Brownfield AVI Load Balancer "does not belong to VCF instances" after configuring the AVI Load Balancer Management Pack in VCF 9.1

Products

• VCF Operations

Issue/Introduction

• There are no option to import Browfield AVI Load Balancer in VCF 9.1
• The AVI Load Balancer Management Pack (Avi Load Balancer - Operations) shows the warning in VCF Operations > Operate > Administration > Integrations:

 "Avi cluster doesn't belong to VCF instance. Data collection won't be done for this adapter instance"

Environment

• VCF Operations 9.1
• AVI Load Balancer 32.1.x

Cause

• Directly importing an existing standalone Avi Load Balancer cluster into VCF 9.1 is unsupported by design.
• VCF 9.1 infrastructure integration mandates that Avi Controllers be directly deployed and instantiated by VCF Operations to establish native VCF awareness.

Resolution

To successfully integrate the Avi Load Balancer infrastructure into VCF 9.1 while retaining existing virtual services, configurations, and Service Engines (SEs), perform a complete backup, redeployment, and restore procedure:

1. Log into the active standalone Avi Controller and take a full cluster configuration backup. Ensure the backup artifact is stored securely off-node. Refer to Avi Load Balancer VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 Backup and Restore.
2. Power off and delete the virtual machines corresponding to the standalone Avi Controller nodes. Do not power off or delete the running Service Engine (SE) VMs.
3. Initiate the deployment of a new Avi Controller cluster directly from the VCF Operations interface to ensure native VCF-awareness bindings are established.
4. Import and apply the previously saved configuration backup onto the newly deployed VCF-aware Avi Controller cluster. This re-binds the controller cluster to the existing running Service Engines without interrupting dataplane traffic.
5. Regarding the Management Pack, select and deploy the appropriate Management Pack based on operational needs:
   • Avi Load Balancer - Observability: (Formerly the NSX ALB Management Pack). Install and configure this management pack to monitor performance metrics, system health, and analytics. Refer to Upload Management Packs.
   • Avi Load Balancer - Operations: Use this management pack exclusively for day-2 lifecycle operations (such as automated password and certificate management) on the newly instantiated VCF-aware controller. This management pack will not work with a Brownfiled AVI Load Balancer.