Deploying in VMware ESX

Prerequisites and Guidelines

Virtual deployments are supported starting with Nexus Dashboard, Release 2.0.2h. Earlier releases support only the physical form factor described in Deploying as Physical Appliance.

Before you proceed with deploying the Nexus Dashboard cluster in VMware ESX, you must:

  • Review and complete the general prerequisites described in the Deployment Overview.

    Note that this document describes how to initially deploy a three-node Nexus Dashboard cluster. If you want to expand an existing cluster with additional nodes (such as worker or standby), see the "Deploying Additional Nodes" section of the Cisco Nexus Dashboard User Guide instead.

    The guide is available from the Nexus Dashboard UI or online at Cisco Nexus Dashboard User Guide

  • Ensure that the ESX form factor supports your scale and application requirements.

    Scale and application co-hosting vary based on the cluster form factor. You can use the Nexus Dashboard Capacity Planning tool to verify that the virtual form factor satisfies your deployment requirements.

  • Ensure you have enough system resources:

    Table 1. Deployment Requirements
    Nexus Dashboard Version Requirements

    Release 2.0.2h

    Earlier releases are not supported.

    • VMware vCenter 6.x

    • VMware ESXi 6.5 or 6.7

    • Each VM requires:

      • 16 vCPUs

      • 64 GB of RAM

      • 500 GB disk

    • We recommend that each Nexus Dashboard node is deployed in a different ESXi server.

  • After each node's VM is deployed, ensure that the VMware Tools periodic time synchronization is disabled as described in the deployment procedure in the next section.

ESX Host Network Connectivity

If you plan to install Nexus Dashboard Insights or Fabric Controller service and use the Persistent IPs feature, you must ensure that the ESX host where the cluster nodes are deployed has a single logical uplink. In other words, it is connected via a single link, PC, or vPC and not a dual Active/Active (A/A) or Active/Standby (A/S) link without PC/vPC.

The following diagrams summarize the supported and unsupported network connectivity configurations for the ESX host where the nodes are deployed:

  • In case the ESX host is connected directly, the following configurations are supported:

    • A/A uplinks of Port-Group or virtual switch with PC or vPC

    • Single uplink of Port-Group or virtual switch

    • Port-Channel used for the uplink of Port-Group or virtual switch.

    A/A or A/S uplinks of Port-Group or virtual switch without PC or vPC are not supported

    Figure 1. ESX Host Connectivity (Direct)

  • In case the ESX host is connected via a UCS Fabric Interconnect (or equivalent), the following configurations are supported:

    • A/S uplinks of Port-Group or virtual switch at UCS Fabric Interconnect level without PC or vPC

      In this case, the Active/Standby links are based on the server technology, such as Fabric Failover for Cisco UCS and not at the ESXi hypervisor level.

    • Single uplink of Port-Group or virtual switch

    A/A or A/S uplinks of Port-Group or virtual switch at the hypervisor level without PC or vPC are not supported

    Figure 2. ESX Host Connectivity (with Fabric Interconnect)

Deploying Cisco Nexus Dashboard in VMware ESX

This section describes how to deploy Cisco Nexus Dashboard cluster using VMware vCenter.

Before you begin

Procedure

Step 1

Obtain the Cisco Nexus Dashboard OVA image.

  1. Browse to the Software Download page.

    https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/data-center-analytics/nexus-dashboard/series.html

  2. Click the Downloads tab.

  3. Choose the Nexus Dashboard version you want to download.

  4. Download the Cisco Nexus Dashboard image (nd-dk9.<version>.ova).

Step 2

Log in to your VMware vCenter.

You cannot deploy the OVA directly in the ESX host, you must deploy it using the vCenter.

Note

 

Depending on the version of your vSphere client, the location and order of configuration screens may differ slightly. The following steps provide deployment details using VMware vSphere Client 6.7.

Step 3

Start the new VM deployment.

  1. Right-click the ESX host where you want to deploy.

  2. Then select Deploy OVF Template...

    The Deploy OVF Template wizard appears.

Step 4

In the Select an OVF template screen, provide the OVA image location.

  1. Select Local file and click Choose Files to select the OVA file you downloaded..

  2. Click Next to continue.

Step 5

In the Select a name and folder screen, provide a name and location for the VM.

  1. Provide the name for your virtual machine.

  2. Select the location for the virtual machine.

  3. Click Next to continue

Step 6

In the Select a compute resource screen, select the ESX host.

  1. Select the vCenter datacenter and the ESX host for the virtual machine.

  2. Click Next to continue

Step 7

In the Review details screen, click Next to continue.

Step 8

In the Select storage screen, provide the storage information.

  1. Select the datastore for the virtual machine.

    We recommend a unique datastore for each node.

  2. From the Select virtual disk format dropdown, select Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed.

  3. Click Next to continue

Step 9

In the Select networks screen, accept default values and click Next to continue.

There are two networks, fabric0 is used for the data network and mgmt0 is used for the management network.

Step 10

In the Customize template screen, provide the required information.

Note

 

The following few steps may be listed in different order depending on the version of the vSphere client you are using. The provided order and examples are using VMware vSphere 6.7.

In the Resource Configuration and Node Configuration categories, provide the following details:

  1. Provide the sizes for the node's data disks.

    We recommend using the default values for the required data disks.

  2. Provide the Node Name.

    This will be the hostname for node, do not use the fully qualified domain name (FQDN).

    For example, nd-node1

  3. Provide and confirm the Password.

    We recommend configuring the same password for all nodes, however you can choose to provide different passwords for the second and third node. If you provide different passwords, the first node's password will be used as the initial password of the admin user in the GUI.

  4. From the Role dropdown, select Master.

    When first deploying the cluster, all 3 nodes must be Master. Adding Worker and Standby nodes is described in the Cisco Nexus Dashboard User Guide.

In the Network Configuration category, provide the following details:

  1. Provide the Management Address and Subnet for the node.

    The management IP address can be in the same or different subnet as the data network IP address.

    For example, 192.168.10.11/24.

  2. Provide the Management Gateway IP.

    For example, 192.168.10.1.

  3. Provide the Data Network Address and subnet.

    The data network IP address can be in the same or different subnet as the management IP address.

    For example, 172.10.10.11/24.

  4. Provide the Data Network Gateway.

    For example, 172.10.10.1.

  5. (Optional) If the data traffic is on a VLAN, provide the Data Network Vlan.

    For most deployments, you can leave this field blank. If you do want to provide a VLAN ID for your data network, you can enter it in this field, for example 100.

In the Cluster Configuration Mandatory and Cluster Configuration Optional categories, provide the following details:

  1. Provide the Cluster Name for the Nexus Dashboard cluster.

    This name must be the same for all nodes.

    For example, nd-cluster.

  2. In the Master List field, provide the data network IP addresses of the other 2 nodes you will configure for your cluster.

    Each IP address in the list must be separated by a space.

    For example, if the data network IP addresses of all 3 nodes are 172.10.10.11, 172.10.10.12, and 172.10.10.13, the value of this field for the first node would be 172.10.10.12 172.10.10.13

  3. Provide a value for the dbgtoken field.

    Since this is the first node you are deploying, provide any 11-character value for this field (for example, abcdef12345). When you deploy the other two nodes, you will use this field to provide a token from the first node to simplify configuration.

  4. Leave the Download Config From Peers checkbox unchecked.

    You will use this option when configuring the other two nodes.

  5. Provide the App Subnet.

    The application overlay network defines the address space used by the application's services running in the Nexus Dashboard.

    The field is pre-populated with the default 172.17.0.1/16 value.

  6. Provide the Services Subnet.

    The services network is an internal network used by the Nexus Dashboard and its processes.

    The field is pre-populated with the default 100.80.0.0/16 value.

  7. Provide the NTP Servers information.

    For example, 10.197.145.2 10.197.146.2.

  8. Provide the Name servers information.

    For example, 10.197.145.3.

  9. (Optional) Provide the Search Domains information.

    For example, company.com.

Step 11

Verify that all information is valid and click Next to continue.

After you complete the Customize template screen, a verification banner is shown at the top.

Step 12

In the Ready to complete screen, verify that all information is accurate and click Finish to begin deploying the first node.

Step 13

Wait for the VM deployment to complete, ensure that the VMware Tools periodic time synchronization is disabled, then start the VM.

To disable time synchronization:

  1. Right-click the node's VM and select Edit Settings.

  2. In the Edit Settings window, select the VM Options tab.

  3. Expand the VMware Tools category and uncheck the Synchronize guest time with host option.

Step 14

Log in to the first node's console as the rescue-user.

Use the password you specified in the OVF template when deploying the VM.

Step 15

Retrieve the dbgtoken.

Run the following command:

$ acs debug-token
09GZ1PMB8CML

Make a note of this token, you will use it to deploy the other two nodes.

Keep in mind, the token expires and is refreshed every 30 minutes, so ensure to retrieve it when ready to deploy the second and third nodes.

Step 16

Deploy the second node.

The steps to deploy the second and third nodes are similar, with the exception that you can now use the dbgtoken from the first node to skip some of the configuration.

  1. Repeat Steps 2 through 9 to start deploying the 2nd node.

    We recommend using a different ESX host for each node.

  2. In the Cluster Configuration screen, provide the following information:

    • Node Name

      Do not use the fully qualified domain name (FQDN).

    • Password

      We recommend configuring the same password for all nodes, however you can choose to provide different passwords for the second and third node. If you provide different passwords, the first node's password will be used as the initial password of the admin user in the GUI.

    • Role

      When first deploying the cluster, all 3 nodes must be Master.

    • Management Network Address and subnet

    • Management Gateway IP

    • Data Network Address and subnet

    • Data Network Gateway

    • (Optional) If the data traffic is on a VLAN, provide the Data Network Vlan.

    • Cluster Name

      This name must be the same for all nodes. For example, nd-cluster.

    • Master List

      Provide the data network IP addresses of the other 2 nodes in your cluster separated by a space.

      For example, if the data network IP addresses of all 3 nodes are 172.10.10.11, 172.10.10.12, and 172.10.10.13, the value of this field for the second node would be 172.10.10.11 172.10.10.13

    • Provide the dbgtoken you obtained from the first node.

      The token expires and is refreshed every 30 minutes, ensure to obtain the latest valid token from the first node before continuing. For example, 09GZ1PMB8CML.

    • Check the Download Config From Peers

      The second and third nodes will download common configuration parameters from the first node using the dbgtoken.

  3. Skip Cluster Configuration Optional fields and click Next to continue.

  4. In the Ready to complete screen, verify that all information is accurate and click Finish to begin deploying the second node.

Step 17

Repeat the previous step to deploy the third node.

Step 18

Wait for the second and third node VMs deployment to complete, then start the VMs.

Step 19

Verify that the cluster is healthy.

It may take up to 30 minutes for the cluster to form and all the services to start.

After all three nodes are ready, you can log in to any one node via SSH and run the following command to verify cluster health:

  1. Verify that the cluster is up and running.

    You can check the current status of cluster deployment by logging in to any of the nodes and running the acs health command.

    While the cluster is converging, you may see the following outputs:

    $ acs health
k8s install is in-progress
    $ acs health
k8s services not in desired state - [...]
    $ acs health
k8s: Etcd cluster is not ready
    When the cluster is up and running, the following output will be displayed:
    $ acs health
All components are healthy

  2. Log in to the Nexus Dashboard GUI.

    After the cluster becomes available, you can access it by browsing to any one of your nodes' management IP addresses. The default password for the admin user is the same as the rescue-user password you chose for the first node of the Nexus Dashboard cluster.