2.5

When a database client or application connects to a database using the Data
Director JDBC or database drivers, the driver retrieves the database IP address
from the DB Name Server using the connection string. The driver sets up the
connection between the application and the target database. When you use the
application to access the database, the application uses that connection. This
means that the DB Access Network must be visible from all database clients.
The advantage provided by DB Name Service is that the database applications
are not affected when the database server's IP address changes. This enables
databases to use dynamic IP addresses from a DHCP server, or from an IP pool,
and lowers management costs.
Data Director Networks
Data Director uses the following networks to carry different types of network traffic.
vCenter Network
Carries management traffic between vCenter Server and the Data Director
Management Server. This network carries commands that the Management
Server uses to interact with vCenter Server and all the ESXi hosts managed by
that vCenter Server.
Internal Network
Carries internal management traffic among databases, the Data Director
Management Server, and the DB Name Server.
Web Console Network
Carries traffic between Web clients (console) and the Data Director
Management Server.
DB Name Service
Network
Carries traffic for the name service for databases. The DB Name Server
performs database name to IP address translation (database connection
services) and must be reachable from database clients.
DB Access Networks
Data Director includes one or more DB Access Networks for carrying SQL
traffic between database clients and database virtual machines (DBVMs). Each
DB Access Network must have IP pool or DHCP enabled.
Traffic for more than one Data Director network can be on the same physical network. For example, vCenter
Network traffic can share the identical vSphere network with the Web Console Network traffic.
Some possible network configurations are as follows.
n
Four separate networks, one for carrying each type of Data Director network traffic, plus one or more
networks for carrying database (SQL) network traffic to and from databases. See “Four VLAN Network
Configuration,” on page 18.
n
Two networks, one for carrying database (SQL) network traffic and one shared network that carries all
Data Director Management Server network traffic. This configuration is the minimum network
configuration. See “Two VLAN Network Configuration,” on page 20.
Database clients send and receive SQL traffic from database servers on the DB Access Network. Data Director
supports more than one database network VLAN for better network isolation, for example, to isolate QA SQL
traffic from production traffic.
If you set up two separate database networks, the database network traffic can use the vCenter Network, Web
Console Network, or DB Name Server Network.
You can have as many database networks as your site requires. However, database clients must have access
to the DB Name Service Network.
VMware vFabric Data Director Installation Guide
14 VMware, Inc.