A transport node profile is a template to define configuration that is applied to a cluster. It is not applied to prepare standalone hosts. Prepare vCenter Server cluster hosts as transport nodes by applying a transport node profile. Transport node profiles define transport zones, member hosts, N-VDS switch configuration including uplink profile, IP assignment, mapping of physical NICs to uplink virtual interfaces and so on.
Transport node creation begins when a transport node profile is applied to a vCenter Server cluster. NSX Manager prepares the hosts in the cluster and installs the NSX-T Data Center components on all the hosts. Transport nodes for the hosts are created based on the configuration specified in the transport node profile.
On a cluster prepared with a transport node profile, these outcomes are true:
- When you move an unprepared host into a cluster applied with a transport node profile, NSX-T Data Center automatically prepares the host as a transport node using the transport node profile.
- When you move a transport node from the cluster to an unprepared cluster or directly as a standalone host under the data center, first the transport node configuration applied to the node is removed and then NSX-T Data Center VIBs are removed from the host. See Triggering Uninstallation from the vSphere Web Client.
- You can add a maximum of four N-VDS or VDS switches for each configuration: enhanced N-VDS or VDS created for VLAN transport zone, standard N-VDS or VDS created for overlay transport zone, enhanced N-VDS or VDS created for overlay transport zone.
- There is no limit on the number of standard N-VDS switches created for VLAN transport zone.
- In a single host cluster topology running multiple standard overlay N-VDS switches and edge VM on the same host, NSX-T Data Center provides traffic isolation such that traffic going through the first N-VDS is isolated from traffic going through the second N-VDS and so on. The physical NICs on each N-VDS must be mapped to the edge VM on the host to allow the north-south traffic connectivity with the external world. Packets moving out of a VM on the first transport zone must be routed through an external router or an external VM to the VM on the second transport zone.
- Each N-VDS switch name must be unique. NSX-T Data Center does not allow use of duplicate switch names.
- Each transport zone ID associated with each N-VDS or VDS host in a transport node configuraiton or transport node profile configuration must be unique.
Prerequisites
- Verify that the hosts are part of a vCenter Server cluster.
- vCenter Server must have at least one cluster.
- Verify that a transport zone is configured. See Create Transport Zones.
- Verify that a cluster is available. See Deploy NSX Manager Nodes to Form a Cluster from the UI.
- Verify that an IP pool is configured, or DHCP must be available in the network deployment. See Create an IP Pool for Tunnel Endpoint IP Addresses.
- Verify that a compute manager is configured. See Add a Compute Manager.
Procedure
What to do next
Apply the transport node profile to an existing vSphere cluster. See Configure a Managed Host Transport Node.