We will be doing following task in this Post
- Prepare ESXi Hosts for NSX
- Configure VXLAN Networking
- Assign Segment ID
- Add a Transport Zone
- Deploy NSX Controllers
Access the \”Networking & Security\” in vSphere Web Client
Prepare ESXi Hosts for NSX
All Clusters will be displayed and you can choose which one you need to install NSX components
In my lab I already have one however for Demo I have created another one named \”Munish Lab Cluster 2\”
Click on the Settings Icon under Installation Status for the specific Cluster \”Munish Lab Cluster 2\” This will install all the necessary VIBs on the ESXi Host(s)
It will ask for confirmation
Once it is completed it show Green Arrow under Installation Status and it will automatically Enable Firewall as well
Configure VXLAN Networking
Under VXLAN Click on Where it says Not Configured
I got following error because I forgot to add ESXi Host to the Distributed Switch. It got fixed after I added the Host to Distributed Switch
You will need to specify following details. I will leave it default because i am using DHCP in my lab. In Production I would recommend Static IPs which means IP Pools need to be created in vCenter
Once it completed it will create VMKernel Port Group on the distributed switch and assign IP using IP Pools or DHCP
You can also view the IP configured by navigating to Logical Network Preparation Tab and Click on VXLAN Transport. Expand the respective Cluster and you will notice all ESXi Host(s) and the IP Address assigned for VTEP ( VXLAN Tunnel End Point)
Assign Segment ID
Quick Recap
- It is a pool of segment ID which is assigned for each and every VXLAN Network.
- When a Logical Switch is created it will assign segment ID from the Pool. Pool range will decide number of logical switches we can create
Navigate to Logical Network Preparation Tab and Click Segment ID
Add Transport Zone
Quick Recap
- A transport zone controls to which hosts a logical switch can reach. It can span one or more vSphere clusters.
- Transport zones dictate which clusters and, therefore, which VMs can participate in the use of a particular network.
- Most commonly people create a single Transport Zone for all Clusters within vCenter to keep it simple
Navigate to Logical Network Preparation Tab and Click Transport Zone
Deploy NSX Controllers
Navigate to Management Tab and Click on the Green Plus Sign under NSX Controller nodes Section at the bottom
You will need to ensure all the information is handy to avoid delays however quick notification on IP Pools
If the IP Pool doesn’t exist, you can create it from this screen as well you don’t need to go to vCenter view
Once all the information is provided it will start deploying the controller
After the Controller VM is Powered ON it will still do couple configuration and validation. Please be patient to wait until the status changed to “Connected” as below
Quick Notes
- As you might have already noticed by now that I already had 1 controller and I created 2nd one. The process is exactly similar when adding the first one.
- The only recommendation is to finish the 1st one and let it show as connected in Web Client before starting the next one. VMware recommends minimum 3 NSX Controllers however in lab we can only have 1
- Try to configure Anti-Affinity rules to ensure controllers are on different hosts all the time. It’s not a requirement however recommended
- Also you might have noticed it assigns id to every controller. Refer under Controller Node (controller-3, controller-4).
- It says 3 and 4 for my lab because when I tried deploying it failed couple of times and I was able to successfully deploy on the 3rd attempt hence it is 3. If you are able to deploy it on the first attempt it will say controller-1
In the Next post(s) I will show following
- Add Logical Switch(s) as per your design
- Add Distributed Logical Router as per your design
- Add an Edge Services Gateway as per your design
I gather more information through this article, so please keep me informed of any update in this regard. For more relevant articles click on: how to recover deleted datacustom filedisk image softwareretrieve deleted files windowsdiskdiggerdiskdigger prousb drivedownload diskdigger