Have you ever wondered whether your virtual environment could ‘know’ the various applications running over the infrastructure? This is where VMware vRealize Infrastructure Navigator (VIN) comes in. This tool enhances the intelligence level of your vSphere environment by discovering applications and their dependencies at a much higher level of granularity, or application layer, through automation.
Think of the challenges of trying to prepare for a server migration only to find out that you have no clue as to what services, ports, or applications are attached to a particular VM. This situation is most likely going to lead to unplanned downtime. With VIN, this problem is alleviated, as it depicts the interaction of applications and their real-time functioning. It is as if you developed advanced vision that allows you to view directly into your entire VMware stack.
In this guide, we will discuss in detail what vRealize Infrastructure Navigator is, how it functions and its value as an operational clarity, risk minimization, and decision enhancing tool.
What is VIN?
vRealize Infrastructure Navigator (VIN) is a VMware plug-in that provides application awareness in a virtual environment. It provides visibility of the corresponding applications to the virtual machines. This is increasingly relevant in modern IT ecosystems with unprecedented multi-layered complexity and interdependence driven by globalization.
Integrated with vCenter Server, VIN functions as a virtual appliance that can be installed seamlessly. Users have the ability to view application relationships directly from the vSphere Web Client.
VIN is distinct because:
- It automatically discovers apps and services running inside VMs
- It maps dependencies among various components.
- It shows relationships and flows in vCenter in real time.
Such visibility is invaluable while planning, troubleshooting, and optimizing operations.
Purpose and Benefits of VIN in a VMware Environment
Why would anyone bother with application visibility in the first place? Well, the infrastructure exists as a conjunction and not in isolation: it is all about the apps. VIN provides admins and operators insight into what apps are doing, how they are executing actions, and what infrastructure they are leveraging.
Top benefits of VIN are:
- Situational awareness: Insight on what is active/passive and the location.
- Enhanced management of changes: Prevent breaking dependencies.
- Minimized risks: Understand impacts of maintenance/migrations.
- Quicker troubleshooting: Trace issues across infrastructure and apps.
How VIN Functions
Discovery of Applications and Mapping of Dependencies
Through agentless discovery, VIN scans virtual machines to identify the applications, services and ports in use. Common workloads discovered include:
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Apache Tomcat
- Oracle DB
- IIS
- SAP
- Custom TCP-based applications
VIN creates a dependency map showing traffic flows and inter-VM relationships.
Integration with vCenter Server and vRealize Operations
VIN tightly integrates with vCenter and vRealize Operations (vROps). It enhances application awareness in VM summary pages and supports performance/compliance analytics in vROps.
Software System Topologies Automatic Visualization
VIN constructs real-time clickable application topologies, such as:
Web Server VM → App Server VM → Database VM
With service ports like 443, 8080, 1521 displayed for clarity and speed in planning and troubleshooting.
Explanation of the vRealize Infrastructure Navigator (VIN) Features
Automated Dependency Mapping
- Real-time view of applications
- No agent installation needed
- Accurate services/app catalog for decision-making
Dependency Mapping
VIN captures:
- Communication between VMs
- Applications’ ports
- Client-server relationships
Essential for planning, security, and incident response.
Visibility and Control of Information Technology
VIN allows:
- Tagging of applications/infrastructure
- Policy-based grouping
- Defining business services and tiers
Example:
- Tag “Finance App” VMs and apply access/monitoring policies via vROps.
Business Impact Analysis
VIN enables impact analysis before modifying a VM:
- See service dependencies
- Identify at-risk systems
- Strategically schedule downtime
- Prepare contingencies
Optimizing Disaster Recovery Plans
VIN supports:
- Mapping of multi-tier applications
- Recovery order planning
- Dependency-aware DR scripts
Example: Web-tier → Payment API → DB → Cache — all need coordinated recovery.
Strengthening Protection and Governance
VIN helps security teams by:
- Detecting open ports/services
- Finding unanticipated data flows
- Identifying obsolete applications
VIN enhances compliance audits (PCI-DSS, HIPAA, ISO) through visibility and traceability.
Setting Up and Installing VIN
System Requirements
- vCenter Server: Compatible with 5.x, 6.x
- vSphere Web Client: Integration UI
- Browser: Chrome or Firefox (latest)
- Appliance Specs: 4 GB RAM, 2 vCPUs
Note: VIN is deprecated; check VMware Compatibility Guide before use.
Installation Guide (15 Minutes)
- Download VIN OVA from VMware
- Deploy via vSphere Web Client
- Configure network/IP/CPU/RAM
- Power on and complete wizard
- Activate VIN plug-in in Web Client
- Connect VIN to vCenter
- Begin scanning and building maps
First Configuration Steps
- Adjust discovery intervals
- Define application groups/tags
- Exclude noisy services
- Integrate with vROps
VIN begins application discovery within 10–15 minutes.
Limitations of vRealize Infrastructure Navigator
Key Challenges and Known Constraints
- End of Life: No future updates or support
- Limited Catalog: Weak on custom or cloud-native apps
- Static Visualization: Basic, non-dynamic maps
- Dependency on vSphere Web Client: Flex-based client deprecated
Alternatives to vRealize Infrastructure Navigator
VMware Aria Operations for Applications (formerly vRealize Network Insight)
- Full-stack flow analysis
- App discovery via traffic
- Micro-segmentation (NSX)
- Hybrid/cloud visibility
Third-Party Tools
- Dynatrace: AI-powered root cause insights
- AppDynamics: Transaction tracing + monitoring
- SolarWinds: Server & App monitoring
- Datadog: Cloud-native real-time analytics
Choose based on stack, environment (cloud/hybrid), and budget.
Cloud and Modern IT Context of VIN
Why VIN is Less Relevant Now
Modern IT uses:
- Microservices
- Containers (Kubernetes)
- Hybrid/multi-cloud
- CI/CD pipelines
VIN lacks:
- Container support
- Ephemeral service mapping
- Public cloud integration
Advice for Users Still on VIN
How to Handle It
- Audit your current system
- Assess VIN usage and users
- Review infrastructure roadmap
- Plan for migration
- Train teams on modern tools
- Run VIN + new tool together temporarily
Good news: modern replacements are more powerful, cloud-ready, and insightful.
Conclusion
VIN brought clarity to VM-centric environments through app context, real-time mapping, and visualized dependencies.
Today’s shift to containers, microservices, and hybrid models means VIN’s time is ending. Still, for legacy systems, its utility remains — for now.
If it helped you get this far, then mission accomplished.
FAQs
Is VIN still supported by VMware?
No. It’s deprecated and not supported in vSphere 7.x and above.
Can VIN identify custom-built apps?
Partially. VIN detects enterprise apps well but struggles with custom/cloud-native ones.
What happens to VIN after vSphere upgrade?
It becomes non-functional if the new vSphere version is unsupported.
Are there VMware-native alternatives to VIN?
Yes. VMware Aria Operations for Applications is the official successor.
Does VIN support Kubernetes or containers?
No. VIN is not compatible with container orchestration platforms.
