Lately, I’ve been working more extensively with NSX, particularly in creation of segments for client VMs. Previously, I deployed and configured NSX manually—setting up transport zones, uplink profiles, edge nodes, and Tier-0/Tier-1 gateways directly through the NSX Manager UI (all manually). This manual approach gave me deep familiarity with the platform’s underlying components and operational nuances with profiles and how nsx operates internally.

More recently (more like over a year or two), I’ve transitioned to using VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) for deploying and managing NSX as part of a broader SDDC strategy. With VCF, I now leverage SDDC Manager workflows to automate the deployment of NSX components, including edge clusters and network segments, which has significantly streamlined provisioning and improved consistency across environments.

1. Plan and Prepare Prerequisites

Before launching the automated workflows in SDDC Manager, you must gather environmental parameters and ensure the underlying vSphere infrastructure satisfies VCF requirements.

• Define Form Factor: Select the Edge Node size (e.g., Large or Extra Large) based on the throughput and stateful services required by your workload VMs. I choose large in my deployment.
  
• Allocate IP Pools: Reserve a contiguous block of static IP addresses for the Edge Tunnel Endpoints (TEPs) within the overlay network. These are important for the tunneling to come up between hosts
  
• Establish VLAN IDs: Document the precise VLAN tags required for Edge TEP management (400), Host TEP,(600) Tier-0 Uplink 1 (100), and Tier-0 Uplink 2(110).
  
• Map BGP Parameters: Document the Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs) for both the Tier-0 Gateway and the upstream physical Top-of-Rack (ToR) switches. For my spine-leaf setup, 65000 is the switch AS and 65001 is the T0 AS.
  

2. Configure Network Profiles

Instead of manually mapping uplink profiles in NSX, you must define a Network Profile inside SDDC Manager to dictate how the virtual Edges connect to the physical network fabrics.

• Navigate to Profiles: Log into the SDDC Manager UI, expand Developer Center or Network Settings, and select Network Profiles.
  
• Create New Profile: Click Create Network Profile and select the profile type designated for NSX Edge Clusters.
  
• Define Uplink Details: Specify the MTU size (9000 recommended) and name the uplink interfaces.
  
• Bind VLANs to Interfaces: Map the previously allocated VLAN IDs directly to the respective Edge TEP and Tier-0 fabric uplink interfaces inside the profile.

3. Launch Edge Cluster Workflow

In VCF, you do not deploy individual Edge Nodes manually. Instead, you input your cluster parameters into SDDC Manager, which handles the simultaneous deployment, grouping, and registration of the nodes.

• Navigate to Workload Domain: In the SDDC Manager UI, go to Inventory > Workload Domains and select the target domain.
  
• Initiate Edge Workflow: Click the Actions dropdown menu in the top-right corner and select Add Edge Cluster.
  
• Complete Cluster Details: Enter the Edge Cluster name, select the MTU, and toggle the routing type (e.g., EBGP).
  
• Input Use Case & Form Factor: Select the placement type (e.g., Custom or Workload Management) and pick the pre-determined Edge Node form factor.
  
• Map Tier-0 and Tier-1 Routing: Define the Tier-0 Gateway name, HA mode (I chose Active-Active), and configure the optional local Tier-1 Gateway names.

4. Provide Node and Peering Specifications

This step feeds the exact infrastructure layout to the automated wizard, linking your physical switches to the logical gateways being constructed.

• Provide Credentials: Enter the root, admin, and audit passwords to be applied globally across all new Edge Nodes.
• Specify Node Details: Provide the FQDN, Management IP, default gateway, and target vSphere cluster/datastore location for Edge Node 1 and Edge Node 2.
• Assign TEP Details: Select the Network Profile created in Step 2 to auto-populate TEP information, and designate the TEP IP pool.
• Configure BGP Neighbors: Enter the physical ToR peer switch IP addresses, their remote ASNs, and the specific interfaces where the Tier-0 logical router will peer with them.

5. Validate and Execute

VCF prevents configuration drift and deployment failures by running an automated end-to-end validation test before modifying the environment.

• Trigger Validation: Click Validate at the end of the SDDC Manager Add Edge Cluster wizard.
• Monitor Progress: Watch the automated checks verify DNS resolution, NTP synchronization, IP availability, VLAN connectivity, and credential matching.
• Resolve Errors: Inspect any failed validation flags immediately; do not proceed if warning components exist.
• Run Deployment: Once validation returns a green Passed status, click Finish to execute the automated deployment.
• Track Tasks: Monitor the step-by-step progress under the Tasks pane as SDDC Manager deploys the VMs, adds them to NSX Transport Zones, groups them into an Edge Cluster, and provisions the Tier-0/Tier-1 Gateways.

6. Verify SDDC and Data Path Integrity

Once the SDDC Manager task shows a “Successful” status, you must confirm that the automated state matches operational reality across both the physical and logical layers.

• Check SDDC Manager Status: Verify that the Edge Cluster appears as Healthy and active within the Workload Domain inventory page.
• Verify via NSX Manager: Log into the NSX Manager UI, navigate to System > Fabric > Nodes > Edge Transport Nodes, and verify that the status is green and the nodes are successfully joined to the Overlay and VLAN Transport Zones.
• Confirm BGP Adjacencies: Open the NSX Manager routing table view or log into the physical ToR switches to confirm that the BGP status is established and routes are being actively exchanged.
• Test Segment Connectivity: Provision a test client VM on a newly created automated NSX segment, map it to the Tier-1 gateway, and verify north-south ping traffic to external networks.