Install NSX Edge Interactively via ISO File

Install NSX Edge devices on bare metal using an ISO file in the interactive mode.

Prerequisites

Verify that the system BIOS mode is set to Legacy BIOS.
See NSX Edge network requirements in NSX Edge Installation Requirements.

Procedure

Go to your MyVMware account (myvmware.com) and navigate to VMware NSX-T Data Center > Downloads.
Locate and download the ISO file for NSX Edge for Bare Metal.
Log in to the ILO of the bare metal.
Click Launch in the virtual console preview.
Select Virtual Media > Connect Virtual Media.
Wait a few seconds for the virtual media to connect.
Select Virtual Media > Map CD/DVD and browse to the ISO file.
Select Next Boot > Virtual CD/DVD/ISO.
Select Power > Reset System (warm boot).
The installation duration depends on the bare metal environment.
Choose Interactive Install.
There might be a pause of 10 seconds after you press Enter. Starting with NSX-T Data Center 3.1.0, edit kernel boot aguments. The following steps are not needed if you are on NSX-T Data Center 3.1.1 and later.
1. Press TAB to edit kernel boot arguments.
2. Change the kernel boot arguments to:
```
/install/vmlinuz FRONTEND_BACKGROUND=original auto=true priority=high preseed/file=/cdrom/preseed-interactive.cfg nomodeset initrd=/install/initrd.gz fb=false netcfg/do_not_use_netplan=true -- quiet net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0
```
3. Press Enter to begin installation.
In the Configure the keyboard window, select Yes if the installer must auto-detect the keyboard or select No if the keyboard must not be detected by the console.
Select English US as the language.
In the Configure the network window, select the applicable primary network interface.
Enter the host name that connects to the selected primary interface and click Ok.

During power-on, the installer requests a network configuration via DHCP. If DHCP is not available in your environment, the installer prompts you for IP settings.

By default, the root login password is vmware, and the admin login password is default.
In the Configure NSX appliance using kickstart window:
- Enter the URL of the NSX kickstart config file if you want to automate NSX configuration on the bare metal server.
- Leave the field blank if you want to manually configure NSX on the bare metal server.
Select a disk size that meets the system requirements.
In the Partition disks window, choose one of the following options:
- Select Yes if you want to unmount existing partitions so that new partitions can be created on disks.
- Select No if you want to use existing partitions.
After the NSX Edge node starts, log in to the CLI with admin credentials.

Note: After NSX Edge node starts, if you do not log in with admin credentials for the first time, the data plane service does not automatically start on the NSX Edge node.
Run the get interface eth0 (without VLAN) or get interface eth0.<vlan_ID> (with a VLAN) command to verify that the IP address was applied as expected.
```
nsx-edge-1> get interface eth0.100 

Interface: eth0.100
  Address: 192.168.110.37/24
  MAC address: 00:50:56:86:62:4d
  MTU: 1500
  Default gateway: 192.168.110.1
  Broadcast address: 192.168.110.255
  ...
```
Note: When bringing up NSX Edge nodes on non-NSX managed host, verify that the MTU setting is set to 1600 (instead of 1500) on the physical host switch for the data NIC.
Troubleshoot connectivity problems.

Note: If connectivity is not established, make sure the VM network adapter is in the proper network or VLAN.

By default, the NSX Edge node datapath claims all virtual machine NICs except the management NIC (the one that has an IP address and a default route). If you incorrectly assigned a NIC as the management interface, follow these steps to use DHCP to assign management IP address to the correct NIC.
1. Log in to the NSX Edge CLI and type the stop service dataplane command.
2. Type the set interface interface dhcp plane mgmt command.
3. Place interface into the DHCP network and wait for an IP address to be assigned to that interface.
4. Type the start service dataplane command.
  The datapath fp-ethX ports used for the VLAN uplink and the tunnel overlay are shown in the get interfaces and get physical-port commands on the NSX Edge node.

What to do next

If you did not join the NSX Edge with the management plane, see Join NSX Edge with the Management Plane.