Re: ESX Vmware Physically connected to different segments

From: Jeff Norem (Jeff.Norem@hbfuller.com)
Date: Mon Jan 28 2008 - 10:08:37 EST


I have this exact same scenario going on currently. My SE says that it
is a secure configuration. I have read all the documents from VMWare
and I agree that if setup correctly, it is secure. I am still
apprehensive around how an easy to make configuration mistake could open
up a whole between the DMZ and trusted network. Or perhaps a bug in
VMWare. Does anyone else have anything they can add to this question?

Jeff Norem, CISSP
Security Analyst/Engineer
HB Fuller Company

V-651-236-4112
C-612-203-0981
F-651-355-9220
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>>> "Kurt Buff" <kurt.buff@gmail.com> 1/25/2008 1:41 PM >>>
On Jan 24, 2008 1:41 PM, Albert R. Campa <abcampa@gmail.com> wrote:
> We have some admins setting up some VMs on an ESX server and they
have
> the idea of setting up 1host server with multiple VMs and on some of
> these VMs they want physical NICs connected to our main LAN and
other
> VMs they want physical wires connected to a DMZ lan.
>
> Normally this would be almost bridging the two networks and bad
> practice overall. An explanation from an SA is that virtual switches
> are used on the ESX host and this seperates the physical connection
to
> our main LAN and this DMZ lan.
>
> This does not sound like good practice but is there documentation to
> back that up or in your experience have you been able to exploit
this
> type of configuration?

As long as it is set up correctly I think this would be fine.

However, part of "correctly", AFAIAC, is that both subnets are in the
same security domain - that is, if one is trusted, the other must be
as well. I would *never* put, for instance, a guest OS in a DMZ subnet
if the other guests are in a trusted subnet.

Kurt

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