6.3.4 NSX Controller Cluster
The NSX Controller cluster is the control plane component that is responsible for managing the switching and routing modules in the ESXi VMkernel. The following table shows which VMware NSX features require the NSX Controller cluster.
Table 8. NSX Controller Cluster Feature Requirement
NSX Feature | NSX Controller Cluster Requirement |
VXLAN Transport Control Plane Multicast Hybrid Unicast | |
Distributed firewall | |
NSX Edge gateways | |
Distributed logical router | |
VXLAN – VLAN bridging | |
ARP suppression | |
For migration from vCloud Network and Security to VMware NSX, the NSX Controller cluster must be deployed before any of the advanced NSX features that require it are used.
The following are NSX Controller cluster design considerations:
• NSX Controller cluster consists of NSX Controller nodes, which are deployed by NSX Manager to the vSphere environment which the NSX Manager is paired with. Therefore, the NSX Controller is running in the resource group vSphere clusters.
• NSX Controller cluster consists of three nodes, which are virtual machines deployed by NSX Manager. An NSX Controller cluster with one VM can be used only for training and demo purposes. An even number of controllers is not supported because there must always be a quorum.
• For high availability purposes, place each NSX Controller node on a different host. This can be achieved with a manually created anti-affinity DRS rule.
• The NSX Controller node VM must be connected to a standard or distributed port group. It cannot be connected to a VXLAN-based port group (logical switch).
• NSX Controller instances must have network connectivity to NSX Manager and ESXi management vmknics. They do not need to be deployed in the same Layer 2 subnet.
• NSX 6.3.2 and later offers Controller Disconnected Operation (CDO) mode which provides resiliency against control plane (Controller Cluster) failure. CDO mode is currently supported if there is only one transport zone of vSphere Distributed Switch, which means only one Provider VDC VXLAN network pool.
