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Deploying Contrail vCenter Fabric Manager Plugin

Contrail Networking Release 1910 supports the Contrail vCenter Fabric Manager (CVFM) plugin. With this release, the CVFM plugin is installed when you install the Contrail Command user interface (UI). You can then enable this plugin when you provision Contrail Command. However, if you have not enabled this plugin during provisioning, you can enable the plugin from the Infrastructure>Cluster page of the Contrail Command UI.

For more information on CVFM plugin, see Understanding VMware-Contrail Networking Fabric Integration.

These topics provide instructions on how to deploy the CVFM plugin.

Prerequisites

Before you deploy the CVFM plugin, ensure that you have:

  • Installed vCenter version 6.5 or later.

  • Installed ESX version 6.5 or later.

  • A vCenter license with Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS) support.

  • Login credentials for vCenter.

  • Installed Contrail Command Release 1910 or later. For more information, see Installing Contrail Command.

Deploying CVFM Plugin while Provisioning Contrail Command

You enable the CVFM plugin while provisioning Contrail Command.

Follow these steps to enable CVFM plugin:

  1. Log in to Contrail Command using the root user credentials.

    When you log in to Contrail Command for the first time, you are directed to the Contrail Command SETUP screen.

  2. Click Credentials.

    The Available Credentials page is displayed.

  3. Click Add.

    The Add Credentials page is displayed.

  4. Complete the following steps to add credentials.

    1. Enter a name to identify the credentials in the Name field.

    2. Enter a username in the User field.

    3. Enter a password in the Password field.

  5. Click Create.

    The Available Credentials page is displayed.

  6. Click Servers.

    The Available Servers page is displayed.

  7. Click Add.

    The Create Server page is displayed.

  8. Complete the following steps to add a server.

    1. Enter the host IP address or host name in the Hostname field.

    2. Enter the management IP address in the Management IP field.

    3. Enter the management interface name in the Management Interface field.

    4. Select credentials from the Credentials list.

  9. Click Create.

    The Available Servers page is displayed.

  10. (Optional) Add another server.

    Follow steps 7 through 9 to add another server.

  11. Click Next.
  12. Complete the following steps to create a cluster.

    1. Select the Contrail Enterprise Multicloud option button.

    2. Enter the name for the cluster in the Cluster Name field.

    3. Enter container registry in the Container Registry field.

    4. Enter Contrail version information in the Contrail Version field.

    5. Select Ansible from the Provisioner Type list.

    6. Select Enable ZTP check box.

    7. Click Next.

  13. Complete the following steps to assign control nodes.

    1. Select the Manage vCenter check box.

      The vCenter Credentials section is displayed.

    2. Enter the following information:

      • Enter the vCenter IP address in the vCenter IP Address field.

      • In the Data Center Name field, enter the name of the data center under vCenter that CVFM will work on.

      • Enter the vCenter username in the Username field.

      • Enter the vCenter password in the Password field.

    3. Click >, next to the name of the server, to assign a server from the Available Servers table as a control node. The server is then added to the Assigned Control Nodes table.

      contrail_vcenter_fabric_manager_node is added to the list of roles.

      Note:

      Contrail Command does not provide any restrictions for High Availability mode. You can select more than one control node from the Assign control nodes table.

    4. Click Next.

  14. Complete the following steps to add orchestrator information.

    1. Select OpenStack from the Orchestrator Type list.

    2. Click >, next to the name of the server, to assign a server from the Available Servers table as an orchestrator node. The server is then added to the Assigned Orchestrator Nodes table.

    3. Click Next.

  15. Complete the following steps to assign compute nodes.

    1. Click >, next to the name of the server, to assign a server from the Available Servers table as a compute node.

      After the server is added to the Assigned Compute Nodes table, the Default vRouter Gateway and Type fields are enabled.

    2. Enter the gateway IP address in the Default vRouter Gateway field.

    3. Select Kernel from the Type list.

    4. Click Next.

  16. (Optional) Assign service nodes.

    Click >, next to the name of the server, to assign a server from the Available Servers table as an service node. The server is then added to the Assigned Service Nodes table.

  17. Click Next.
  18. (Optional) Assign AppFormix nodes.

    Click >, next to the name of the server, to assign a server from the Available Servers table as an AppFormix node. The server is then added to the Assigned AppFormix Nodes table.

  19. Click Next.

    The Cluster Overview page is displayed.

  20. Click Provision after you have reviewed cluster overview information.

    The Provisioning cluster <Cluster Name> in progress bar is displayed. The CVFM plugin is enabled after the provisioning is completed.

    Click Proceed to login to log in to Contrail Command UI.

Deploying CVFM Plugin after Provisioning Contrail Command

Follow these steps to deploy the CVFM plugin after provisioning Contrail Command.

  1. Navigate to Infrastructure>Cluster page in Contrail Command.

    The Overview tab is displayed.

  2. Click Manage vCenter in the Control Nodes widget.
    Figure 1: Overview TabOverview Tab

    The Deploy vCenter page appears as shown in Figure 2.

    Figure 2: Deploy vCenter PageDeploy vCenter Page
  3. Enter the following information:

    Field

    Description

    vCenter IP Address

    Enter the vCenter IP address.

    Data Center Name

    Enter the name of the data center under vCenter that CVFM will work on.

    Username

    Enter the vCenter username.

    Password

    Enter the vCenter password.
  4. Select control node(s) from the Affected Nodes list.

    The Affected Nodes list displays the control nodes that you can select to deploy the CVFM plugin on.

  5. Click Deploy.

    The CVFM plugin is deployed.

Troubleshooting Information

  1. CVFM container continuously restarts

    Check the following:

    1. Name of the CVFM container: vcenter_fabric_manager_vcenter-fabric-manager_1

      Note:

      The vcenter_fabric_manager_vcenter-fabric-manager_1 container runs on A-S-S Contrail Networking Controller.

    2. Standard CVFM log file: /var/log/contrail/contrail-vcenter-fabric-manager.log

    3. vCenter details in configuration file inside the CVFM container: /etc/contrail/contrail-vcenter-fabric-manager/cvfm.conf

    Fix—reprovision CVFM with correct parameters.

  2. LLDP disabled on ESXi

    Issues:

    1. Configuration is not pushed to the network devices.

    2. No connection between ports and physical interface objects in config API

    Fix—Enable LLDP on DVS by using VMware vSphere UI, delete ESXi servers in Contrail Command, and rerun the ESXi discovery job.

Related Documentation

Release History Table
Release
Description
1910
Contrail Networking Release 1910 supports the Contrail vCenter Fabric Manager (CVFM) plugin.