VMware NSX and Horizon

Bringing VMware NSX and Horizon together
Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) has become an even more popular virtualization option for many organizations and VMware customers.

VMware continues to work with partners to advance the protection of VDI deployments. Most recently the focus has been on introducing advanced security controls with VMware NSX (network virtualization platform) and Horizon 6 (VDI) environment. VDI in combination with NSX offers organizations the chance to make huge leaps forward in the security and management of their virtualized desktop deployments.

Two big challenges that have slowed the adoption of large-scale desktop virtualization in the past are:

• The lack of effective security that is equal to or better than a physical desktop
• Difficulty scaling out deployments rapidly and quickly without losing visibility or control.

NSX addresses these concerns and much more.

Security for VDI deployments is more critical because of the need to limit “east-west traffic,” the internal traffic in the data center. However, “east-west traffic” isn’t monitored well, if at all, by traditional perimeter defenses. For example a basic surfing or email mistake by a trusted end user could bring a threat right past those defenses into your data center resulting in a breach.

VMware NSX with Horizon enables micro-segmentation and automates the deployment and provisioning processes. This allows for the insertion of advanced security services from third parties that includes:

• Anti-malware
• IDS/IPS
• Integrity monitoring
• URL filtering
• Virtual patching

This provides instant, automated protection as soon as a new virtual desktop is spun up. 

NSX brings security inside the data center with automated fine-grained policies tied to the virtual machines, while its network virtualization capabilities let you create entire networks in software, without touching the underlying physical infrastructure

• Elimination of VLAN sprawl, network flattening to L2
• Role-based application of networking and security policies
• Elimination of complex hardware configuration tools and syntax
• Pervasive and persistent application of policies across the data center, wherever the VM is running, as soon as the VM spans on the host
• Multi-layered defense with partner solution service-chaining (for example, antivirus, malware, NG Firewall)
• Scalable performance with kernel-integrated network function processing (as opposed to a VM appliance approach)

• Improved regulatory compliancy
• Improved risk mitigation
• Security for desktop user workloads residing with other mission-critical workloads in the data center
• Improved business agility – accelerated desktop-pool deployment with rapid network onboarding​

To learn more about NSX and Horizon see the VMware Deep-dive video below.