This section explains deployment modes, prerequisites, protocols, and ports details.

Deployment Modes

Avi Load Balancer can be deployed into an OpenStack cloud in one of the following modes. These modes differ depending on whether the Avi Load Balancer Controller and SEs are placed in the same OpenStack tenant, and whether Neutron LBaaS API or Avi Load Balancer API is used to create the load balancers.

  • Tenant mode

  • Provider mode

The Provider mode option is recommended for its ease of use and advanced feature accessibility.

The following table compares each deployment mode:

Tenant Mode

Provider Mode

Require administrator privileges for cloud?

No

Yes

Managed by tenant user

No

Yes

Automated tenant creation

NA

Yes

Advanced load-balancing features available

Yes

Yes

Analytics service

Yes

Yes

Deploying Tenant Mode

The Avi Load Balancer Controller and the SEs are deployed together in the same tenant. The Controller has administrator privileges within the tenant. Tenant users with administrator privileges within the tenant can install and manage the Avi Load Balancer . Use this deployment mode if you do not have administrator privileges for the cloud.



In the tenant mode, the Controller and SEs are installed in the same tenant, and have member privileges for that tenant. The member privilege grants the Controller full access to the tenant so that it can automatically spin-up and spin-down an SE. Each tenant is responsible for installing and operating the Avi Load Balancer.

Deploying Provider Mode

The Controller and SEs are installed in separate tenants. The Controller has administrator privileges for the cloud and can manage SEs that are in different tenants. A tenant administrator can log onto the Controller to manage the infrastructure resources within the administrator’s own tenant but cannot access the resources within other tenants. The tenant administrator can configure and manage load balancing services through the Controller web interface or through the Avi Load Balancer REST API.



The provider mode provides tenant users with its advantages, without the need to deploy or maintain it. The cloud administrator takes up this work. The Controller and SEs in the administrative tenant are shared by other tenants. Users of those tenants are able to secure and optimize their applications using the Avi Load Balancer resources that reside in the administrative tenant.

Although you can use an existing tenant instead of creating a new one, it is recommended to create a new tenant for easy maintenance.

Deployment Prerequisites

The physical and software requirements differ depending on the deployment mode.