If you have installed NSX-T Data Center on a vSphere Cluster using transport node profiles, you can follow these instructions to uninstall NSX-T Data Center from all hosts in the cluster.

For more information on transport node profiles, see Add a Transport Node Profile.

If you have not used a transport node profile to install NSX-T Data Center, or if you want to remove NSX-T Data Center from a subset of the hosts in the cluster, see Uninstall NSX-T Data Center from a Managed Host in a vSphere Cluster.

Note: Follow these instructions to uninstall NSX-T Data Center from a host in a cluster: Uninstall NSX-T Data Center from a Managed Host in a vSphere Cluster.

Prerequisites

  • In vCenter Server, put the hosts in maintenance mode and power off VMs running on the hosts if you want to migrate VMkernel adapters during uninstallation.

Procedure

  1. From a browser, log in with admin privileges to an NSX Manager at https://<nsx-manager-ip-address>.
  2. Navigate the UI based on the NSX-T Data Center version and select a host:
    • (NSX-T Data Center 3.2.2) System > Fabric > Hosts and select the Cluster tab.

    • (NSX-T Data Center 3.2.1 or earlier) System > Fabric > Nodes > Host Transport Node and from the Managed by dropdown menu, select a vCenter Server.

  3. Select the cluster you want to uninstall, and select Remove NSX.
    Note: If NSX Intelligence is also deployed on the host, uninstallation of NSX-T Data Center will fail because all transport nodes become part of a default network security group. To successfully uninstall NSX-T Data Center, you also need to select the Force Delete option before proceeding with uninstallation.
  4. Verify that the NSX-T Data Center software is removed from the host.
    1. Log into the host's command-line interface as root.
    2. Run this command to check for NSX-T Data Center VIBs 
      esxcli software vib list | grep -E 'nsx|vsipfwlib'
  5. (Host on an N-VDS switch) If the host goes into a failed state and NSX-T Data Center VIBs cannot be removed, run the nsxcli -c del nsx command to remove NSX-T Data Center from the host.
    1. Before running the del nsx command, do the following:
      • If there are VMkernel adapters on NSX port groups on the VDS switch, you must manually migrate or remove vmks from NSX port group to DV port groups on the VDS switch. If there are any vmks available on the NSX port groups, del nsx command execution fails.
      • Put the ESXi host in maintenance mode. The vCenter Server does not allow the host to be put in maintenance mode unless all running VMs on the host are in powered off state or moved to a different host.
      • Permanently disconnect the ESXi host transport node from NSX Manager by stopping nsx-proxy service running on the ESX host transport node. Log in to the ESXi CLI terminal and run /etc/init.d/nsx-proxy stop.
      • Refresh the NSX Manager UI.
      • Verify that the state of the ESXi host transport node is Disconnected from NSX Manager.
    2. Log in to the ESXi CLI terminal.
    3. Run nsxcli -c del nsx.
    4. Read the warning message. Enter Yes if you want to go ahead with NSX-T Data Center uninstallation. 
      Carefully read the requirements and limitations of this command:
1. Read NSX documentation for 'Remove a Host from NSX or Uninstall NSX Completely'.
2. Deletion of this Transport Node from the NSX UI or API failed, and this is the last resort.
3. If this is an ESXi host:
   a. The host must be in maintenance mode. 
   b. All resources attached to NSXPGs must be moved out.
   If the above conditions for ESXi hosts are not met, the command WILL fail.
4. For command progress check /scratch/log/nsxcli.log on ESXi host or /var/log/nsxcli.log on non-ESXi host.
Are you sure you want to remove NSX on this host? (yes/no)
      Important: After running the del nsx command, do not use the Resolve functionality in the NSX Manager UI to reprepare the host that is in Disconnected state. If you use the Resolve functionality, the host might go into Degraded state.
    5. Verify that the existing VMkernel and physical NICs on the N-VDS switch are migrated to a new vSwitch. If there are more than one N-VDS switches on the host, each N-VDS switch is migrated to a separate vSwitch. For example, if there are N-VDS1, and N-VDS2 switches on the host, the VMkernel adapters and physical NICs are migrated to vSwitch1 and vSwitch 2.
    6. In NSX Manager, if a transport node profile (TNP) is attached to the cluster, detach the profile.
    7. Select each host and click Remove NSX.
    8. In the popup window, select Force Delete and begin uninstallation.
    9. On the ESXi host, verify that system message displayed is Terminated. This message indicates that NSX-T Data Center is completely removed from the host.
      After running del nsx, all existing host switches are removed, VMkernels and physical NICs are migrated to newly created vSwitches, transport node is detached from NSX Manager, and NSX-T Data Center VIBs are removed. If any NSX-T Data Center VIBs remain on the host, contact VMware support.
  6. (Host on a VDS 7.0 switch) If the host goes into failed state and NSX-T Data Center VIBs cannot be removed, run the nsxcli -c del nsx command to remove NSX from the host.
    1. Before running the del nsx command, do the following:
      • If there are VMkernel adapters on NSX port groups on the VDS switch, you must manually migrate or remove vmks from NSX port group to DV port groups on the VDS switch. If there are any vmks available on the NSX port groups, del nsx command execution fails.
      • Put the ESXi host in maintenance mode. The vCenter Server does not allow the host to be put in maintenance mode unless all running VMs on the host are in powered off state or moved to a different host.
      • Permanently disconnect the ESXi host transport node from NSX Manager by stopping nsx-proxy service running on the ESX host transport node. Log in to the ESXi CLI terminal and run /etc/init.d/nsx-proxy stop.
      • Refresh the NSX Manager UI.
      • Verify that the state of the ESXi host transport node is Disconnected from NSX Manager.
    2. Log in to the ESXi CLI terminal.
    3. Run nsxcli -c del nsx.
    4. Read the warning message. Enter Yes if you want to go ahead with NSX-T Data Center uninstallation. 
      Carefully read the requirements and limitations of this command:
1. Read NSX-T documentation for 'Remove a Host from NSX-T Data Center or Uninstall NSX-T Data Center Completely'.
2. Deletion of this Transport Node from the NSX-T UI or API failed, and this is the last resort.
3. If this is an ESXi host:
   a. The host must be in maintenance mode.
   b. All resources attached to NSXPGs must be moved out.
   If the above conditions for ESXi hosts are not met, the command WILL fail.
4. For command progress check /scratch/log/nsxcli.log on ESXi host or /var/log/nsxcli.log on non-ESXi host.
Are you sure you want to remove NSX-T on this host? (yes/no)
      Important: After running the del nsx command, do not use the Resolve functionality in the NSX Manager UI to reprepare the host that is in Disconnected state . If you use the Resolve functionality, the host might go into Degraded state.
    5. In the NSX Manager UI, if a TNP is attached to the cluster, detach the profile.
    6. Select each host and click Remove NSX.
    7. In the popup window, select Force Delete and begin uninstallation.
    8. On the ESXi host, verify that system message displayed is Terminated. This message indicates that NSX-T Data Center is completely removed from the host.
      All existing host switches are removed, transport node is detached from NSX Manager, and NSX-T Data Center VIBs are removed. If any NSX-T Data Center VIBs remain on the host, contact VMware support.