Best practices for configuring OSPF areas with VMware NSX for vSphere 6.x logical routers

Products

• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

This article describes VMware best practices for configuring OSPF areas with the NSX for vSphere logical router.

Environment

VMware NSX for vSphere 6.1.x
VMware NSX for vSphere 6.0.x

Resolution

VMware NSX for vSphere 6.x logical routers are pre-populated with two OSPF areas:

• Area 0
• Area 51

These areas can be modified and deleted. However, VMware recommends these best practices when configuring areas:

• Area 0 or the Backbone Area is required to achieve the required connectivity. Each non-backbone area must have at least one router connected to Area 0.
• An OSPF network can have only a single Backbone Area.
• At least one internal router (a router having all interfaces mapped to the same area) in the NSSA must have connectivity to an Area Border Router (ABR).
• When configuring NSX for vSphere Distributed Logical Router (DLR), if the uplink interface is not mapped to the Backbone Area, then VMware recommends connecting the uplink interface to an ABR.