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Capturing physical network traffic with VMware vSensor

How to capture physical network traffic using a VMware vSensor.

It may be desirable to mirror traffic from a physical switch to a VMware vSensor. There are two ways to mirror traffic from a physical switch into a VMware ESXi hypervisor host for monitoring by a Vectra vSensor.

The first method utilizes a dedicated physical NIC on the host chassis to carry tagged or untagged traffic from the mirror session on the switch to the vSensor on the host. The second method utilizes a VLAN that is trunked over a link to the host.

Method 1: Dedicated link to ESXi host

Utilizing a dedicated link from the physical switch to the ESXi host may require the addition of a dedicated vSwitch due to VLAN tagging. The following procedure outlines the necessary steps required to setup ESXi's network to accomplish this.

1

Add a new virtual switch

  • To add new virtual switch, enter the Networking menu and choose Add standard virtual switch.

  • Create the new vSwitch by choosing the appropriate physical NIC that is attached to the mirror output port as the Uplink.

  • Under Security settings, enable Promiscuous mode.

2

Create port group for capture interface

  • On the Port groups tab, click Add port group.

  • Enter VLAN ID 4095 to monitor all VLANs being trunked (including native) over the physical link from the switch.

  • Select the virtual switch created in the previous step for Virtual switch.

  • Ensure that the port group's security settings are being inherited from the vSwitch.

3

Configure vSensor’s network adapter

  • Edit the settings of the Vectra vSensor

  • Select the newly created port group in the previous step for the appropriate capture interface.

  • Click Save.

4

Verify vSensor is receiving packets

  • Log in to the vSensor's CLI

  • Run the command show traffic stats several times to verify the interface is receiving traffic as expected and packets_received counts are increasing. Please note that this command will only function after the vSensor has been paired and updated from the Brain. For details, please see the earlier guidance about the embryo state of vSensors immediately after initial deployment.

Method 2: Utilizing a VLAN tag over an existing trunked link

When a dedicated physical link between the switch and the ESXi host is not desired or possible, a switch's mirroring session output can usually be configured to output on a VLAN. Configuration on the physical network will vary by deployment and network vendor. Please work with your networking team and/or vendor to complete physical network configuration.

1

Create the port group

  • Create a port group for the vSensor's capture interface.

  • In ESXi's Networking menu, choose the Port groups tab.

  • Click on Add port group.

  • Enter the VLAN ID that the switch will be mirroring traffic over (4000 in this case).

  • Choose the appropriate virtual switch that has the physical link trunking the VLAN.

  • Ensure Promiscuous mode is enabled under Security.

2

Configure the vSensor

  • Edit the settings of the vSensor.

  • Select the newly created port group in the previous step for the appropriate capture interface.

3

Verify vSensor is receiving packets

  • Log in to the vSensor's CLI.

  • Run the command show traffic stats several times to verify the interface is receiving traffic as expected and packets_received counts are increasing. Please note that this command will only function after the vSensor has been paired and updated from the Brain. For details, please see the earlier guidance about the embryo state of vSensors immediately after initial deployment.

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