Safely Remove Legacy Unused Edge Nodes After XL Edge Nodes Deployed

Products

• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

Validation is requested to confirm if previously deployed NSX Edge Nodes can be safely removed from NSX and vCenter. New Edge nodes sized XL were deployed, leaving the older, smaller deployment size Edges idle in the environment.

Environment

NSX 4.1.2.5

 

Cause

This is an administrative validation request following a planned deployment. The presence of the old Edge nodes is a direct result of deploying new XL-sized Edges without immediately decommissioning the legacy, smaller-sized Edges. The previous Edge nodes are confirmed to be isolated and unused, with UUID validation verifying that the legacy appliances are completely detached from the Edge cluster.

Resolution

1. Navigate to System → Fabric → Nodes → Edge Transport Nodes.
2. Click on each Edge to get the UUID from the Overview/Summary. Shown as ID or External ID.
3. Enter the UUID in the NSX Search at the top of the NSX UI.
4. Verify each legacy Edge node's UUID to validate that they are no longer connected to an Edge cluster.
5. Confirm the previous Edge nodes are isolated and unused, ensuring removal does not impact active traffic or clustering operations.
6. Navigate to System → Fabric → Nodes → Edge Transport Nodes.
7. Select all target legacy Edges by clicking the checkbox beside the Edge header.
8. Click Delete. All selected Edges are deleted from the NSX inventory.
9. If the Edges were deployed via the NSX GUI, the virtual machines are powered down and deleted from the vCenter inventory automatically.
10. If the Edges were deployed manually (via OVA), they are not deleted from the vCenter inventory. They must be powered down and deleted manually via the vCenter user interface.

Additional Information

To process the safe removal of the edge appliances, you may also reference: NSX Uninstall Process: Troubleshooting and Removal Steps