CDP traffic on separate subnet and vmkernel port

[Uniko]

Hi Team, we're planning to deploy VDRO with CDP. Our environment has two VSphere Clusters (Production and DR) and one centralized B&R Server.
ESXi Servers have dedicated vmkernel ports for backup traffic.

Now we would like to deploy two Virtual CDP Proxies (one for each cluster) so they can be managed by the B&R Server but can send/receive CDP traffic directly, without crossing the B&R Server. According to "Best Practices for VMware backups" it is suggested to use a dedicated vmkernel with MTU 9000.
Now it's not clear what this port is intended for. In other words, suppose that my "backup" subnet adress is 192.168.1.0/24 and "backup traffic" flows through vmkernel ports in that subnet and B&R Server is also in the same subnet. Then I'd like to configure CDP Proxies (source and target) in a new 192.168.2.0. Both 192.168.1.0 and 192.168.2.0 are locally routed so I can reach CDP Proxies from the B&R Server and CDP Policies can work. Moreover CDP traffic should follow a direct path without crossing the B&R Server. CDP Proxiy Virtual Machines will be added do a Port Group on a vSwitch. Do I really need a CDP vmkernel port to separate CDP traffic or let it flows? The "backup" vmkernel port is pointed by the B&R, but who points at the "CDP" one?

Thanks in advance for your support,
Davide

[haslund]

Are you planning to protect all virtual machines in the source cluster with CDP?

[Uniko]

Many of them.

[indianajonson]

Are you planning to protect all virtual machines in the source cluster with CDP?

thank you so much share your detail thanks

[gschaffer]

Hi Team, we're planning to deploy VDRO with CDP. Our environment has two VSphere Clusters (Production and DR) and one centralized B&R Server.
ESXi Servers have dedicated vmkernel ports for backup traffic.

Now we would like to deploy two Virtual CDP Proxies (one for each cluster) so they can be managed by the B&R Server but can send/receive CDP traffic directly, without crossing the B&R Server. According to "Best Practices for VMware backups" it is suggested to use a dedicated vmkernel with MTU 9000.
Now it's not clear what this port is intended for. In other words, suppose that my "backup" subnet adress is 192.168.1.0/24 and "backup traffic" flows through vmkernel ports in that subnet and B&R Server is also in the same subnet. Then I'd like to configure CDP Proxies (source and target) in a new 192.168.2.0. Both 192.168.1.0 and 192.168.2.0 are locally routed so I can reach CDP Proxies from the B&R Server and CDP Policies can work. Moreover CDP traffic should follow a direct path without crossing the B&R Server. CDP Proxiy Virtual Machines will be added do a Port Group on a vSwitch. Do I really need a CDP vmkernel port to separate CDP traffic or let it flows? The "backup" vmkernel port is pointed by the B&R, but who points at the "CDP" one?

Thanks in advance for your support,
Davide

In Veeam, the way to define which vmkernel will be used is by DNS name resolution. So first of all, you will need that ESXi hosts are added by name in vCenter inventory, and not by IP. Second, you need to garantee, that ESXi hosts resolve proxy name correctly, and Proxies resolve ESXi hosts in the desired network.

"Do I really need a CDP vmkernel port to separate CDP traffic or let it flows?": No
do They need to be MTU 9000: no

CDP traffic don't cross B&R Server, but theres is a constant traffic of control traffic between IOFilter and CDP Coordinator (B&R Server). And prepare you B&R Server to have enough space to storage all the logs generated.