Cisco vWAAS Configuration Guide (for WAAS 6.4.1x)

Benefits of Cisco vWAAS

The following are some of the benefits of deploying Cisco vWAAS on your system:

• On-demand orchestration of WAN optimization
• Fault tolerance with virtual machine (VM) mobility awareness
• Lower operating expenses for customers who are migrating their applications to the cloud
• Private and virtual private cloud environments:

– Use vWAAS to create value-added WAN optimization services on a per-application basis, for optimized delivery to remote branch-office users.

– Associate vWAAS services with application server virtual machines as they are moved in response to dynamic load demand in the cloud, to offer rapid delivery of WAN optimization services, with minimal network configuration or disruption.

• Public cloud environments:

– Deploy vWAAS in public clouds, with the Cisco Nexus 1000V Series, to obtain benefits similar to benefits vWAAS produces in private cloud environments.

Cisco vWAAS Models: CPUs, Memory, and Disk Storage

Table 1-2 shows the default number of vCPUs, memory capacity, and disk storage for each vWAAS model for vWAAS for WAAS Version 6.4.1 and earlier. Table 1-8 shows the resizing capability for vWAAS for WAAS Version 6.4.1a and later.

Table 1-2 CPUs, Memory, and Disk Storage for vWAAS Models

For the vWAAS models noted below, follow these operating guidelines for CPU, memory, and disk storage:

• When using vWAAS-150 or vWAAS-200 with the KVM hypervisor, you must increase the default memory of 3 GB to 4 GB.
• When vWAAS-6000, 1300, 12000, or 50000 are used with Akamai Connect and when connections are more than 70% of TFO, response time will be on the higher side. Adding CPUs to these models when used with Akamai Connect may improve response time.
• Table 1-3 shows where to find more information on specific vWAAS models and their applications.

Table 1-3 For More Information on Specific vWAAS Models

Cisco vWAAS-150000 for WAAS 6.4.1a

Cisco vWAAS-150000, available for vWAAS for WAAS Version 6.4.1a, supports 150,000 connections. Table 1-4 shows specifications for Cisco vWAAS-150000.

Consider the following operating guidelines for Cisco vWAAS-150000:

• Cisco vWAAS-150000 replaces Cisco WAVE-8541, which has end-of-sale (EOS) and end-of-life (EOL) dates. For more information on WAVE-8541 EOS/EOL dates, see the End-of-Sale and End-of-Life Announcement for the Cisco WAVE 294, 594, 694, 7541, 7571 and 8541.
• For vWAAS with WAAS Version 6.4.1a, the supported hypervisor for vWAAS-150000 is VMware ESXi Version 5.5 or later. For more information on vWAAS on the VMware ESXi hypervisor, see Chapter 4, “Cisco vWAAS on VMware ESXi” .
• Traffic interception methods used with vWAAS-150000 are AppNav, Policy-Based Routing (PBR), and Web Cache Communications Protocol (WCCP).
• Upgrading vWAAS-150000 to a version later than vWAAS for WAAS Version 6.4.1a is supported.
• Downgrading vWAAS-150000 to a version earlier than vWAAS for WAAS Version 6.4.1a is not supported.

Table 1-4 vWAAS-150000 Specifications

VMware VMFS Block Size and vWAAS Disk Size

Table 1-5 shows the VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) block size and associated vWAAS maximum disk file size. For more information on VMware and vWAAS interoperability, see Table 1-12.

Table 1-5 VMware VMFS Block Size and vWAAS Maximum File Size

Note For vWAAS models that have a disk size greater than 256 GB, a VMFS block size greater than 1 MB is required.

Cisco vCM Models: Managed Nodes, vCPUs, Memory, and Disk Storage

Table 1-6 shows the number of managed nodes and disk storage for each vCM model, as well as the required and recommended number of vCPUs and the required and recommended memory capacity.

Note Cisco vWAAS installation packages are configured with the minimal required amounts of CPU and memory resources to accommodate the various hypervisor setups. These minimal requirements are sufficient for initial setup and a limited number of nodes.

However, as the number of managed devices on your system increases, the Central Manager service can experience intermittent restarts or flapping—device states when under resource shortage. To remedy this, please configure the recommended values for number of CPUs and memory shown in Table 1-6.

Table 1-6 vCM Models: Managed Nodes, vCPUs, Memory, and Disk Storage

About vWAAS Resizing

vWAAS for WAAS Version 6.4.1a and later requires additional resources, so we highly recommend that you resize CPU and memory resources, as shown in Table 1-8, and resize DRE object cache and Akamai Connect Cache, as shown in Table 1-9.

Caution Resizing CPU and memory resources is highly recommended, although optional, for vWAAS models on all hypervisors. For vWAAS for WAAS 6.4.1b and later, options are provided during vWAAS deployment for you to choose either original or resized resources.

For vWAAS for WAAS Version 6.4.1b, you cannot deploy vWAAS-12000 or vWAAS-50000 in Microsoft Hyper-V with the original resources. For a successful deployment of vWAAS 12000 or vWAAS-50000 in Microsoft Hyper-V with original resources, do a new deployment with WAAS Version 6.4.1 or earlier, and then perform the bin upgrade to WAAS Version 6.4.1b.

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Note ISR-WAAS and vCM are not resized for vWAAS for WAAS Version 6.4.1a.

Resizing vWAAS on the recommended platforms enables vWAAS to scale to optimized TCP connections for the associated device, and to reduce CPU and RAM utilization.

Note For optimum performance, we recommend you use the SSD disk with the UCS models listed in Table 1-8.

Table 1-8 Resized vWAAS CPU and Memory Specifications for WAAS Version 6.4.1a and Later

Table 1-9 shows the default and resized DRE disk capacity, object cache capacity, and Akamai Connect cache capacity, by vWAAS model.

Table 1-9 Default and Resized DRE, OC, and Akamai Connect Cache, by vWAAS Model

Resizing Guidelines: Upgrading to WAAS Version 6.4.1a and Later

This section contains the following procedures:

• Upgrading to WAAS Version 6.4.1a and Later with Existing CPU and Memory
• Upgrading to WAAS Version 6.4.1a and Later with Resized CPU and Memory

Upgrading to WAAS Version 6.4.1a and Later with Existing CPU and Memory

You can use the CLI or the Central Manager to upgrade to WAAS Version 6.4.1a, with existing CPU and memory:

Using the CLI to perform the upgrade with existing CPU and memory:

1. During the upgrade, if the vCPU and memory resources are undersized, you will be prompted to resize these vWAAS parameters before the upgrade.

2. You can continue the upgrade procedure and retain the existing vWAAS resources.

Note For vWAAS for WAAS 6.4.1a only, after the upgrade there will be undersized-resource alarms for vCPU and memory for the vWAAS device. Use the show alarms command to display information undersized alarms for the vWAAS model.

Using the Central Manager to perform the upgrade with existing CPU and memory:

1. During the upgrade, if the vCPU and memory resources are undersized, there will be an informational note on the upgrade page, but there will not be a prompt to resize these vWAAS parameters before the upgrade.

2. You can continue the upgrade procedure and retain the existing vWAAS resources.

Note For vWAAS for WAAS 6.4.1a only, after the upgrade there will be undersized-resource alarms for vCPU and memory for the vWAAS device. Use the show alarms command to display information undersized alarms for the vWAAS model.

Upgrading to WAAS Version 6.4.1a and Later with Resized CPU and Memory

You can use the CLI or the Central Manager to upgrade to WAAS Version 6.4.1a, with resized CPU and memory:

Using the CLI to perform the upgrade with resized CPU and memory:

1. During the upgrade, if the vCPU and memory resources are undersized, you will be prompted to resize these vWAAS parameters before the upgrade.

2. You can then cancel the upgrade procedure.

3. After shutting down the vWAAS instance, manually increase the vCPU and memory, from the hypervisor, to meet your specifications.

• To change settings in VMware ESXi: Navigate to Edit Settings... > Hardware tab.
• To change settings in Microsoft Hyper-V: Navigate to Virtual Machine > Settings... > Hardware.
• To change settings in RHEL KVM/CentOS:

a. Open Virtual Manager.

b. Navigate to Virtual Machine > CPUs.

c. Navigate to Virtual Machine > Memory.

• To change settings in Cisco NFVIS, for the Cisco vBranch solution:

a. Navigate to VM Life Cycle > Image Repository > Profiles and add another profile with: resized CPU, memory, and same disk size.

b. Navigate to VM Life Cycle > Deploy > VM Details and select the resized profile created.

c. Click Deploy.

Note If you use the Route Manager Debugging (RMD) process with vBranch: To ensure that the RMD process will start successfully in vBranch deployment, you must manually connect both the interfaces before starting the vWAAS.

• To change settings Microsoft Azure:

a. Navigate to Deployments > Microsoft Template Overview > Custom Deployment,

b. Navigate to Home > Virtual Machines > vWAAS Instance > Size.

4. Restart the upgrade procedure. With the resized vCPU and memory, the host should have sufficient resources for a successful upgrade.

5. Resources will not change automatically in subsequent upgrades/downgrades of the system change, manual intervention is required to change the resource.

Using the Central Manager to perform the upgrade with resized CPU and memory:

1. During the upgrade, if the vCPU and memory resources are undersized, there will be an informational note on the upgrade page, but there will not be a prompt to resize these vWAAS parameters before the upgrade.

Note You cannot cancel the upgrade procedure, in process, from the Central Manager.

2. Resources will not change in subsequent upgrades/downgrades of the system.

Resizing Guidelines: Installing WAAS 6.4.1a

This section contains the following topics:

• New Installation with Existing CPU and Memory
• New Installation with Resized CPU and Memory

New Installation with Existing CPU and Memory

1. Install the vWAAS OVA with a WAAS version earlier than WAAS Version 6.4.1a, which, by default, will deploy with resized resource.

2. Upgrade to WAAS Version 6.4.1a and retain existing CPU and memory resources.

3. After installation is complete, there will be undersized-resource alarms for CPU and memory for the vWAAS device. You use the show alarms command to display information about undersized alarms for the vWAAS model.

4. After resources are upgraded, there will not be any automatic change in resources for subsequent upgrades/downgrades of the system.

New Installation with Resized CPU and Memory

1. Install vWAAS OVA with version WAAS 6.4.1a.

2. The host should have sufficient resources of resized CPU and resized memory for a successful deployment.

3. After resources are upgraded, there will not be any automatic change in resources for subsequent upgrades/downgrades of the system.

Resizing Guidelines by Hypervisor for WAAS 6.4.1b and Later

This section contains the following topics:

• Resizing for vWAAS on VMware ESXi
• Resizing for vWAAS on Microsoft Hyper-V
• Resizing for vWAAS on RHEL CentOS or SUSE Linux
• Resizing for vWAAS on NFVIS

Resizing for vWAAS on VMware ESXi

To resize CPU and memory for vWAAS on VMware ESXi, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the vSphere Client, choose Deploy OVF Template > Deployment Configuration (Figure 1-2).

Figure 1-2 vSphere Client Deployment Configuration Screen

Step 2 At the Configuration drop-down list, choose the vWAAS model for this hypervisor (Figure 1-2).

For example, if you are choosing vWAAS-6000, you can choose vWAAS-6000-Original or vWAAS-6000-Resized.

Resizing for vWAAS on Microsoft Hyper-V

To resize CPU and memory for vWAAS on Microsoft Hyper-V, follow these steps:

Step 1 Login to the WAAS Installer for Microsoft Hyper-V, which displays a list of supported WAAS models (Figure 1-3).

Figure 1-3 vWAAS and vCM Resources for vWAAS on Hyper-V

Step 2 At the Enter vWAAS/vCM model to install prompt, enter the line number for the model you want to install. For example, from the listing shown in Figure 1-3. entering 7 would select vWAAS-6000.

Step 3 At the Do you want to install vWAAS-6000 with resized resources [y/n] prompt, enter Y to select resized resources.

Step 4 After you select Y, the system displays the associated script, for example:

Resizing for vWAAS on RHEL CentOS or SUSE Linux

To resize CPU and memory for vWAAS on RHEL CentOS or on SUSE Linux, follow these steps:

Step 1 At the root@localhost screen, enter the resizing launch script:

Step 2 The system displays original and resized resources for each vWAAS model (Figure 1-4):

Figure 1-4 vWAAS and vCM Resources on CentOS or SUSE Linux

Step 3 At the Select the model type prompt, enter the line number of the model type for your system. For example, selecting 7 will select vWAAS-6000.

The system displays the message:

Step 4 Launch the EzDeploy script:

The EzDeploy script also displays both the original and resized resources as shown in Figure 1-5.

Figure 1-5 EZDeploy Listing of Original and Resized Resources

Step 5 The system deploys the selected model, with resized resources.

Resizing for vWAAS on NFVIS

For resizing for vWAAS on NFVIS, install the vWAAS OVA with version WAAS 6.4.1b. Figure 1-6 shows the NFVIS Profiles listing for original and resized vWAAS resources.

Figure 1-6 vWAAS Profiles Listing on vWAAS on NFVIS

For information on resizing vWAAS on NFVIS, see the Cisco Enterprise Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure Configuration Guide.

Platforms Supported for vWAAS, by Hypervisor Type

For each hypervisor used with vWAAS, Table 1-12 shows the types of platforms supported for vWAAS, including minimum WAAS version, host platform, and disk type.

Note ISR-4321 with IOS-XE 16.9.x is supported for vWAAS for WAAS Version 6.4.1b and later.

Table 1-12 Platforms Supported for vWAAS, by Hypervisor Type

Components for Deploying vWAAS, by Hypervisor Type

For each hypervisor used with vWAAS, Table 1-13 shows the components used to deploy vWAAS, including package format, deployment tool, pre-configuration tool (if needed), and network driver.

Table 1-13 Components for Deploying vWAAS, by Hypervisor Type

Note Cisco Virtual Interface Cards (VICs) are not qualified for vWAAS.

Components for Managing vWAAS, by Hypervisor Type

For each hypervisor used with vWAAS, Table 1-14 shows the components used to manage vWAAS, including vCM model, vWAAS model, number of instances supported, and traffic interception method used.

Table 1-14 Components for Managing vWAAS, by Hypervisor Type

Cisco UCS E-Series Servers and NCEs

This section has the following topics:

• vWAAS and Cisco UCS E-Series Interoperability
• vWAAS and Cisco UCS E-Series Memory Guidelines and Requirements

vWAAS and Cisco UCS E-Series Interoperability

Cisco UCS E-Series servers and UCS E-Series Network Compute Engines (NCEs) provide platforms for Cisco vWAAS and Cisco ISR routers. Table 1-15 shows the supported operating systems, Hypervisors, Cisco ISR routers, and minimum version of IOS-XE used.

Table 1-15 vWAAS and UCS E-Series Interoperability

vWAAS and Cisco UCS E-Series Memory Guidelines and Requirements

Table 1-16 shows memory and disk storage capacity for Cisco UCS E-Servers NCEs. When calculating memory requirements for your vWAAS system, include the following parameters:

• A minimum of 2 GB of memory is needed for VMware v5.0, v5.1, or v6.0.
• A minimum of 4 GB of memory is needed for VMware v5.5.
• You must also allocate memory overhead for vCPU memory. The amount is dependent on the number of vCPUs for your system: 1, 2, 4, or 8 vCPUs.

Note For information on vCPUs, ESXi server datastore memory, and disk space by vWAAS model and vCM model, see Table 4-3 and Table 4-4 in Chapter 4, “Cisco vWAAS on VMware ESXi”.

Example1: A deployment of vWAAS-750 on the UCS-E140S, using VMware v6.0.

1. UCS-E140S has a default value of 8 GB memory (which can be expanded to 48 GB).

2. vWAAS-750 requires 6 GB memory + VMware v6.0 requires 2 GB memory = 6 GB memory, which is below the default memory capacity of the UCS-E140S.

3. You can deploy vWAAS-750 on the UCS-E140S without adding additional memory to the UCS-E140S DRAM.

Example1: A deployment of vWAAS-1300 on the UCS-E140S, using VMware v6.0.

1. UCS-E140S has a default value of 8 GB DRAM, (which can be expanded to 48 GB).

2. vWAAS-1300 requires 6 GB memory + VMware v6.0 requires 2 GB DRAM = 8 GB memory, which equals the memory capacity of UCS-E140S.

3. To deploy vWAAS-1300 on the UCS-E140S, you must add additional memory to the UCS-E140S memory.

Note For the vWAAS datastore, you can use either SAN storage or local storage on the ESXi server. NAS (Network-Attached Storage) storage should only be used in nonproduction scenarios (for test purposes, for example).

Table 1-16 Memory and Disk Storage for Cisco UCS E-Servers NCEs

Cisco ENCS 5400 Series

This section contains the following topics:

• About the Cisco ENCS 5400 Series
• ENCS 5400 Series Hardware Features and Specifications

About the Cisco ENCS 5400 Series

The Cisco Enterprise Network Compute System (ENCS) 5400 Series is designed for the Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) solution, and is available for vWAAS for WAAS Version 6.4.1 and later.

The ENCS 5400 Series—ENCS 5406-W, 5408-W, and 5412-W—is an x86 hybrid platform for branch deployment and for hosting WAAS applications. This high-performance unit achieves this goal by providing the infrastructure to deploy virtualized network functions while at the same time acting as a server that addresses processing, workload, and storage challenges.

For more information on the Cisco ENCS 5400-W series, see the Cisco 5400 Enterprise Network Compute System Data Sheet.

For information on vWAAS with NFVIS on the ENCS 5400 Series, see Chapter 7, “Cisco vWAAS with Cisco Enterprise NFVIS” .

ENCS 5400 Series Hardware Features and Specifications

Table 1-17 shows specifications that apply to all three ENCS 5400 series models. For views of the Cisco ENCS 5400 Series and further information, see the Cisco 5400 Enterprise Network Compute System Data Sheet.

Table 1-17 ENCS 5400 Series Features and Specifications

Hypervisor OVA Package Format for vWAAS for WAAS Versions 5.x to 6.2.x

For vWAAS for WAAS Versions 5.x to 6.2.x, Cisco provides an OVA package for an NPE and non-NPE version for each vWAAS model connection profile.

For a listing of hypervisor-wise NPE and non-NPE OVA files for vWAAS or vCM, see the Cisco Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) Download Software Page and select the WAAS software version used with your vWAAS instance.

Table 1-18 shows the file formats for hypervisors supported for vWAAS and vCM, for WAAS Version 5.x to 6.2.x.

Table 1-18 File Formats for OVA Packages for vWAAS and vCM for WAAS Version 5.x to 6.2.x

Hypervisor-wise Unified OVA Package Format for vWAAS for WAAS Version 6.4.x and Later

For vWAAS with WAAS Version 6.4.x and later, Cisco provides a single unified OVA package, one each for the NPE and non-NPE version of the WAAS image for all the vWAAS and vCM models for that Hypervisor.

Each unified OVA package file provides an option to select a vWAAS or vCM model and other required parameters to launch vWAAS or vCM with WAAS in the required configuration.

Table 1-19 shows the unified OVA filename formats supported for hypervisors, appliances, vWAAS models, and vCM models.

Note On VMware ESXi, the OVA deployment for WAAS Version 6.4.1 and later must be done only through VMware vCenter.

For a listing of hypervisor-wise NPE and non-NPE OVA files for vWAAS or vCM, see the Cisco Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) Download Software Page and select the WAAS software version for your vWAAS instance.

Table 1-19 Unified OVA Filename Format Supported for Hypervisors, Appliances, vWAAS Models, and vCM Models