Configure NSX-T Data Center for OpenStack

If you want to use NSX-T Data Center as the networking solution for VMware Integrated OpenStack, deploy and configure NSX-T Data Center as described in the following procedure.

Note: For NSX-T Data Center to work with vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) version 7.0, vSphere 7.0 and NSX-T 3.0 or later must be installed. Before deploying and configuring NSX-T Data Center, see Prepare a vSphere Distributed Switch for NSX-T.

Prerequisites

• Deploy vSphere, including vCenter Server and all ESXi hosts.

• Install NSX-T Data Center.
  1. Deploy NSX Manager. See NSX Manager Installation.
  2. If you are using NSX-T Data Center 2.3.1, controllers must be deployed separately. See NSX Controller Installation and Clustering.
  3. Add your vCenter Server instance as a compute manager. See Add a Compute Manager.

  4. If you want to use an NSX Manager cluster, deploy additional NSX Manager nodes. See Deploy NSX Manager Nodes to Form a Cluster from UI.

     Note: An NSX Manager cluster provides high availability for a single NSX-T Data Center instance. Multiple instances of NSX-T Data Center cannot be used with the same VMware Integrated OpenStack deployment.
  5. Deploy NSX Edge nodes. See Installing NSX Edge.
  6. If you are running vSphere 7.0 or later, add a new compute manager. See Add a Compute Manager
• Generate the NSX-T root CA certificate using the cluster virtual IP. See Generating and Registering the NSX Manager Certificate for Enterprise PKS.

Procedure

1. Log in to the NSX Manager as an administrator.
2. Create an overlay transport zone.
   1. On the System tab, select Fabric > Transport Zones and click Add.
   2. Enter a name, description, and N-VDS name for the overlay transport zone.
      The N-VDS name is used for the N-VDS that is installed on transport nodes added to this transport zone.
   3. If provided with the option, select Standard or Enhanced Datapath for the N-VDS mode.
   4. Select Overlay for the traffic type.
   5. Click Add.
3. Create a VLAN transport zone.
   1. Select Fabric > Transport Zones and click Add.
   2. Enter a name, description, and N-VDS name for the overlay transport zone.
      The N-VDS name is used for the N-VDS that is installed on transport nodes added to this transport zone.
   3. Select Standard or Enhanced Datapath for the N-VDS mode.
   4. Select VLAN for the traffic type.
   5. Click Add.
4. Create an uplink profile.
   1. On the System tab, select Fabric > Profiles.
   2. On the Uplink Profiles tab, click Add.
      Note: If you are using a physical link on an ESXi host, you can modify the default policy instead of creating a new one.
   3. Enter a name and description for the profile.
   4. (Optional) Under LAGs, add and configure one or more link aggregation groups (LAGs).
   5. Under Teamings, add a new teaming policy or configure the default policy.
   6. In the Active Uplinks column, define a custom uplink name.

      If you are using a physical link on an ESXi host, you can also define a standby uplink name.

   7. In the Transport VLAN text box, enter the VLAN ID of the physical network.
   8. Enter a maximum transmission unit (MTU) of 1600 or higher.
   9. Click Add.
5. If you want to use N-VDS in standard mode, create a Network I/O Control (NIOC) profile.
   1. On the System tab, select Fabric > Profiles.
   2. On the NIOC Profiles tab, click Add.
   3. Enter a name and description for the profile.
   4. Set Status to Enabled.
   5. Under Host Infra Traffic Resource, specify the desired traffic types and bandwidth allocations.
   6. Click Add.
6. Create an IP address pool for tunnel endpoints.
   1. On the Advanced Networking & Security tab, select Inventory > Groups.
   2. On the IP Pools tab, click Add.
   3. Enter a name and description for the IP address pool.
   4. Under Subnets, click Add.
   5. Click the first entry under each column and specify the IP address range, gateway, and network address.
      You can also specify DNS servers (separated by commas) and a DNS suffix.
   6. Click Add.
7. Add the ESXi hosts in your compute cluster to the NSX-T Data Center fabric.
   1. On the System tab, select Fabric > Nodes.
   2. On the Host Transport Nodes tab, click Add.
      • If you are running vSphere 7.0 or later, select the compute manager that you added to the NSX-T Data Center and select the node with OS Type ESXi 7.0.0.
      • If you are running vSphere 6.x or earlier, enter the name, management IP address, user name, and password of the host.

        You can also enter a host thumbprint. If you do not enter a thumbprint, NSX-T Data Center prompts you to use the default thumbprint provided by the host.

   3. Click Next.
   4. From the Transport Zone drop-down menu, select the overlay transport zone.
   5. From the N-VDS Name drop-down menu, select the N-VDS for the overlay transport zone.
      • If you are running vSphere 7.0 or later, select VDS.
      • If you are using a standard N-VDS, select the NIOC profile that you created in this procedure.
   6. From the Uplink Profile drop-down menu, select the uplink profile that you created in this procedure.
   7. From the LLDP Profile drop-down menu, select the desired LLDP profile.
   8. From the IP Assignment drop-down menu, select Use IP Pool.
   9. From the IP Pool drop-down menu, select the tunnel endpoint IP address pool that you created in this procedure.
   10. In the Physical NICs field, enter the name of an unused NIC on your host.
   11. From the drop-down menu, select the uplink name that you defined in the uplink profile.
   12. Click Add.
8. Add the NSX Edge nodes in your edge cluster to the NSX-T Data Center fabric.
   1. On the System tab, select Fabric > Nodes.
   2. On the Edge Transport Nodes tab, click Add Edge VM.
   3. Enter the name, FQDN, and description of the transport node.
   4. Select a form factor for the edge virtual machine and click Next.
   5. Enter the credentials for the NSX Edge virtual machine and click Next.
   6. Select the compute manager that you configured in this procedure.
   7. Select the cluster, resource pool or host, and datastore for the NSX Edge virtual machine and click Next.
   8. Select whether to use DHCP or a static IP address for the NSX Edge virtual machine.
      If you select Static, enter the management IP address and default gateway.
   9. From the Management Interface drop-down menu, select the management network.
   10. Click Next.
   11. From the Transport Zone drop-down menu, select the overlay and VLAN transport zones.
   12. From the Edge Switch Name drop-down menu, select the N-VDS for the overlay transport zone.
   13. From the Uplink Profile drop-down menu, select the uplink profile that you created in this procedure.
   14. From the IP Assignment drop-down menu, select Use IP Pool.
   15. From the IP Pool drop-down menu, select the tunnel endpoint IP address pool that you created in this procedure.
   16. From the DPDK Fastpath Interfaces drop-down menu, select the uplink name that you defined in the uplink profile.
   17. Click Select Interface.
   18. Select the management network and click Save.
   19. Click Add N-VDS.
   20. From the Edge Switch Name drop-down menu, select the N-VDS for the VLAN transport zone.
   21. From the Uplink Profile drop-down menu, select the uplink profile that you created in this procedure.
   22. From the DPDK Fastpath Interfaces drop-down menu, select the uplink name that you defined in the uplink profile.
   23. Click Select Interface.
   24. Select the management network and click Save.
9. Create an edge cluster and add NSX Edge nodes to it.
   1. On the System tab, select Fabric > Nodes.
   2. On the Edge Clusters tab, click Add.
   3. Enter a name and description for the cluster.
   4. Select an edge cluster profile from the drop-down menu.
   5. From the Member Type drop-down menu, select Edge Node.
   6. Select the NSX Edge nodes in the Available column and click the left arrow to move them to the Selected column.
   7. Click Add.
10. Create a logical switch.
    1. On the Advanced Networking & Security tab, select Networking > Switching.
    2. In the Switches tab, click Add.
    3. Enter a name and description for the switch.
    4. Select the VLAN transport zone.
    5. Select an uplink teaming policy.
    6. Specify the VLAN ID of the network.
    7. Click Add.
11. Create a tier-0 router.
    1. On the Advanced Networking & Security tab, select Networking > Routers.
    2. On the Routers tab, click Add > Tier-0 Router.
    3. Enter a name and description for the router.
    4. Select the edge cluster that you created in this procedure.
    5. Select Active-Active or Active-Standby as the high availability mode.
    6. If you want to use Active-Standby mode, select Preemptive or Non-Preemptive as the failover mode and select a preferred member from the edge cluster.
    7. Click Add.
12. Create a port on the tier-0 router to associate with the upstream physical router.
    1. On the Advanced Networking & Security tab, select Networking > Routers.
    2. On the Routers tab, click the name of your tier-0 router.
    3. Select Configuration > Router Ports and click Add.
    4. Enter a name and description for the port.
    5. In the Type field, select Uplink.
    6. Enter a maximum transmission unit (MTU) of 1600 or higher.
    7. From the Transport Node drop-down menu, select a member of the edge cluster.
    8. From the Logical Switch drop-down menu, select the switch that you created in this procedure.
    9. Select Attach to new switch port and enter a name for the switch port.
    10. Under Subnets, click Add.
    11. Enter the IP address of the router port and its prefix length in bits.
        Note: This IP address cannot be within the subnet of any OpenStack external network.
    12. Click Add.
13. Create a DHCP server profile.
    1. On the Advanced Networking & Security tab, select Networking > DHCP.
    2. On the Server Profiles tab, click Add.
    3. Enter a name and description for the profile.
    4. Select the edge cluster that you created in this procedure.
    5. Click Add.
14. Create a metadata proxy server.
    1. On the Advanced Networking & Security tab, select Networking > DHCP.
    2. On the Metadata Proxies tab, click Add.
    3. Enter a name and description for the metadata proxy server.
    4. In the Nova Server URL field, enter the planned private OpenStack endpoint of your VMware Integrated OpenStack deployment.

       VMware Integrated OpenStack uses the first IP address in the management network as the private OpenStack endpoint. If you are not certain which IP address will be used, you can enter a placeholder IP address and update this setting after you have deployed VMware Integrated OpenStack.

    5. In the Secret field, enter a password to pair with your VMware Integrated OpenStack deployment.
    6. Select the edge cluster that you created in this procedure.
    7. Click Add.

What to do next

Install VMware Integrated OpenStack. See Installing VMware Integrated OpenStack.