vRealize Infrastructure Navigator for Virtual Management

Nowadays, managing virtualised environments can be challenging, especially when applications run across multiple virtual environments. VMware’s vRealize Infrastructure Navigator (VIN) enables IT to gain a comprehensive view of an application’s environment in applications running on virtual infrastructure. By automatically identifying and mapping applications throughout vSphere, VIN facilitates migration and disaster recovery planning. This visibility enables the minimisation of unplanned downtime and allows for more sophisticated virtual infrastructure management.

Unfortunately, the VIN is being retired and is no longer supported in recent releases of vSphere (7.x and above). However, its principles remain relevant in organisations that work with legacy systems or are transitioning to more modern tools. This blog post provides a brief review of VMware vRealize Infrastructure Navigator, including its definition, the value it offers, installation instructions, potential downsides, and alternatives. 

What is vRealize Infrastructure Navigator?

VRealize Infrastructure Navigator (VIN) is a plugin of vRealize Operations Manager that provides application and component discovery in virtualized environments. vCenter Server integrates it and maps the relationships between virtual machines, applications, and services, providing instant insight into how the infrastructure supports the applications. Additionally, VIN provides agentless discovery with VMware Tools to detect applications, including Microsoft SQL and Apache Tomcat, and build dependency maps to facilitate better troubleshooting, planning, and recovery from disasters.

For instance, if you’re about to migrate a server, VIN illustrates which applications and services depend on a VM, thereby saving that server from unscheduled downtime. However, VMware vRealize Infrastructure Navigator 5.8 7 was one of the last versions, but the ideas behind it established the foundation for today’s application management tools.

Key Features of vRealize Infrastructure Navigator

VIN provides several features that help view and interact with virtual worlds:

1. Automated Discovery: VIN automatically discovers applications and services on VMs without requiring infrastructure or agents. With VMware Tools, it can identify processes and ports, including typical applications such as Microsoft SQL Server and Apache Tomcat. As a result, this agentless method enables faster deployment and minimizes overhead.
2. Dependency Mapping: The vRealize Infrastructure Navigator application’s mapping feature provides access to comprehensive, near real-time maps that display the connections between applications and the ports they utilise (for example, MySQL uses port 3306). For instance, the IP address for the VIN can indicate a connection from a Web Server VM to a Database VM, allowing administrators to be aware of essential dependencies.
3. Real-time Monitoring: VIN delivers real-time application topologies that administrators can click to determine the health and performance of an app at any given moment. As a result, it is especially beneficial when troubleshooting or site planning.
4. Integration with VMware Products: VMware vRealize Infrastructure Navigator integrates with the vSphere Web Client and vRealize Operations Manager via the Management Pack for vRealize Infrastructure Navigator. This pack includes dashboards, such as VIN Application Topology, which provide metrics on resource usage and network performance.
5. Policy-based Grouping: Administrators can group VMs into business services or tiers (e.g., “Finance App”), facilitating policy application and monitoring.
6. Impact Analysis: VIN provides an advanced impact analysis tool that enables you to estimate the impact of changes, such as a VM migration, and identify dependent applications to minimise the risk of service disruptions.

How vRealize Infrastructure Navigator Works

VMware vRealize Infrastructure Navigator uses an agentless approach to scan the virtual environment. It analyses network traffic and port usage to identify applications and services. For example:

• A web server is detected by traffic on port 80 or 443.
• A database server is detected based on traffic that goes to port 1521 (Oracle) or 1433 (Microsoft SQL Server).

When VIN discovers these applications, it generates a dependency map that describes how VMs interact with each other. This map is available through the vSphere Web Client, making it an intuitive visual aid for multi-tier applications. For example, a standard style map might represent a web server VM connecting to an application server VM, which then connects to a database VM, with ports shown for each connection.

Benefits of vRealize Infrastructure Navigator

VIN has several benefits for managing virtual environments, including:

• Enhanced Visibility: In a scenario with hundreds of VMs, VIN can clarify that an “Order Processing” application involves a web server, application server, and database, ensuring critical services are prioritised.
• Improved Change Management: VIN dependency maps facilitate more effective planning for changes before upgrading or migrating virtual machines, thereby ensuring minimal disruption to operations. 
• Disaster Recovery Optimisation: VIN offers highly application-aware disaster recovery planning, ensuring that applications are restored in the correct order to minimise downtime.
• Reduced Downtime: Using VIN maps, any application affected by downtime can be easily identified, reducing the chances of prolonged downtime. 
• Better Resource Allocation: VIN ensures an optimal allocation of CPU, memory, and storage resources to resource-intensive applications. For instance, a high I/O app could be moved to faster storage.
• Security and Governance: The VIN is supported by security audit services, including audits of open ports and unapproved applications, to secure the network. Moreover, it also tracks compliance with standards like PCI-DSS and HIPAA.

System Requirements and Installation

To deploy VMware vRealize Infrastructure Navigator 5.8.7, the following requirements must be met:

Component	Requirement
VIN Appliance	4 GB RAM, 2 vCPUs
vCenter Server	Versions 5.1 U1, 5.5, or 6.0
Browser	The latest versions of Chrome or Firefox
vSphere Web Client	Compatible with vCenter Server versions
Licensing	Valid vRealize Infrastructure Navigator license required.

Installation Process

1. Download VIN: Obtain the VIN OVA file from VMware’s official channels (e.g., the vRealize Infrastructure Navigator download). Note that downloads for versions like VMware vRealize Infrastructure Navigator 5.8 7 may be limited due to deprecation.
2. Deploy the OVA: Then, use the vSphere Web Client to deploy the OVA file, follow the prompts to set networking information, and select storage options.
3. Power On and Configure: Now, power on the virtual appliance and complete the setup wizard to enter your network and vCenter information.
4. Connect to vCenter: Connect VIN to the vCenter Server and provide the appropriate credentials to scan and integrate.
5. Apply License: Assign a vRealize Infrastructure Navigator license in the vSphere Web Client under Licensing > Solutions.
6. Verify Discovery: Lastly, check application dependency maps in Infrastructure Navigator > Application Dependencies after 10–15 minutes.

For the complete procedure, refer to the vRealize Infrastructure Navigator documentation, available on the VMware legacy documentation and support site.

vRealize Infrastructure Navigator vs. Modern Solutions

vRealize Infrastructure Navigator (VIN), once a valuable tool for visualising application dependencies in VMware environments, now faces severe limitations that make it unsuitable for modern IT operations. Here’s a quick comparison between vRealize Infrastructure Navigator and modern infrastructure management solutions, highlighting how capabilities have evolved:

Feature	vRealize Infrastructure Navigator	Modern Solutions
Application Discovery	Limited enterprise apps, agentless	Broad support for custom and cloud-native apps, advanced discovery methods
Dependency Mapping	Static, real-time maps for VMware only	Dynamic, interactive topology with real-time updates
Analytics	Basic, no predictive insights	Advanced analytics, anomaly detection, predictive insights
Compatibility	vSphere 5.x, 6.x only	Hybrid, multi-cloud, Kubernetes, and distributed systems
Scalability	Limited to VMware VMs	High scalability for large, complex environments
Integrations	vCenter, vROps (limited)	Broad integration with DevOps tools, cloud platforms, and modern ecosystems
Support Status	Deprecated (EOSL: Sept 2017)	Actively supported and developed
Use Case	Legacy VMware environments	Modern hybrid, cloud-native, and containerised setups

VMware discontinued VIN in 2017; it only works in VMware environments with static mapping and does not support modern applications. On the other hand, current tools offer dynamic mapping, cloud-native capabilities, and in-depth analytics. Therefore, organisations should transition from VIN to modern solutions for scalable, supported application visibility in hybrid and cloud environments.

vRealize Infrastructure Navigator Replacement and Alternatives

Since VIN is end of life, VMware recommends moving to contemporary replacements that offer enhanced capabilities and meet next-generation IT requirements. Here are the primary replacements and alternatives:

VMware-Recommended Replacements

• VMware Aria Operations for Applications: This is the successor to VIN, offering enhanced application-aware monitoring and dependency mapping for applications running in virtualised, cloud, or containerised environments. Along with vCenter integration, it provides AI-based analytics for better troubleshooting and planning.
• VMware Aria Operations for Networks: Formerly vRealize Network Insight, this solution offers dynamic dependency mapping, network flow analysis, and visibility across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, surpassing VIN’s capabilities.
• Service Discovery Management Pack for vRealize Operations: The VMware vRealize Operations Service Discovery Management Pack (SDMP) enables agentless discovery of services running on virtual machines, mapping dependencies based on network communication. It replaces the discontinued vRealize Infrastructure Navigator, integrating with vRealize Operations to provide visibility into application services and relationships.

Third-Party Alternatives

• SolarWinds Virtualisation Manager: Provides dependency mapping and performance insights for VMware and Hyper-V, and also offers reasonable licensing.
• Microsoft SCVMM: Provides basic dependency mapping for Microsoft-centric environments, uniting with Azure.
• Nutanix Prism provides simplified management capabilities for HCI deployments, including dependency mapping and multi-cloud consistency.
• Dynatrace offers AI-guided root cause analysis, end to end transaction tracing, and support for container and cloud-native applications.
• Datadog: Datadog is a popular cloud-scale monitoring tool that you can use to pull resource metrics (memory, CPU, disk) and events from vSphere.

vRealize Infrastructure Navigator Limitations 

Despite its strengths, VMware vRealize Infrastructure Navigator has several shortcomings too:

• End of Support: VIN is no longer available for download and is not supported, including version vRealize Infrastructure Navigator 5.8.7.
• Security Vulnerability: A flaw in the vCenter Server VIX API, which VIN relied on, was patched, rendering VIN incompatible with newer vSphere versions (e.g., 6.5 and above).
• Limited Modern Support: VIN did not integrate well with cloud-native technologies, such as Kubernetes, microservices, or hybrid/multi-cloud models.
• Static Visualisations: Their dependency maps were less dynamic than those of users of newer systems and therefore may not be helpful in dynamic environments.
• Dependence on Deprecated Tools: The app depended on the Flex-based vSphere Web Client, which has now become obsolete due to the introduction of a new HTML5-based client.

Recommendations for Current VIN Users

If you’re still relying on vRealize Infrastructure Navigator, it’s essential to begin planning your transition to modern, supported tools. Here are the key steps to guide your migration:

• Transition to Service Discovery Management Pack.
• Explore VMware Aria Operations for Applications.
• Upgrade to modern vRealize Operations versions.
• Assess third-party tools like Dynatrace and SolarWinds.
• Review VIN documentation for migration planning.
• Ensure compliance with updated security standards.
• Back up VIN data before transitioning.
• Test replacements in a sandbox environment.
• Train staff on new management tools.
• Contact VMware support for migration guidance.

Conclusion

In conclusion, vRealize Infrastructure Navigator simplified application management in VMware vSphere by providing agentless discovery and precise dependency mapping. Its integration with vRealize Operations and vCenter made it suitable for change management and compliance. Despite its strengths, VIN’s limitations in modern cloud environments led to its deprecation, marking the end of an era for this once-essential tool. 

For organisations still using VIN, now is the time to plan for migration to ensure continued compatibility and support in evolving IT landscapes. The transition to the Service Discovery Management Pack and other modern solutions, such as VMware Aria Operations, ensures continued support for dynamic, cloud-native infrastructures. Organisations leveraging these replacements can maintain operational efficiency and adapt to evolving technological demands.

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