Best practices when working with VXLAN PortGroups on a VMware virtual distributed switch

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article outlines best practices to consider when creating a VXLAN network through vShield Manager or NSX Manager. When a VXLAN network pool is created, a portgroup is created on the distributed switch in vCenter.

Environment

VMware vShield 5.1.x

Resolution

Teaming and failover setting for VXLAN portgroup

The portgroup is configured with predefined settings (including Load Balancing settings) that depend on the options selected during the configuration.

 

This table shows how the portgroup is configured:

 

Fail Over	Use Explicit Failover Order
Static EtherChannel	Route based on IP Hash
LACP – Active Mode	Route based on IP Hash
LACP – Passive Mode	Route based on IP Hash

Caution:

• This configuration is created by vShield Manager or NSX Manager. Broadcom does not recommend changing these settings using the networking view in vCenter Server as this can cause network failures.
• Do not carry out any action on the Distributed Switch that changes or modifies this configuration.

Uplinks

When the VXLAN portgroup is created, the vShield Manager or NSX Manager database is updated with the number of Uplinks configured at the time the portgroup is created. This is only updated during the initial configuration.

 

Any changes made to the distributed switch in vCenter Server after this initial step are not reflected in the vShield Manager or NSX Manager database and may result in failures when creating new VXLAN backed networks.

Additional Information

Impact/Risks:
Changing the portgroup configuration in vCenter Server after the initial configuration can cause network failures.