Missing TEP VMkernel ports on ESXi hosts after importing vCenter environment to VCF 9 and configuring NSX
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Missing TEP VMkernel ports on ESXi hosts after importing vCenter environment to VCF 9 and configuring NSX

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Article ID: 436531

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Updated On:

Products

VMware NSX VMware Cloud Foundation

Issue/Introduction

After importing a vCenter environment into VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 and configuring it to use NSX, the standard TEP VMkernel ports are not created on the ESXi hosts. This occurs even though the NSX configuration process is marked as complete.

Environment

 

  • VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0
  • VMware NSX
  • VMware vCenter Server

 

Cause

The imported clusters require the default cluster to be configured with dedicated TEPs to act as a template for subsequent clusters. Without this baseline configuration on the default cluster, SDDC Manager cannot synchronize and apply the TEP configurations to the other hosts.

Resolution

Update the Transport Node Profile (TNP) to use dedicated TEPs on the default cluster, then perform a sync on SDDC Manager.

Part 1: Identify the Default Cluster

  1. SSH into the SDDC Manager VM using the vcf user account.

  2. Elevate to the root user:

    su root

  3. Execute the following command, replacing <vCenter_Cluster_Name> with the name of each cluster in your imported vSphere environment:

    /usr/bin/psql -h localhost -U postgres -d platform -x -c "select * from cluster where name='<vCenter_Cluster_Name>';"

  4. Check the output for the is_default field. It displays t for True or f for False. Note which cluster returns True.

Part 2: Create the IP Pool in NSX

  1. Log in to the NSX UI.

  2. Navigate to Networking > IP Address Pools.

  3. Add a new IP address pool that will provide the addresses for your TEP network.

Part 3: Update the Transport Node Profile

  1. In NSX, navigate to System > Fabric > Hosts > Clusters.

  2. Locate the default cluster identified in Part 1 and confirm its associated profile in the Applied Profile column.

  3. Switch to the Transport Node Profile tab and select the TNP to edit.

  4. Click the number shown under Host Switch to open the Host Switch page.

  5. Edit the host switch associated with an Overlay transport zone.

  6. Confirm the Overlay Transport Zone being used contains the following tags (System > Fabric > Transport Zones):

    • Tag: VCF with Scope: vcf-orchestration

    • Tag: VCF with Scope: Created by

  7. Verify the IPv4 Assignment field. If it is set to Use VMkernel Adapter, change it to Use IP Pool.

  8. Set the IPv4 field to the TEP IP Pool you created in Part 2.

  9. Click Add, then Apply, then Save. This creates the TEP VMkernel ports on each ESXi host in the default cluster.

Part 4: Synchronize SDDC Manager

  1. Perform an Inventory Sync on the SDDC Manager.

  2. Once the sync completes, it imports the changes, allowing SDDC Manager to offer the option to configure NSX Overlay Networking.

Additional Information

For more information, review the documentation on how to Import an Existing vCenter to Create a Workload Domain.

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