For traffic segmentation in VMware Cloud Foundation, you place NSX Manager for the management domain on the management VLAN, and decide on the IP addressing scheme and name resolution for optimal support for the SDDC management components and host management.

Network Segment

For secure access to the ESXi hosts and vCenter Server, in each VMware Cloud Foundation instance, NSX Manager for the management domain is connected to the management VLAN segment.

Table 1. Design Decisions on the Network Segment for NSX Manager

Decision ID

Design Decision

Design Justification

Decision Implication

VCF-MGMT-NSX-NET-001

Place the appliances of the NSX Manager cluster on the management VLAN network in the management domain.

  • Provides direct secure connection to the ESXi hosts and vCenter Server for edge node management and distributed network services.

  • Reduces the number of required VLANs because a single VLAN can be allocated to both, vCenter Server and NSX.

None.

IP Addressing Scheme

You must assign a static IP address to NSX Manager for the management domain. Following industry best practices, VMware Cloud Foundation does not allow using DHCP to assign IP addresses to management components.

Table 2. Design Decisions on the IP Addressing Scheme for NSX Manager

Decision ID

Design Decision

Design Justification

Design Implication

VCF-MGMT-NSX-NET-002

Allocate a statically assigned IP address and host name to the nodes of the NSX Manager cluster.

Ensures stability across the private cloud, makes it simpler to maintain and track, and to implement a DNS configuration.

Requires precise IP address management.

Name Resolution

Name resolution provides the translation between an IP address and a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), which makes it easier to remember and connect to components across the VMware Cloud Foundation instance. Each IP address must have valid internal DNS registration which includes forward and reverse name resolution. NSX Manager must be connected to the following components:

  • Management vCenter Server

  • Each ESXi host

  • NSX Edge cluster

  • NSX Global Manager cluster if your environment is configured with NSX Federation

  • Internal DNS servers for name resolution of other management components

Table 3. Design Decisions on Name Resolution for NSX Manager

Decision ID

Design Decision

Design Justification

Design Implication

VCF-MGMT-NSX-NET-003

Configure forward and reverse DNS records for the nodes of the NSX Manager cluster for the management domain.

The NSX Manager nodes and VIP address are accessible by using fully qualified domain names instead of by using IP addresses only.

You must provide DNS records for the NSX Manager nodes for the management domain in each VMware Cloud Foundation instance.

Time Synchronization

Time synchronization provided by the Network Time Protocol (NTP) is important to ensure that all components within the SDDC are synchronized to the same time source.

Table 4. Design Decisions on Time Synchronization for NSX Manager

Decision ID

Design Decision

Design Justification

Design Implication

VCF-MGMT-NSX-NET-004

Configure NTP on each NSX Manager appliance.

NSX Manager depends on time synchronization.

None.