VMware NSX Installation and Configuration Part 1 – Prerequisites for Deploying NSX in vSphere Environment:

This has been a long pending series of blog Post on VMware NSX (6.2.2) Installation and configuration that I wanted to share. Last month I have installed NSX 6.2.2 in my lab, the first and most important thing before installation is to make sure all the prerequisite is in place for a smooth NSX installation.

Software Prerequisites for NSX 6.2.2:

VMware vCenter Server 5.5U3 with ESXi 5.5

VMware vCenter Server 6.0U2 with ESXi 6.0

At least three ESXi 5.5/6 host

For the latest interoperability information, you can refer to Product Interoperability Matrixes at

http://partnerweb.vmware.com/comp_guide2/sim/interop_matrix.php

Hardware Prerequisites for NSX 6.2.2:1

Client and User Access Prerequisites:

  • If you added ESXi hosts by name to the vSphere inventory, ensure that forward and reverse name Resolution is working. Otherwise, NSX Manager cannot resolve the IP addresses.
  • Permissions to add and power on virtual machines
  • Access to the datastore where you store virtual machine files and the account permissions to copy file to that datastore
  • Cookies enabled on your Web browser, to access the NSX Manager user interface
  • From NSX Manager, ensure port 443 is accessible from the ESXi host, the vCenter Server, and the NSX appliances to be deployed. This port is required to download the OVF file on the ESXi host for deployment.
  • A Web browser that is supported for the version of vSphere Web Client you are using

Ports and Protocols Required by NSX:

The below ports must be open for NSX to operate properly:23.png

vSphere Distributed Switch:

The VxLAN based logical switching needs the vSphere distributed switch, vSphere standard switch is not a supported configuration with NSX.

NSX vSwitch is based on vSphere distributed switches (VDSs), which provide uplinks for host connectivity to the top-of-rack (ToR) physical switches. As a best practice, VMware recommends that you plan and prepare your vSphere distributed switches before installing NSX for vSphere. A single host can be

Attached to multiple VDSs. A single VDS can span multiple hosts across multiple clusters. For each host cluster that will participate in NSX, all hosts within the cluster must be attached to a common VDS.

NSX Installation workflow:

Installation involves deployment of multiple virtual appliances, ESXi host preparations and configuration across physical and virtual components.

4.png

I will be covering the installation of each components in separate blog posts starting with Installation and configuration of NSX Manager. Thanks for reading this, if you find the information useful, share it on social media.

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