Cisco Nexus 1000V Installation Workflow

The following installation workflow describes the information and actions that you must take in order to implement a functioning Cisco Nexus 1000V system.

1. Basic

Download Cisco Nexus 1000V software from Cisco.com
Decide whether to deploy in Layer 2 or Layer 3 Control mode (Layer 3 is recommended)
Gather the following data:

Domain ID
Mgmt IP, Subnet, and Gateway for the VSM
Admin password for the VSM
For Layer 3 Control:
Decide whether mgmt and L3 Control port will be unified or separate
If separate, IP addresses for L3 Control port for each ESX host
For Layer 2 Control:
Control / Packet VLANs

Choose a vSphere Host / Cluster to deploy the VSM

For additional information, see the following document:

Cisco Nexus 1000V Installation and Upgrade Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV2(1.1)

2. vSphere

Setup VMware vCenter (VC) Server and Virtual Infrastructure (VI) Client (version 4.1 / 5.0 / 5.1 – including updates for each version)
(Optional) Set up VMware Update Manager (VUM) (version 4.1 / 5.0 / 5.1 – including updates for each version)
Setup VMware vSphere ESX / ESXi Servers (version 4.1 / 5.0 / 5.1 – including patches and updates for each version)

For additional information, see the following document:

VMware Documentation

3a. VSM / HA (Manual)

Install VSM on the Host / Cluster Using ISO / OVA / OVF

a. Configure the VSM as Primary on the vSphere / ESXi host using the manual installation process

b. Provide the following information:

vCenter Server
Management IP / Subnet / Gateway
Domain ID
Admin password

Choose L2 or L3 mode

Set Control / Packet VLAN (must be configured as system VLAN on the uplink)
Register VC Plugin on vCenter
Create VC (SVS) connection from VSM CLI
Create and configure uplink port profile

Mgmt0

Set L3 mode as Mgmt
Register VC Plugin on vCenter
Create VC (SVS) connection from VSM CLI
Create port profile with capability l3control (using a system VLAN)
Create and configure uplink port profile

Control0

Set Control0 IP / Subnet / Gateway (must be in a different Subnet than mgmt0)
Set L3 mode as control
Register VC Plugin on vCenter
Create VC (SVS) connection from VSM CLI
Create port profile with capability l3control (using a system VLAN)
Create and configure uplink port profile

Configuring the High Availability (HA) environment

Deploy Secondary VSM to complete HA Pair
Specify matching Control / Management / Portgroups as Primary
Specify Secondary Role and Matching Domain ID
Validate HA Pair synchronization
If using a DRS Cluster, specify Primary / Secondary anti-affinity rules

For additional information, see the following document:

Cisco Nexus 1000V Installation and Upgrade Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV2(1.1)

3b. VSM / HA (Installer App)

Option 1 (Select Cisco Nexus 1000V Complete Installation -> Standard mode)

Provide the following information (L3 mode only):

vCenter IP address and port number
vCenter user name and password
ESX / ESXi Host IP address, datastore for Primary VSM
EXS / ESXi Host IP address, datastore for Secondary VSM
Virtual Machine for VSM and OVA image location
VSM IP address, Subnet Mask, Gateway
Domain ID
Management VLAN ID of ESX / ESXi host

Option 2 (Select Cisco Nexus 1000V Complete Installation -> Custom mode)

Provide the following information (L2 or L3 mode):

vCenter IP address and port number
vCenter user name and password
ESX / ESXi Host IP address, vSwitch which has ESX / ESXi Management interface for Primary VSM
ESX / ESXi Host IP address, vSwitch which has ESX / ESXi Management interface for Secondary VSM
Switch name
Admin password
Virtual Machine for VSM and OVA image location
VSM IP address, Subnet Mask, Gateway
Data Center name
Domain ID
Management VLAN ID of ESX / ESXi host
Create new port group or use existing port groups

Option 3 (Select Virtual Ethernet Installation)

Provide the following information:

vCenter IP address and port number
vCenter user name and password
VSM IP and VSM admin password

Install VIBs:

Install VIB option (installs VEM software and uses only VEM installer)

or

Install VIB and add host to N1K DVS option (installs VEM software and adds host to DVS.
This option uses VMware Update Manager if installed and enabled, otherwise it will use
VEM installer)

Option 4 (Select vCenter Server Connection)

Provide the following information:

vCenter IP address and port number
vCenter user name and password
VSM IP address and VSM admin password
SVS Data Center name

For additional information, see the following document:

Cisco Nexus 1000V Installation and Upgrade Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV2(1.1)

4. VEM

Install VEM has the following options:

Option 1 (VUM: VMware Update Manager )

Configure the VMware VUM production URLs
Add the host to DVS from vCenter UI (assign pNIC(s) to appropriate uplink profile)
VUM picks the right VIB/VEM and installs VEM on the host automatically
Verify module insertion on VSM using ‘show module’ command

(For L3 mode - Use ESXi mgmt vmk0 as L3 interface or create vmknic on each VEM Host: Use the L3 capability port profile for the same on the Cisco Nexus 1000V DVS)

Option 2 (Manual)

Manually install VEM by logging into vSphere host or use vCLI to install the VEM
Add host to DVS from vCenter UI (assign pNIC(s) to appropriate uplink profile)
Verify module insertion on VSM using ‘show module’ command

(For L3 mode - Use ESXi mgmt vmk0 as L3 interface or create vmknic on each VEM Host: Use the L3 capability port profile for the same on the Cisco Nexus 1000V DVS)

Option 3 (VEM install using Installer App: Select Virtual Ethernet Installation)

Provide the following information:

vCenter IP address and port number
vCenter user name and password
VSM IP and VSM admin password

Install VIBs:

Install VIB option (installs VEM software and uses only VEM installer)

or

Install VIB and add host to N1K DVS option (installs VEM software and adds host to DVS.
This option uses VMware Update Manager if installed and enabled, otherwise it will use
VEM installer)

Cisco Nexus 1000V Installation and Upgrade Guide, Release 4.2(1)SV2(1.1)