1. Understanding the Exhibit and NSX Security Segmentation
* The diagram representsNSX-T logical segmentationfor amicroservices-based financial company.
* It categorizes workloads intothree distinct risk levels:
* High Risk (Red)
* Medium Risk (Yellow)
* Low Risk (Blue)
* The objective is toenforce security policies with minimal management overheadwhilemaintaining isolation between risk levels.
2. Why "One Security Policy Per Level of Security" is the Best Choice (B)
* Grouping workloads based on security levels (High, Medium, Low) simplifies firewall rule management.
* By defining a single security policy per level of security, it reduces the need to create multiple firewall rules for each microservice individually.
* Advantages of this approach:
* Scalability:New workloads caninherit existing security policieswithout manual rule creation.
* Simplification:Instead of hundreds of firewall rules, a few policies handle traffic isolation effectively.
* Automation-Friendly:Security policies can beapplied dynamically using NSX-T security groups.
3. Why Other Options are Incorrect
* (A - Create One Firewall Rule Per Application Tier)
* High overhead and complexity: Each application has its own rule, making it harder to scale as the number of applications grows.
* Requires continuous manual rule creation, increasing administrative burden.
* Better suited for small, static environmentsbutnot scalable for microservices.
* (C - Create One Firewall Rule Per Level of Security)
* Firewall rules alone do not provide granular segmentation.
* A single firewall rule is insufficientto define security controls across multiple application tiers.
* Security policies provide a more structured approach, including Layer 7-based controls and dynamic membership.
* (D - Create a Security Policy Based on IP Groups)
* IP-based security policies are outdated and not scalable in a dynamic microservices environment.
* NSX-T supports workload-based security policies instead of traditional IP-based segmentation.
* Microservices often use dynamic IP addresses, makingIP-based groups ineffective for security enforcement.
4. NSX Security Best Practices for Microservices-Based Designs
* Use NSX Distributed Firewall (DFW) for Micro-Segmentation
* Apply securityat the workload (vNIC) levelto prevent lateral movement of threats.
* Enforce Zero Trust security modelby restricting traffic between risk zones.
* Group Workloads by Security Posture Instead of Static IPs
* Leverage dynamic security groups(tags, VM attributes) instead of static IPs.
* Assign security rules based on business logic(e.g., production vs. development, PCI-compliant workloads).
* Use Security Policies Instead of Individual Firewall Rules
* Policies provide abstraction, reducing the number of firewall rules.
* Easier to manage and apply to multiple workloads dynamically.
* Monitor and Automate Security Policies Using NSX Intelligence
* Continuously analyze workload communication patternsusingVMware Aria Operations for Networks (formerly vRealize Network Insight).
* Automate rule updatesbased on detected traffic flows.