You can use VMware NSX-T Data Center™ on a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image. As a result, you can use NSX Manager to install, upgrade, or remove NSX components on the ESXi hosts in a cluster that you manage with a single image.
Requirements
- Verify that all ESXi hosts in the cluster are version 7.0 Update 1 or later.
- Verify that vCenter Server is version 7.0 Update 1 or later.
- Verify that VMware NSX-T Data Center™ is version 3.1 or later.
- Verify that a vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) is configured to manage the VMware NSX-T Data Center™ traffic.
Supported Workflows
- You can enable VMware NSX-T Data Center™ on a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image.
You perform the operation by configuring a transport node profile (TNP) for the cluster in the NSX Manager. In the NSX Manager, you can either manually add a TNP to the cluster, or automatically generate one in the Getting Started wizard. You can continue leveraging individual transport node configurations, but you must always use a TNP for the clusters that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image. You cannot enable VMware NSX-T Data Center™ on a cluster that uses a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image if you choose to only use individual transport node configurations for the hosts in the cluster.
- You can add hosts to a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image and that is enabled with VMware NSX-T Data Center™ . You can also remove hosts from such a cluster.
You perform the add and remove host operations in the vSphere Client. When you add a host to the cluster, vSphere Lifecycle Manager automatically installs the VMware NSX-T Data Center™ component to the newly added host. To add a host to a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image, the host must be added to the VDS associated with the TNP. Otherwise, the host cannot fully work with VMware NSX-T Data Center™ .
When you move a host from one cluster that uses a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image to another, vSphere Lifecycle Manager applies the target cluster's image together with the target VMware NSX-T Data Center™ component to the newly added host. If a host is deleted from the vCenter Server inventory, the VMware NSX-T Data Center™ component is uninstalled from the host.
For more information about adding and removing hosts to and from a cluster, see the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation.
- You can upgrade VMware NSX-T Data Center™ 3.1 to a later version in a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image.
You perform the operation from the NSX Manager.
- You can upgrade both VMware NSX-T Data Center™ and ESXi in a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager remediation task. The workflow is supported only if you upgrade from VMware NSX-T Data Center™ version 3.1.
In the NSX Manager, you stage the VMware NSX-T Data Center™ upgrade as part of the image that the cluster uses. From the vSphere Lifecycle Manager user interface in the vSphere Client, you can further edit the image and you initiate remediation of the cluster. During remediation, vSphere Lifecycle Manager applies both the VMware NSX-T Data Center™ and ESXi upgrades to the hosts in the cluster. For more information, see the NSX-T Data Center Upgrade Guide documentation.
- You can switch from using vSphere Lifecycle Manager to using a vSphere Lifecycle Manager image for a cluster that is enabled with VMware NSX-T Data Center™ .
- You can uninstall VMware NSX-T Data Center™ from a host or a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image.
- You can check the compliance, generate a remediation pre-check report, and remediate a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image and that is enabled with VMware NSX-T Data Center™ .
You perform the check compliance, generate a remediation pre-check, and remediation operations in the vSphere Client. Whenever you change the VMware NSX-T Data Center™ configuration in the NSX Manager, the compliance state of the cluster that you see on the Updates tab for the cluster in the vSphere Client changes to non-compliant. You can remediate non-compliant hosts and clusters in the vSphere Client or you can solve the issues that cause non-compliance in the NSX Manager.
- You can back up and restore VMware NSX-T Data Center™ .
- You can export the vSphere Lifecycle Manager image of a cluster that is enabled with VMware NSX-T Data Center™ and import this image to another cluster that has both vSphere Lifecycle Manager images and VMware NSX-T Data Center™ enabled.
For detailed information about all workflows that you perform in the NSX Manager, see the NSX-T Data Center Administration documentation.
Upgrading the VMware NSX-T Data Center™ Components in a vSAN Cluster
To upgrade the VMware NSX-T Data Center™ components installed on the hosts in a cluster, you must remediate the cluster against a vSphere Lifecycle Manager image that contains the latest version of those VMware NSX-T Data Center™ components.
In a vSAN cluster with configured fault domains, vSphere Lifecycle Manager recognizes the configured fault domains for the cluster and performs the solution upgrade in accordance with the fault domain configuration. If the vSAN cluster is a stretched cluster, you must upgrade the witness host separately, after vSphere Lifecycle Manager finishes remediating all fault domains. For more information about remediating vSAN stretched clusters and vSAN clusters configured with fault domains, see Using vSphere Lifecycle Manager Images to Remediate vSAN Clusters with Configured Fault Domains. For more information about stretched clusters, see the vSAN Planning and Deployment documentation.
Scalability
For information about the scalability that vSphere Lifecycle Manager supports, visit the VMware Configuration Maximums Matrix at https://configmax.vmware.com/.
