Cisco vWAAS in Microsoft Azure

This chapter describes how to provision, deploy, and verify Cisco vWAAS in Microsoft Azure.

This chapter contains the following sections:

About Cisco vWAAS in Microsoft Azure

Azure is a Microsoft Cloud that provisions virtual machines (VMs) on the Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisor. vWAAS in Azure is part of WAAS support for Office 365, and is an end-to-end solution with enterprise branch offices.

  • vWAAS in Azure is available for vWAAS Version 6.2.1x and later, and is supported for vWAAS-200, vWAAS-750, vWAAS-1300, vWAAS-2500, vWAAS-6000, and vWAAS-12000v.

This section contains the following topics:

Platforms Supported for Cisco vWAAS in Microsoft Azure

The following platforms are supported for Cisco vWAAS in Microsoft Azure:

  • vWAAS in Azure is available for vWAAS Version 6.2.1x and later, and is supported for vWAAS-200, vWAAS-750, vWAAS-1300, vWAAS-2500, vWAAS-6000, and vWAAS-12000v.
  • vWAAS in Azure is not currently supported for vWAAS-50000.

Table 6-1 Microsoft Azure VM Sizes for Cisco WAAS vWAAS Models

vWAAS Model
Maximum Connections
Data Disk
Minimum Azure VM Size

vWAAS-200

200

160 GB

D2_v2 (2 cores, 7GB)

vWAAS-750

750

250 GB

D2_v2 (2 cores, 7GB)

vWAAS-1300

1300

300 GB

D2_v2 (2 cores, 7GB)

vWAAS-2500

2500

400 GB

D3_v2 (4 cores, 14GB)

vWAAS-6000

6000

500 GB

D3_v2 (4 cores, 14GB)

vWAAS-12000

12000

750 GB

D3_v2 (4 cores, 14GB)

Operating Considerations for Cisco vWAAS in Microsoft Azure

Note the following operating considerations for Cisco vWAAS in Microsoft Azure:

  • vWAAS in Azure is available for all vWAAS models, for WAAS Version 6.2.1 and later.
  • You can display and identify an Azure vWAAS device on the WAAS Central Manager or the CLI:

–blank.gif On the WAAS Central Manager, navigate to the Manage Devices screen. The vWAAS in Azure device type is displayed as OE-VWAAS-AZURE.

–blank.gif On the CLI, use either the show version EXEC command or the show hardware EXEC command. Output for both commands will include device ID, shown as OE-VWAAS-AZURE.

  • vWAAS in Azure communicates with the WAAS Central Manager in the same ways as physical appliances communicate with the Central Manager.

A vWAAS in Azure device is displayed on the WAAS Central Manager as AZURE-VWAAS. To display vWAAS in Azure devices, navigate to Home > Devices > All Devices. The Device Type column shows all WAAS and vWAAS devices.

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Noteblank.gif For vWAAS in Azure, the supported traffic interception method is PBR (Police-Based Routing); vWAAS in Azure does not support WCCP or AppNav interception methods.

  • Registering the vWAAS in Azure to the WAAS Central Manager:

–blank.gif If you register the vWAAS with the WAAS Central Manager using a private IP address, following the usual vWAAS registration process described in Configuring vWAAS Settings of Chapter 2, “Configuring and Cisco vWAAS and Viewing vWAAS Components.

–blank.gif If you register the vWAAS with the WAAS Central Manager using a public IP address, you must specify the public address of the vWAAS in the WAAS Central Manager Device Activation screen (navigate to Devices > device-name > Activation).

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Noteblank.gif After you have registered the vWAAS in Azure device to the WAAS Central Manager, you must configure the public IP address of the Central Manager. The vWAAS in Azure device can contact the Central Manager only by using the public IP address of the registration. To set the public IP address of the WAAS Central Manager:

1. In the WAAS Central Manager, navigate to Home > Devices > Primary-CM-Device > Configure > Network > NatSettings.

2. In the NAT IP field, enter the public IP address of the Central Manager.

Operating Limitations for Cisco vWAAS in Microsoft Azure

Note the following operating limitations for Cisco vWAAS in Microsoft Azure:

  • vWAAS auto-registration is not supported, because Microsoft Azure uses DHCP to configure VMs with IP address and Azure fabric server IP address. There will be operational issues if you deploy a separate DHCP server for auto-registration.

Functionality similar to auto-registration is available by providing the WAAS CM IP address during VM provisioning. The vWAAS VM will try to register with this WAAS CM during provisioning.

  • Microsoft Azure does not support GRE, IPv6, or Jumbo Frames, therefore vWAAS in Azure does not support these features.
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Noteblank.gif For vWAAS in Azure, the supported traffic interception method is PBR (Police-Based Routing); vWAAS in Azure does not support WCCP or AppNav interception methods.

  • WAAS/vWAAS with Akamai Connect is not supported for vWAAS in Azure.

Upgrade/Downgrade Considerations for Cisco vWAAS in Microsoft Azure

Note the following upgrade/downgrade considerations for Cisco vWAAS in Microsoft Azure:

  • The procedure for upgrading or downgrading vWAAS in Azure, for all vWAAS models except vWAAS-50000, is the same as for any other WAAS device.
  • Downgrading a device or device group for vWAAS in Azure to a WAAS Version earlier than Version 6.2.1 is not supported.

Deployment Options for Cisco vWAAS in Miscrosoft Azure

There are two major deployment options for Cisco vWAAS in Microsoft Azure:

  • A SaaS application, such as an enterprise application where you control hosting of the application

In this type of deployment, both the application server and Cisco vWAAS can be put in the Azure cloud just as in a private cloud. The vWAAS is very close to the server, and tied to the server movement. In this case, the traffic flow is very similar to that in a normal enterprise data center deployment.

  • A SaaS application such as Office 365, where you do not control hosting of the application

In this type of deployment, you do not have control over the application in the cloud; you control only the vWAAS. In this case, traffic from the CSR in the branch is tunneled to the CSR in Azure, which is then redirected to the vWAAS. A Destination Network Address Translation (DNAT) is performed to get the traffic back to the CSR in the Azure cloud from the SaaS application. For more information on Office 365 and WAAS, see Accelerate Microsoft Office 365 Shared Deployments with Cisco WAAS WAN Optimization.

Provisioning the vWAAS VM in Microsoft Azure

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Noteblank.gif To deploy vWAAS in Azure, you need a Microsoft Azure Pay-As-You-Go subscription. Subscription procedure and billing information are available on the Microsoft Azure website.

To provision the vWAAS VM in Microsoft Azure, follow these steps:

Step 1blank.gif Login to the Microsoft Azure portal.

Step 2blank.gif Navigate to New > Compute > Virtual Machine > From Gallery.

The Create a Virtual Machine/Choose an Image screen is displayed.

Step 3blank.gif At the Create a Virtual Machine/Choose an Image > My Images screen, select the vWAAS Azure image for your system.

The Create a Virtual Machine/Virtual Machine Configuration screen is displayed.

Step 4blank.gif In the Virtual Machine Name field, enter the name of the VM you want to create. Use only letters and numbers, up to a maximum of 15 characters.

Step 5blank.gif In the Tier field, select Standard.

Step 6blank.gif At the Size dropdown list, select the Azure VM size for your system. Table 6-2 shows the minimum Azure VM size for each vWAAS model available for provisioning in the Tier field.

Table 6-2 Microsoft Azure VM Sizes for Cisco WAAS vWAAS Models

vWAAS Model
Maximum Connections
Data Disk
Minimum Azure VM Size

vWAAS-200

200

160 GB

D2_v2 (2 cores, 7GB)

vWAAS-750

750

250 GB

D2_v2 (2 cores, 7GB)

vWAAS-1300

1300

300 GB

D2_v2 (2 cores, 7GB)

vWAAS-2500

2500

400 GB

D3_v2 (4 cores, 14GB)
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Noteblank.gif Use the Microsoft Azure Tier field to select an Azure VM for the vWAAS models shown in Table 6-2. For vWAAS-6000 and vWAAS-12000, you must use the template to specify the Azure VM. For more information, see Deploying vWAAS in Microsoft Azure. For Azure VM sizes for vWAAS-6000 and vWAAS-12000, see Table 6-1.

Step 7blank.gif In the New User Name field, enter your user name.

Step 8blank.gif In the New Password field, enter your password.

Step 9blank.gif In the Confirm field, re-enter your password.

Step 10blank.gif (Optional) If your system uses SSH key-based authentication:

a.blank.gif Check the Upload compatible SSH key for authentication checkbox.

b.blank.gif At the Certificate field, browse for the certificate file for your system.

Step 11blank.gif (Optional) If your system requires a password, check the Provide a password checkbox.

Step 12blank.gif Click the right arrow at the lower right of the screen to proceed to the next screen.

The next Create a Virtual Machine/Virtual Machine Configuration screen is displayed.

Step 13blank.gif At the Cloud Service dropdown list, select Create a Cloud Service.

Step 14blank.gif In the Cloud Service DNS Name field, enter the name of the VM that you created in Step 4.

In the naming style of Azure VMs, the DNS name has cloudapp.net automatically appended to it.

Step 15blank.gif At the Region/Affinity Group/Virtual Network dropdown list, choose a location that is in close proximity to the resources you want to optimize, such as East US or North Europe.

The Region/Affinity Group/Virtual Network setting determines the location of the VM within the Azure cloud data centers.

Step 16blank.gif At the Storage Account dropdown list, select Use an automatically generated storage account.

Step 17blank.gif At the Availability Set dropdown list, choose (None).

Step 18blank.gif Click the right arrow at the lower right corner of the screen to proceed to the next screen.

The Virtual Machines/Virtual Machine Instances screen is displayed

Step 19blank.gif By default, the Install the VM Agent check box is checked.

Step 20blank.gif In the Endpoints section:

a.blank.gif Add an endpoint for SSH (port 22)

b.blank.gif Add an endpoint for HTTPS (port 443)

Step 21blank.gif Click the checkmark at the lower right corner of the screen to proceed for provisioning vWAAS.

The Virtual Machines/Virtual Machine Instances screen is displayed, showing the newly-created VM with an initial status of Starting (Provisioning).

Step 22blank.gif The process takes a few minutes before the VM status is displayed as running.

Step 23blank.gif Select the vWAAS VM.

Step 24blank.gif Attach the data disks. See Table 6-2 for data disk sizes for Azure VMs.

Step 25blank.gif Stop and then start the VM, so that it picks up the attached disks.

Your VM is ready to be deployed, with end-to-end setup.

 

Deploying vWAAS in Microsoft Azure

This section has the following topics:

Deploying vWAAS VM and Data Disk with the VHD Template

To deploy the vWAAS VM and data disk with the VHD template, follow these steps:

Step 1blank.gif Copy vwaas.vhd to the storage account using AzCopy.

The AzCopy command parameters are:

    • Source: The local folder address on the Windows device where the VHD file is stored.
    • Dest: The location of the container on the Azure cloud storage account.
    • Destkey: The Azure cloud storage account key.

Step 2blank.gif Use the template to deploy the vWAAS VM.

The vWAAS VM is deployed with the data disk.

Step 3blank.gif Log in with your username and password.

Step 4blank.gif (Optional) To verify deployment details such as CMS registration and WAAS Central Manager address, see Verifying the vWAAS in Azure Deployment.

 

Deploying vWAAS VM with Template and Custom VHD from the Microsoft ARM Portal

To deploy the vWAAS VM with a template and custom VHD from the Microsoft Azure Resource Manager (ARM) portal, follow these steps:

Step 1blank.gif Prerequisite: Verify that the vWAAS VM is provisioned in Azure, including the creation of a storage account and a VM location in Azure specified. For more information, see Provisioning the vWAAS VM in Microsoft Azure.

Step 2blank.gif Copy vwaas.vhd to the storage account using Azcopy.

Step 3blank.gif Use the template to deploy the vWAAS VM.

Step 4blank.gif At the Microsoft ARM portal, navigate to New > Template Deployment > Edit Template.

Step 5blank.gif Paste the template here.

Step 6blank.gif For the parameters, enter the values for your system, such as resource group and resource group location, and whether or not to deploy the vWAAS VM in a new or existing virtual network.

Step 7blank.gif Accept the Terms and Conditions.

Step 8blank.gif Click Create.

Step 9blank.gif The vWAAS VM is deployed.

Step 10blank.gif Log in with your username and password.

Step 11blank.gif (Optional) To verify deployment details such as CMS registration and WAAS Central Manager address, see Verifying the vWAAS in Azure Deployment.

 

Deploying vWAAS VM Using Windows Powershell

To deploy the vWAAS VM using Windows Powershell, follow these steps:

Step 1blank.gif Prerequisite: Verify that the vWAAS VM is provisioned in Azure, including the creation of a storage account and a VM location in Azure specified. For more information, see Provisioning the vWAAS VM in Microsoft Azure.

Step 2blank.gif Deploy vWAAS on Microsoft Hyper-V. For information on this deployment procedure, see Chapter 5, “Cisco vWAAS on Microsoft Hyper-V”

Step 3blank.gif Run the azure_predeploy.sh script in Hyper-V, to set the necessary Azure parameters.

Step 4blank.gif Export the flash VHD from the Hyper-V disk location to the storage account in Azure, using AzCopy.

Step 5blank.gif Use Windows Powershell commands to specify the following parameters:

    • Use the deployName command to specify the deployment name.
    • Use the RGName command to specify the resource group.
    • Use the locName command to specify the location.
    • Use the templateURI command to specify the template file.

Step 6blank.gif Use the New-AzureRmResourceGroup -Name $RGName -Location $locName Powershell command to create the resource group.

Step 7blank.gif Use the New-AzureRmResourceGroupDeployment Powershell cmdlet to deploy vWAAS in Azure. To complete the deployment, specify values for the following parameters:

    • userImageStorageAccountName
    • userImageStoragContainerName
    • userImageVhdName
    • osType
    • vmName
    • adminUserName
    • adminPassword

Step 8blank.gif After you enter these parameters, vWAAS in Azure is deployed. The system displays provisioning information, including deployment name, provisioning state, date/time, and mode.

Step 9blank.gif Log in with your username and password.

Step 10blank.gif (Optional) To verify deployment details such as CMS registration and WAAS Central Manager address, see Verifying the vWAAS in Azure Deployment.

 

Verifying the vWAAS in Azure Deployment

Table 6-3 provides a checklist for verifying the vWAAS VM deployment in Microsoft Azure.

Table 6-3 Checklist for Verifying the vWAAS in Azure Deployment

Task
Description

Viewing vWAAS in Azure vWAAS devices
  • On the WAAS Central Manager, navigate to the Manage Devices screen. The vWAAS in Azure device type is displayed as OE-VWAAS-AZURE.
  • On the WAAS CLI, use either the show version EXEC command or the show hardware EXEC command. Output for both commands will include device ID, shown as OE-VWAAS-AZURE.

Viewing Boot Information and Diagnostics

On the Azure portal, navigate to Virtual Machines > VM > Settings > Boot Diagnostics on the Azure portal.

Verifying CMS Registration

If the Centralized Management System (CMS) is enabled, use the show cms device status name command to display status for the specified device or device group.

note.gif

Noteblank.gif After you have registered the vWAAS in Azure device to the WAAS Central Manager, you must configure the public IP address of the Central Manager. The vWAAS in Azure device can contact the Central Manager only by using the public IP address of the registration. To set the public IP address of the WAAS Central Manager:

1. In the WAAS Central Manager, navigate to Home > Devices > Primary-CM-Device > Configure > Network > NatSettings.

2. In the NAT IP field, enter the public IP address of the Central Manager.

Verifying WAAS Central Manager Address

Use the show running-config command to display information about all WAAS device.
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Noteblank.gif Whenever ARP cache(s) are cleared or the vWAAS is rebooted, packets may not be forwarded to the next hop in Azure cloud. To ensure that packets are successfully forwarded, use the ping EXEC command to update the ARP cache table.