Author: Matt Adam

In order for NSX-T to run properly, we need to first create a distributed switch in vCenter and add to it, the esxi hosts. From VMware: NSX Virtual Switch is based on vSphere distributed switches (VDSs), which provide uplinks for host connectivity to the top-of-rack (ToR) physical switches. Add a distributed switch in vCenter Add…

If you’ve made it this far and you’re still seeing errors in your lab (as I did) then there are a few things you should look for. DNS NTP MTU DNS I would ssh into all the components we’ve created (esxis, nsx-mgr, edge, vyos, etc…) and do some digs and nslookups. If any of them…

Since our lab will be running NSX, we’ll need to deploy the NSX Manager and do some configuration. Then we’ll deploy one NSX Edge, and test connectivity to a segment. Deploy NSX-T Manager Download NSX-T Manager Download the ISO file from VMware, should see a file like this: nsx-unified-appliance-3.2.1.0.0.19801963.ova Deploy the NSX-T Manager OVA Standard…

https://mattadam.com/2021/07/26/deploy-vcenter-7-and-vsan-on-nested-esxi/

Do you really need a DNS server? I would say probably. I guess technically you could just modify your host file and get to all the fqdns that you need, but a DNS server definitely makes your environment more streamlined. Also, vCenter is pretty picky with DNS and might cause problems down the road. Bottom…

So with the first lab I ran into some DHCP issues, since I wasn’t separating anything with vlans, nor was I separating the traffic via switches. With this new lab, I’ve simplified it even further. I’m not using any routing and switching, outside of NSX-T. So for configuring the Nested ESXis, you can still follow…

There’s lots of docs on this, but it’s worth adding this as a step, to rule out any future problems of NTP. You will do this for the physical ESXi hosts, and every nested esxi host that you create. Don’t skip this step. kb from vmware Configure NTP

I wanted to post some pictures and give some insight into building the supermicro. This will not be a step by step guide as most of the other guides I have posted. There is a better guide on this blog. So use that blog in combination with the high res motherboard pictures below. I think…

This components list is for the 2022 version of the Lab. I basically doubled everything on the server side, so I could have 2 servers instead of 1. Component List for Servers I pretty much followed this guide, except for a few small changes since some of the parts were discontinued or changed model number. Quantity Name…