Configure the NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controller VM for your vSphere IaaS control plane environment.

To connect the load balancer control plane with the vCenter Server environment, the NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controller requires several post-deployment configuration parameters.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Using a browser, navigate to the IP address that you specified when deploying the NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controller.
  2. Create an Administrator Account.
    Option Description
    Username The administrator user name for initial configuration. You cannot edit this field.
    Password Enter an administrator password for the Controller VM.

    The password must be at least 8 characters and contain a combination of numeric, special, uppercase, and lowercase characters.
    Confirm Password Enter the administrator password again.
    Email Address (optional) Enter an administrator email address.

    It is recommended that you provide an email address for password recovery in a production environment.
  3. Configure System Settings.
    Option Description
    Passphrase Enter a passphrase for the Controller backup. The Controller configuration is automatically backed up to the local disk on a periodic basis. For more information, see Backup and Restore.

    The passphrase must be at least 8 characters and contain a combination of numeric, special, uppercase, and lowercase characters.
    Confirm Passphrase Enter the backup passphrase again.
    DNS Resolver Enter an IP address for the DNS server you are using in the vSphere IaaS control plane environment. For example, 10.14.7.12.
    DNS Search Domain Enter a domain string.
  4. Assign a license.
    1. Select Administration > Licensing.
    2. Select Settings.
    3. Select Enterprise Tier and click SAVE.
    4. To add the license, select Upload from Computer.
      After the license file is uploaded, it appears in the Controller license list. The system displays the information about the license, including the start date and the expiration date.
  5. To allow the NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controller to communicate with NSX Manager create NSX Manager credentials. In the NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controller dashboard, select Administration > User Credentials.
    Option Description
    Name Name of the credentials. For example, nsxuser
    Credentials Type Select NSX-T.
    Username Enter the user name to log in to NSX Manager.
    Password Enter the password for the NSX Manager.
  6. To allow the NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controller to communicate with vCenter Server create vCenter Server credentials.
    Option Description
    Name Name of the credentials. For example, vcuser.
    Credentials Type Select vCenter.
    Username Enter the user name to log in to vCenter Server.
    Password Enter the password for the vCenter Server.
  7. Create a placeholder IPAM profile.
    IPAM is required to allocate virtual IP addresses when virtual services get created.
    1. In the NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controller dashboard, select Templates > IPAM/DNS Profiles.
      The NEW IPAM/DNS PROFILE page is displayed.
    2. Enter a name for the profile. For example, default-ipam.
    3. Select Type as Avi Vantage IPAM.
    4. Click Save.
  8. Configure NSX Cloud.
    1. In the NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controller dashboard, select Infrastructure > Clouds.
    2. Enter a name for the cloud. For example, nsx-cloud
    3. Select NSX-T Cloud as the cloud type.
    4. Select DHCP.
    5. Enter an Object Name Prefix for the service engines. The prefix string must only have letters, numbers, and underscore. This field cannot be changed once the cloud is configured. For example, nsx
  9. Enter the NSX credentials.
    1. Enter the NSX Manager IP address.
    2. Enter the NSX Managercredentials that you created. For example, nsxuser.
  10. Configure the Management Network. The management network is the communication channel between the NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controller and the Service Engines.
    Option Description
    Transport Zone The transport zone where the Service Engine is placed.

    Select the overlay transport zone. For example, nsx-overlay-transportzone.
    Tier1 Logical Router Select the tier-1 gateway. For example, Tier-1_VWT.
    Overlay Segment The management overlay segment from which the Service Engine management NIC gets the IP address. For example, nsxoverlaysegment.
  11. Configure the Data Network.
    In the Data Network section, click ADD.
    Option Description
    Transport Zone Select the overlay transport zone. For example, nsx-overlay-transportzone.
    Logical Router Enter the tier-1 gateway. For example, Tier-1_VWT.
    Overlay Segment Select the overlay segment. For example, nsxoverlaysegment.
  12. Enter the vCenter Server credentials.
    In the vCenter Serversection, click ADD.
    Option Description
    Name Name of the credentials you created earlier. For example, vcuser.
    URL The IP address of the vCenter Server.
  13. Add the IPAM profile that you created earlier. In IPAM Profile, select default-ipam.
    IPAM is required to allocate virtual IP addresses when virtual services get created.

Results

Once you complete the configuration, you see the NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controller Dashboard. Select the Infrastructure > Clouds and verify that the status of the NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controllerfor NSX Cloud is green. Sometimes the status can be yellow for some time till the NSX Advanced Load Balancer Controller discovers all the port groups in the vCenter Server environment, before it turns green.

What to do next

Configure a Service Engine Group. See Configure a Service Engine Group.