How to Deploy NSX Manager
I recently redid my home environment. This post is to go over how I setup NSX Managers. As I have vSphere 8, at the time of the deployment, NSX Version is the only 1 supported. Check the VMware Interoperability matrix for compatibility.
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Prep Work/Requirements
VLANS - 3 - Create 3 physical vlans and present them to your VMHosts
vSphere Distributed Switch - Make sure this is version 7 or 8 (what ever version your ESXi/vcsa version are)
IP Pools - 2
Edges - 2
Download the NSX Manager OVA
Step 1
Read the Quick Start Guide
https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-NSX/4.0/quick_start/GUID-1669F047-97DC-46A9-BD42-61C1ED8EF2C0.html
Step 2
Open vSphere and Login > NSX > Click on Install NSX
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Step 3
Specify Local File > Upload Files > Select NSX Manager with vCenter Plugin OVA (nsx-embedded-unified-appliance-4.0.1.1.0.20598732.ova) > Click Next
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Step 4
Name the Virtual Machine. I used NSX-mgr-1, Select your Folder, and click Next
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Step 5
Select the cluster, Validate Compatibility, and Click on Next
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Step 6
Confirm OVF Package requires access to the vCenter Server, Validate the Info, and Click Next
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Step 7
Select the NSX Manager Size ( I choose Small for my home lab), and Click Next
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Step 8
Select the Storage Format, then Select the Storage Location to deploy the manager to, then Click Next
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Step 9
Select the Network for the NSX Manager to live on, the IP Protocol, and then Click Next
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Step 10
Type in all the details for your NSX Manager, Validate you typed everything correctly, then Click on Next. Make sure your Root User Password is ultra-complex, as the password could fail to be set correctly if you do not do an ultra-complex password. I ran into this issue on my first run.
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Step 11
Select the vCenter Server to associate the NSX Manager with, and Click Next
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Step 12
Validate all the configuration info, and Click Finish
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Wait for the OVA to deploy and automatically Power on. The manager will then register with your vCenter Servers.
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Post Deployment
Step 1
Login to the https web interface of your new NSX Manager node via IP https://10.0.2.11. This will not have a trusted certificate on the manager, so you will be required to accept the risk and continue.
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Step 2
Login with the admin user account and password
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Step 3
Accept the End User License Agreement
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Step 4
Join the Customer Experience Improvement Program
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Step 5
Click On System > Appliances > Add NSX Appliance
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Step 6
Enter VM Info including-
FQDN:
Management IPv4 CIDR:
Management Gateway IPv4:
Validate DNS/NTP/Search Domains, and Node size are correct, then Click on Next
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Step 7
Validate Computer Manager, Compute Cluster, Resource Pool, Host, Datastore, Virtual Disk Format, Select the Network, then click Next. It is a good recommendation to put NSX Managers on different Datastores to protect from a single point of failure.
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Step 8
Set SSH on/off, Enable Root access on/off, type in your root password, and Click Install Appliance
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Step 9
Wait until NSX Manager node deployment is completed and available, then repeat steps 5-9 to deploy the third node of the NSX Manager Cluster. This process can take 20-30 minutes depending upon storage, network, etc.
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Step 10
Click on Set Virtual IP, Input the Cluster Virtual IP, and Click Save
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