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Chapter 10. Installing VMware for CloudPlatform
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10.6. Configuring a vSphere Cluster with Nexus 1000v
Virtual Switch
CloudPlatform supports Cisco Nexus 1000v dvSwitch (Distributed Virtual Switch) for virtual network
configuration in a VMware vSphere environment. This section helps you configure a vSphere cluster
with Nexus 1000v virtual switch in a VMware vCenter environment. For information on creating a
vSphere cluster, see Chapter 10, Installing VMware for CloudPlatform
10.6.1. About Cisco Nexus 1000v Distributed Virtual Switch
The Cisco Nexus 1000V virtual switch is a software-based virtual machine access switch for VMware
vSphere environments. It can span multiple hosts running VMware ESXi 4.0 and later. A Nexus virtual
switch consists of two components: the Virtual Supervisor Module (VSM) and the Virtual Ethernet
Module (VEM). The VSM is a virtual appliance that acts as the switch's supervisor. It controls multiple
VEMs as a single network device. The VSM is installed independent of the VEM and is deployed in
redundancy mode as pairs or as a standalone appliance. The VEM is installed on each VMware ESXi
server to provide packet-forwarding capability. It provides each virtual machine with dedicated switch
ports. This VSM-VEM architecture is analogous to a physical Cisco switch's supervisor (standalone or
configured in high-availability mode) and multiple linecards architecture.
Nexus 1000v switch uses vEthernet port profiles to simplify network provisioning for virtual machines.
There are two types of port profiles: Ethernet port profile and vEthernet port profile. The Ethernet port
profile is applied to the physical uplink ports-the NIC ports of the physical NIC adapter on an ESXi
server. The vEthernet port profile is associated with the virtual NIC (vNIC) that is plumbed on a guest
VM on the ESXi server. The port profiles help the network administrators define network policies which
can be reused for new virtual machines. The Ethernet port profiles are created on the VSM and are
represented as port groups on the vCenter server.
10.6.2. Prerequisites and Guidelines
This section discusses prerequisites and guidelines for using Nexus virtual switch in CloudPlatform.
Before configuring Nexus virtual switch, ensure that your system meets the following requirements:
• A cluster of servers (ESXi 4.1 or later) is configured in the vCenter.
• Each cluster managed by CloudPlatform is the only cluster in its vCenter datacenter.
• A Cisco Nexus 1000v virtual switch is installed to serve the datacenter that contains the vCenter
cluster. This ensures that CloudPlatform doesn't have to deal with dynamic migration of virtual
adapters or networks across other existing virtual switches. See Cisco Nexus 1000V Installation and
Upgrade Guide
1
for guidelines on how to install the Nexus 1000v VSM and VEM modules.
• The Nexus 1000v VSM is not deployed on a vSphere host that is managed by CloudPlatform.
• When the maximum number of VEM modules per VSM instance is reached, an additional VSM
instance is created before introducing any more ESXi hosts. The limit is 64 VEM modules for each
VSM instance.
• CloudPlatform expects that the Management Network of the ESXi host is configured on the
standard vSwitch and searches for it in the standard vSwitch. Therefore, ensure that you do not
migrate the management network to Nexus 1000v virtual switch during configuration.
1
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/datacenter/nexus1000/sw/4_2_1_s_v_1_5_1/install_upgrade/vsm_vem/guide/
n1000v_installupgrade.html