An NSX Manager cluster provides high availability. You can deploy NSX Manager nodes using the user interface only on ESXi hosts managed by vCenter Server. To create an NSX Manager cluster, deploy two additional nodes to form a cluster of three nodes total. When you deploy a new node from the UI, the node connects to the first deployed node to form a cluster. All the repository details and the password of the first deployed node are synchronized with the newly deployed node.

Prerequisites

  • Verify that an NSX Manager node is installed.
  • Verify that a compute manager is configured.
  • Verify that the required ports are open.
  • Verify that a datastore is configured on the ESXi host.
  • Verify that you have the IP address and gateway, DNS server IP addresses, domain search list, and the NTP server IP address for the NSX Manager to use.
  • Verify that you have a target VM port group network. Place the NSX appliances on a management VM network.

Procedure

  1. From a browser, log in with admin privileges to the NSX Manager at https://<manager-ip-address>.
  2. To deploy an appliance, select System > Appliances > Add NSX Appliance.
  3. Enter the appliance details.
    Option Description
    Hostname Enter the host name or FQDN to use for the node.
    Management IP/Netmask Enter an IP address to be assigned to the node.
    Management Gateway Enter a gateway IP address to be used by the node.
    DNS servers Enter the list of DNS server IP addresses to be used by the node.
    NTP server Enter the list of NTP server IP addresses
    Node Size Select Medium (6 vCPU, 24 GB RAM, 300 GB storage) form factor from the options.
  4. Enter the appliance configuration details
    Option Description
    Compute Manager Select the vCenter Server that you configured as compute manager.
    Compute Cluster Select the cluster that the node must join.
    Datastore Select a datastore for the node files.
    Virtual Disk Format Select Thin Provision format.
    Network Click Select Network to select the management network for the node.
  5. Enter the access and credentials details.
    Option Description
    Enable SSH Toggle the button to allow SSH login to the new node.
    Enable Root Access Toggle the button to allow root access to the new node.
    System Root Credentials Set and confirm the root password for tne new node.
    Your password must comply with the password strength restrictions.
    • At least 12 characters.
    • At least one lower-case letter.
    • At least one upper-case letter.
    • At least one digit.
    • At least one special character.
    • At least five different characters.
    • Default password complexity rules are enforced by the Linux PAM module.
    Admin CLI Credentials and Audit CLI Credentials Select the Same as root password check box to use the same password that you configured for root, or deselect the check box and set a different password.
  6. Click Install Appliance.
    The new node is deployed. You can track the deployment process in the System> > Appliances page. Do not add additional nodes until the installation is finished and the cluster is stable.
  7. Wait for the deployment, cluster formation, and repository synchronization to finish.
    The joining and cluster stabilizing process might take from 10 to 15 minutes. Verify that the status for every cluster service group is UP before making any other cluster changes.
  8. After the node boots, log in to the CLI as admin and run the get interface eth0 command to verify that the IP address was applied as expected.
  9. If your cluster has only two nodes, add another appliance. Select System > Appliances > Add NSX Appliance and repeat the configuration steps.