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Configure port mirroring in the Azure portal

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After deploying Azure VMware Solution, you can configure port mirroring from the Azure portal. Port mirroring places a protocol analyzer on the port that receives the mirrored data. It analyzes traffic from a source, a virtual machine (VM), or a group of VMs, and then sent to a defined destination. Use the following steps to configure port mirroring to monitor network traffic, which involves forwarding a copy of each packet from one network switch port to another.

Important

Port Mirroring is intended to be used as a temporary investigative tool and not a permanent network data collection feature. This is because NSX-T Data Center does not have the resources to port mirror all traffic continuously. The IPFIX feature should be used if a continuous meta-data network flow logging solution is required.

Prerequisites

An Azure VMware Solution private cloud with access to the vCenter Server and NSX-T Manager interfaces. For more information, see the Configure networking tutorial.

Create the VMs or VM groups

Create the source and destination VMs or VM groups. The source group has a single VM or multiple VMs where the traffic is mirrored.

  1. In your Azure VMware Solution private cloud, under Workload Networking, select Port mirroring > VM groups > Add.

    Screenshot showing how to create a VM group for port mirroring.

  2. Provide a name for the new VM group, select VMs from the list, and then OK.

  3. Repeat these steps to create the destination VM group.

    Note

    Before creating a port mirroring profile, make sure that you've created both the source and destination VM groups.

Create a port mirroring profile

Create a port mirroring profile that defines the traffic direction for the source and destination VM groups.

  1. Select Port mirroring > Port mirroring > Add and then provide:

    Screenshot showing the information required for the port mirroring profile.

    • Port mirroring name - Descriptive name for the profile.

    • Direction - Select from Ingress, Egress, or Bi-directional.

    • Source - Select the source VM group.

    • Destination - Select the destination VM group.

    • Description - Enter a description for the port mirroring.

  2. Select OK to complete the profile.

    The profile and VM groups are visible in the Azure VMware Solution console.