NSX Edge clusters in VMware Cloud Foundation provide pools of capacity for service router functions in NSX.

Routing Options for VMware Cloud Foundation

VMware Cloud Foundation supports the following routing options:

Routing Type

Description

Benefits

Drawbacks

Static routing

  • The network administrator manages the routing information, adding routing information to the routing table.

  • If any change occurs in the network, the administrator has to update the related information in the routing table.

  • No dynamic routing protocol is required on the ToR switches.

  • Might reduce ToR switch license costs.

  • You must manually create static routes in NSX Manager on the Tier-0 gateway.

  • If required, you must manually create an HA VIP in the NSX Manager on the Tier-0 gateway to provide redundancy across ToR switches.

  • Not supported with vSAN stretched clusters.

OSPF

  • The routing protocol automatically adds and manages the routing information in the routing table. If any change occurs in the network, the routing protocol automatically updates the related information in the routing table. If any new segments or subnets are added in NSX, they are automatically added to the routing table.

  • If the physical fabric is running OSPF routing protocol, using OSPF at the virtual layer might be a simpler approach for the network administrator.

  • Needs additional manual configuration. See VMware Knowledge Base article 85916.

  • Not supported with vSAN stretched clusters.

  • Not supported with NSX Federation.

  • Combined use of BGP and OSPF on a single Tier-0 gateway not supported.

BGP

  • BGP is known as an exterior gateway protocol. It is designed to share routing information between disparate networks, known as autonomous systems (ASes).

  • When multiple BGP-derived paths exist, the protocol chooses a path to send traffic based on certain criteria.

  • The routing protocol automatically adds and manages the routing information in the routing table. If any new segments or subnets are added in NSX, they are automatically added to the routing table.

  • Fully supported by the automated edge workflows in VMware Cloud Foundation.

  • Fully supported for all VMware Cloud Foundation topologies.

  • None.

BGP routing is the routing option recommended for VMware Cloud Foundation.