NSX Service Mesh Based on Istio Unveiled
Applicable to containers via CNI
Providing universal operating tools

On the 9th, VMware unveiled VMware NSX Service Mesh, which provides visibility, control, and security across microservices, data, and users at the API level.
VMware NSX Service Mesh extends Istio service mesh technology to provide visibility, control, and security for microservices, data, users, and existing monolithic applications at the application layer.

It also serves as a network and security replication service for the VMware NSX-T Data Center platform and can be applied to containers via the Container Network Interface (CNI).

As cloud-native architectures built on microservices have recently gained prominence, developers have faced issues regarding visibility, operations, and control of new applications.

Microservices developed on cloud-native platforms such as Kubernetes and Cloud Foundry that constitute applications use various programming languages and are located in multiple cloud environments It is stretched across.

These applications consist of more endpoints than traditional applications to scale, secure, and monitor. Consequently, silos arise, impacting security, auditing, and compliance.

VMware NSX Service Mesh provides the communication mechanisms necessary for microservices, helping developers solve problems faced in cloud-native environments.

It provides a consistent method for monitoring and protecting communications between microservices, data, and users across multiple cloud-native platforms, and integrates policies and telemetry to offer universal operational tools to platform operations and development teams.

It manages user verification and authentication and service communication encryption, and also provides tracing, monitoring, and logging capabilities for service transactions, enabling developers to understand the state and performance of application microservices without modifying the code.

VMware NSX Service Mesh simplifies Kubernetes cluster onboarding and federates multiple clouds and Kubernetes clusters. This allows you to connect to the VMware NSX portfolio and platform, and configure integrated policies, network services, and visibility tools.

It extends service discovery to include not only the users initiating microservice transactions but also the data being accessed, thereby providing service and API visibility and coordination capabilities that ensure consistent application service level goal policies and innovative rollouts.

The VMware NSX Service Mesh beta program is scheduled to support Cloud PKS early this year, and plans to additionally support PKS and other platforms by forming a federated mesh.

Scott Goodman, Product Marketing Manager for Network and Security at VMware, emphasized, “It is difficult to consistently maintain visibility, control, and management frameworks for data and users whenever new applications emerge,” adding, “Because VMware NSX Service Mesh protects and monitors communications between microservices-based application data and users, developers can control, manage, and protect data and users to the desired level across cloud-native application environments.”