Traceflow - packet trace via bridge to a VM over VLAN segment doesn't display a 'delivered' observation

Products

• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

• Following topology deployed:

VMWare NSX edge (all versions) with a bridge configured with the following traffic flow: VM1 -- overlay segment -- Bridge (edge) -- VLAN segment -- VM2

• if a traceflow is attempted between VM1 and VM2, it results in a set of observations with no 'delivered' observation which can be misleading in this scenario.

Environment

VMWare NSX

Cause

This happens because the traceflow metadata is not carried when the packet leaves from the Edge bridge to VLAN network.

Resolution

For this specific setup, traceflow can't be used to determine connectivity. Validate if there is connectivity by running ICMP (or other traffic) between the VMs.