Border Gateway Protocol, open-source and it's para-virtualized. No more proprietary software and hardware, you can run as many copies of this as needed on one physical XenServer machine. As a proof point, we used the Vyatta Open Source router to build out our Link Load Balancing network in Santa Clara.  The Open Source Vyatta is running on a Dell server. We configured the BGP routing protocol, but could have have also configured OSPF or RIP and redistributed the routes. This configuration has been proven to outperform the incumbents, and is less costly by a wide margin.  Reduce opex and capex and start rolling this out today.  

What is needed:

• Vyatta Open Source Networking Software
• A Dell Server that supports Virtualization
• XenServer Enterprise 4.1

The Network:

Watch this Video:

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We are all used to the familiar commands to configure IP Addressing on *nix and *dows types of systems, however there is a little bit of a trick involved with XenServer. 

Imagine if you had built your XenServer in one location and then transported it to another location where a different IP Addressing scheme was being used.  In order to have XenCenter come in contact with the XenServer again, you will need to re-configure the Management IP Address.  Since you probably won't RTM, and you don't want to rip your hair out trying to figure it out, the steps are outlined in this XenServer Tip.

Download this XenTip.

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And it's FREE! Throw away those behemoths that suck power from every grid in the state and drain your budget. This baby is Free, Open Source and VIRTUAL, meaning you can run as many instances of this router as you want on your choice of hardware. What is even more gratifying is it's faster than the old router technology.

Vyatta has commoditized router, firewall and VPN deployment in the same way that Linux commoditized the operating system market. Vyatta open-source networking offers you an alternative to over-priced, inflexible products from proprietary vendors.

Vyatta software enables customers to build routing and security solutions using standard x86-based hardware of their choosing, ensuring networks will always meet performance requirements. Vyatta open-source software delivers the unique advantage of allowing customers to scale networks from the simplest LAN configurations to large BGP WAN edge configurations using a single software package.

Vyatta software includes support for most commonly used network interfaces, industry standard routing and management protocols, and all of these features are configurable via a single command-line interface (CLI) or web-based graphical user interface (GUI) - avail Q3'08. The integrated features and functionality make Vyatta software ideal for SMB, Branch Office, Enterprise and Service Provider deployments.

Summary of features:
BGP, OSPF, RIP, DHCP, QoS, IPSec VPN, VRRP, PPP, 802.1Q, Complete List.

This open source router is already running on XenServer in a large service provider in Europe. We are using it in our Citrix Ready program as a multi-link Intranet with connections to the Internet along with high availability link load balancing.

This para-virtualized Vyatta image runs as a virtual appliance in XenServer v3.2.1 and v4.1.

The XenServer Platform we are using:

• Dell Poweredge 2950 server.
• 2 x Intel 64-bit Quad-Core Xeon Processors, Model E5335 @ 2.00 GHz each, for a total of 8 CPUs.
• 2 Intel 82571EB Gigabit Ethernet (on-board)
• 2 Broadcom NetXtremeII Gigabit Ethernet
• 16 GB of memory.
• 300 GB of Storage.
• XenServer v4.1
• *note: CPU's must support virtualization technology.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Virtual Router - Install:

Virtual Router - Config:

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