In this section i will explain how to deploy an NSXALB controller and form a cluster. Once the cluster has been created we can deploy the (Data plane) Services Engines and the load balancers.
Process:
Deploy the Controllers:
Download the ova file and start the ova deployment process
Name the controller and specificy the cluster you wish to deploy the appliance.
Select the reasource you wish to deploy the controller to.
Select the datastore you wish the controller to be deployed on.
Specifiy the Port Group, Segment etc for the management interface of the controller.
Enter the Ip address, Subnet and gateway of the appliance
Repeat the process another two (2x) more times so we have 3 nodes to form a cluster.
Configure first controller node:
To configure the cluster you first have to setup the first node, to do this log onto one of the appliances http://ipaddressofappliance
Fill out the below form:
Enter you DNS servers, DNS search Domain and a Passphrase needed for backups
My configuration example
Enter your SMTP Server details, for this lab i selected none. This can be amended at a later point if required.
Configure Cluster
Log onto one of the AVI controller nodes http://ipaddresssofcontroller. Click on infrastructure
Click on Controller tab.
Click on Edit
Enter Controller Cluster name, Cluster IP and the IP addresses of the other nodes. Example below:
Once complete the controller list will look similar to below, with one leader node and two (2x) followers
