Avi Load Balancer vs. NSX VPC for Supervisor Clusters in VCF 9.x

Products

• VMware vSphere Kubernetes Service
• VMware Cloud Foundation

Issue/Introduction

When planning a migration to VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1, users may find that VCF Automation defaults to Supervisor Clusters enabled with NSX VPCs. This leads to questions regarding whether existing production architectures using Avi Load Balancer (NSX Advanced Load Balancer) remain supported or if a transition to NSX VPCs is mandatory.

Environment

• VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.x
• VMware vSphere 8.x
• VMware vSphere Kubernetes Service (Tanzu)
•  VMware Avi Load Balancer (NSX Advanced Load Balancer)

Resolution

Both Avi Load Balancer and NSX VPCs are fully supported options for Supervisor Cluster networking in VCF 9.x. The choice between them should be based on functional requirements rather than mandatory compliance.

1. Avi Load Balancer (NSX Advanced Load Balancer)

• Support Status: Fully supported
• Use Case: Recommended for environments requiring advanced application delivery controller (ADC) features.
• Key Features: Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB), deep traffic analytics, complex traffic management, and specialized application security.
• Migration Note: Clients moving to VCF 9.1 do not need to abandon Avi or their existing licenses.

2. NSX with VPCs

• Support Status: Default recommended framework for VCF 9.1 Automation.
• Use Case: Ideal for organizations prioritizing native, automated, "cloud-like" consumption models.
• Key Features: Native multi-tenancy, streamlined self-service networking, and simplified integration for general automation workflows out of the box.
•  Migration Note: Offers a tighter, simplified integration for users who do not require the advanced analytics or GSLB capabilities of Avi.

Additional Information

• Deploying Supervisor with VCF Networking with VPC
• Deploying vSphere Supervisor with Foundation Load Balancer
• VMware Avi Load Balancer for VCF 9.1 Release Notes