliances, such as F5 BIG-IP VM, Palo Alto VM, Cisco NX-OSv, and so on, as physical entities and grouped under the physical entities.
    • Groups: Select groups or subgroups you want to view in the network map. You can also search for groups and sub-groups and select the groups or subgroups you want to view in the network map.
  3. Click Apply.

    You see a preview of the network map for your scope.

  4. Click Save Scope located at the top-right corner.
  5. (Optional) If the preview is not per your requirement, click Discard.
  6. Add a name for your scope, and click Confirm.
Figure 1. Network Map Scope
New scope drop-down, scope drop-down, and manage saved scopes option.

You can also edit, delete, or duplicate saved scopes. To edit, delete, or duplicate a saved scope, do the following:

  1. In the Network Map page, from the Scope drop-down located on the top-left corner, select Manage Saved Scopes.
  2. In the Network Map: Saved Scopes page, select the saved scope you want to modify, and do the following:
    • To edit a saved scope, click the Edit button, make the required changes and click Save Changes.
    • To delete a saved scope, click the Delete button and confirm your action.
    • To duplicate a saved scope, click the Duplicate button, make the required changes (if necessary), and click Apply.

Search Queries for Entities

Here are some of the sample search queries that you can use in the search bar of the Entities tab:
Search Queries Description
device bb-ny-1 Shows devices whose name contains 'bb-ny-1'.
device 'bb-ny-1' Shows devices whose name is exactly 'bb-ny-1'.
device ny Shows devices whose name contains 'ny'.
abcd Shows entities whose name contains 'abcd'.
'abcd' Shows entities whose name is exactly 'abcd'.
'1.1.1.1' Shows entities whose manager IP address is 1.1.1.1.
1.1.1.1 Shows all the entities whose manager IP address contains 1.1.1.1. For example 1.1.1.1, 21.1.1.12, or 31.1.1.12.
device where manager = 1.2.3.4 Shows device whose manager IP address = 1.2.3.4.
host switch Shows a list of host switches.
host switch where name = 'DSwitch-1-localhost' Shows host switch whose name = DSwitch-1-localhost.
host switch where name like 'vds-switch1' Shows a list of host virtual switches whose name contains 'vds-switch1'.
interfaces Shows a list of all interfaces.
interface 'fastethernet0/0' Shows interfaces whose name contains 'fastethernet0/0'.
interface where mac address = 'c401.1cbe.0000' Shows a list of interfaces whose MAC address contains 'c401.1cbe.0000'.
interface where name like vlan Shows a list of interfaces whose name contain keyword vlan.
router interface where ip address = 192.168.10.1 Shows a list of router interfaces whose IP address contain 192.168.10.1.
interface where name like 'ethernet' and start vlan = 10 Shows a list of interfaces whose name contain 'ethernet' and whose VLAN range start from VLAN 10.
router interface where ip address = 192.168.1.0/24 Shows a list of interfaces whose IP address falls within the given subnet 192.168.1.0/24.
00:01:02:03:04:05 Shows a list of interfaces whose MAC address is 00:01:02:03:04:05.
host router Shows a list of all virtual routers available in all the hosts.
host router where name like 'tier0' Shows a list of all virtual routers whose name contain 'tier0'
port channel where administrative status = 'down' Shows a list of all port channels whose administrative status is down.
network device group Shows a list of all user created groups and auto inferred hosts as groups.

Paths on a Network Map

To find paths between specified entities -
  1. In the Network Topology section, click Paths.
  2. Enter the source and destination VMs , and click Show Paths.
    Note: Powered off VMs are not supported while performing a path search on the Network Map page. If you manually enter a powered off VM name in the Source or Destination field, path search will display the Unknown Source or Unknown Destination error message.
To know more about path search, see Use Advanced Path Search.

VMware Aria Operations for Networks also supports subnet to subnet path search on network maps.When you click SHOW PATHS, the system searches the model of your network available in VMware Aria Operations for Networks to find all possible paths matching the search parameters. The results are grouped according to traffic headers. Each traffic header description contains a list of paths that the packets with those headers can follow. There can also be more than one path. For example, you can see multiple paths if your network uses multipath forwarding. You can see a maximum of 25 results in the list. If necessary, you can narrow your search parameters to see all results.

Click Path N (N = numerical digit, example: 1, 2, 3, and so on) to see Path Details. In the Path Details, you can see the forward path, reserve path, hops details and so on.

Path Search Queries

Following are some sample path search queries:

From To Expected Result
switch port where routedportips = 61.0.1.1 switch port where routedportips = 61.0.1.2 Shows paths from routed port with IP 61.0.1.1 to routed port with IP 61.0.1.2
interface 'ethernet1' where Device = 'R1-arista' interface 'ethernet1' where Device = 'R2-arista' Shows paths from interface ethernet1 of R1-arista to interface ethernet1 of R2-arista
61.0.1.1 61.0.1.2 Shows paths from 61.0.1.1 to 61.0.2.1 where both IPs are of routed ports
61.0.1.0/24 63.0.1.0/24 Shows all paths from subnet 61.0.1.0/24 to subnet 63.0.1.0/24.
61.0.1.10 63.0.1.0/24 Shows paths from IP address 61.0.1.10 to subnet 63.0.1.0/24.