Deploying vSphere with Tanzu using NSX Advanced Load Balancer (AVI)
In this article, we will explore how to deploy and configure vSphere with Tanzu using the NSX Advanced Load Balancer (AVI). This load balancer provides advanced features such as application visibility, intelligence, and automation, making it a powerful tool for managing and optimizing your virtualized infrastructure.
Before we begin, I want to emphasize that this article assumes you have already deployed vSphere with Tanzu and are familiar with the basic concepts and configurations. If you are new to vSphere with Tanzu, I recommend starting with my previous article, “Deploying vSphere with Tanzu: A Beginner’s Guide.”
Step 1: Deploy the AVI Controller
To start, we need to deploy the AVI Controller. To do this, log in to your vCenter Server and right-click on the vCenter Server icon in the inventory. Select “Deploy OVF Template” from the context menu.
Browse to the location of the downloaded OVA file and select it. Then, select a folder to contain the VM and provide a name for the VM. Finally, select a compute resource and a datastore to store the AVI Controller.
Step 2: Configure the AVI Controller
Once the AVI Controller has been deployed, we need to configure it. To do this, navigate to the vSphere Client and connect to the AVI Controller. You will be prompted to provide a username, password, and email address for the administrator account.
Next, you will need to provide DNS servers, a DNS domain, and a backup passphrase for the AVI components. Additionally, you can select an option for email/SMTP and VMware Orchestrator integration.
Step 3: Configure Networking
Now that the AVI Controller is configured, we need to configure networking. To do this, navigate to the “Infrastructure” tab in the vSphere Client and select the data center where you will be deploying vSphere with Tanzu.
Next, select the network IP address management option for your management network and select DHCP for virtual service placement. Additionally, you can specify a port group to be used for the management network.
Step 4: Configure Load Balancing
Now that networking is configured, we can configure load balancing. To do this, navigate to the “Infrastructure” tab in the vSphere Client and select the service engine group for your load balancer.
Next, click the “Edit” button for the default group and change the high availability mode to active/standby if you are using an Essentials license. You can also change the service engine prefix, folder, and deployment locations if multiple clusters exist.
Step 5: Create a Certificate
Before we can use the load balancer, we need to create a certificate. To do this, navigate to the “Administration” tab in the vSphere Client and select “Settings” -> “Licensing.” Apply the evaluation key or license file to update the license key.
Next, navigate to “Administration” -> “Settings” -> “Access Settings” and click the “Edit” button for the certificate. Delete the two certificates under SSL/TLS Certificate and select the dropdown menu to create a new certificate.
Enter the appliance FQDN/IP for both the name, common name, and SAN. You can either use a self-signed or CSR certificate. Select RSA 2048 or EC SECP256R1 for the algorithm and hit “Save.”
Step 6: Configure Load Balancing Subnets
Now that we have created a certificate, we need to configure the load balancing subnets. To do this, navigate to the “Infrastructure” tab in the vSphere Client and select the network icon for the load balancer.
Click the “Edit” button and enter the subnet that will be used for the load balancer. Select “Use Static IP Address for VIPs and SE” and enter a static IP address pool. Deselect DHCP enabled and exclude discovered subnets for virtual service placement.
Step 7: Create DNS Profiles
Next, we need to create DNS profiles. To do this, navigate to the “Infrastructure” tab in the vSphere Client and select “Templates” -> “Profile” -> “IPAM/DNS Profiles.” Click the “Create” button to create a new IPAM profile.
Configure the profile as shown in the image, allocating IPs in the VRF and selecting your default cloud and load balancer. Hit “Save.”
Step 8: Configure Load Balancing
Now that we have created DNS profiles, we can configure load balancing. To do this, navigate to the “Infrastructure” tab in the vSphere Client and select the service engine icon for your load balancer.
Click the “Edit” button for the default group and change the high availability mode to active/standby if you are using an Essentials license. You can also change the service engine prefix, folder, and deployment locations if multiple clusters exist. Hit “Save.”
And that’s it! With these steps, you should now have a fully configured AVI load balancer for your vSphere with Tanzu environment. Remember to regularly monitor and update your load balancer configuration to ensure optimal performance and security for your virtualized infrastructure.