EPG for vmotion

Walter Dey · ‎04-20-2015

I create a EPG for vmotion, which doesn't need any contracts.

I see the port group in vcenter.

Q. how can I configure IP addresses for this vmotion port group ? doing this from vcenter creates error messages, and seems not to be possible.

dpita · ‎04-20-2015

Hello,

Yes you can configure an IP address for the BD in ACI as well as on the ESXI host. You must create a VMK for the vMotion portgroup/EPG. The BD in ACI in my opinion would be created to test connectivity from the ESXI VMK port into the fabric.

I have set this up numerous times in the lab. Let me know if you need any further clarification.

Walter Dey · ‎04-21-2015

Sorry, but I'm still confused !

in vSphere, you can create port-groups (vswitch) resp. distributed port-groups (DVS). And then there are 3 different kinds:

1) VMkerne

2) physical adaptor (uplinks)

3) VM

It seems to me, that ACI - VMware integration just produces per EPG a distributed port-group for VM's ?

Thanks for any clarification !

Walter.

Robert Burns · ‎04-21-2015

ACI creates the DVS, and pushes EPGs as port groups to vCenter.

Similar to how the N1K would integrate and push Port Profiles as vCenter port Groups - ACI does the same. The Port Groups (EPGs) just happen to be bound to the a dynamic policy model (controlling security & network access).

Robert

Walter Dey · ‎04-21-2015

Sorry, but I'm still confused !

in vSphere, you can create port-groups (vswitch) resp. distributed port-groups (DVS). And then there are 3 different kinds:

1) VMkerne

2) physical adaptor (uplinks)

3) VM

It seems to me, that ACI - VMware integration just produces per EPG a distributed port-group for VM's ?

Thanks for any clarification !

Walter.

dpita · ‎04-21-2015

ACI with VMM integration to vCenter will create a distributed port-group on a DVS that ACI also creates.

ACI first creates the DVS and uplink port group automatically as soon as the vCenter is associated to ACI through a VMM policy. After EPGs are associated to the VMM policy then individual VM distributed port groups are created on that DVS.

To create the VMK,

go to the ACI DVS first and then click on "Manage Virtual Adapters"
When the wizard comes up, click on Add, select "New virtual Adapter" and click next
In the Connection Settings step, make sure the vSphere Distributed Switch is the ACI created one and select the radio button for "select port group" in the drop down you should see the vMotion port group from the EPG that ACI pushed.
Select the check box for "use this adapter for vMotion" and the network type is IP, click next
Here you click the radio button for "use the following IP settings" and enter the IP address and subnet mask of the VMK manually. Disregard the default gateway. click next
Review the information and click Finish.

This process will create the VMK to be used as the vMotion address and since it was placed on the ACI DVS the VM will migrate through the fabric assuming the destination ESXI host is also on the fabric with its own VMK in the vMotion port group.

What other questions do you have?

Walter Dey · ‎04-21-2015

Thanks,

however, I'm getting the error message below, when I go to "networking", select the ACI DVS and click on "Manage Virtual Adapters"

I tried Chrome, and IE, same !

However, selecting "hosts and clusters" everything is working fine. This makes sense, each esxi host requires a unique IP address for vmotion

Walter.

TypeError: Error #1009
   at com.vmware.vsphere.client.views.dvport::DvPortSettingsDialog/tryCompleteRetrievedData()
   at com.vmware.vsphere.client.views.dvport::DvPortSettingsDialog/onPortgroupDataRetrievedForPortgroup()
   at EventFunctor/notifyTarget()
   at EventFunctor/onEvent()
   at flash.events::EventDispatcher/dispatchEvent()
   at com.vmware.frinje::EventBus/dispatchEvent()
   at com.vmware.frinje::EventBus/onEvent()
   at flash.events::EventDispatcher/dispatchEvent()
   at com.vmware.data.query.commands::DataRequestCommand/onSingleEntityDataReturn()
   at DataAccessItem/notify()
   at DataAccessItem/handleResult()
   at DataAccessItem/processResult()
   at com.vmware.data.query::DataAccessManager/onDataRetrieved()
   at com.vmware.flexutil.proxies::BaseProxy/notify()
   at com.vmware.flexutil.proxies::BaseProxy/result()
   at com.vmware.flexutil.proxies::BaseProxy/onInvocationComplete()
   at OperationInvoker/resultResponseForRequest()
   at OperationInvoker/result()
   at mx.rpc::AsyncToken/http://www.adobe.com/2006/flex/mx/internal::applyResult()
   at mx.rpc.events::ResultEvent/http://www.adobe.com/2006/flex/mx/internal::callTokenResponders()
   at mx.rpc::AbstractOperation/http://www.adobe.com/2006/flex/mx/internal::dispatchRpcEvent()
   at mx.rpc::AbstractInvoker/http://www.adobe.com/2006/flex/mx/internal::resultHandler()
   at mx.rpc::Responder/result()
   at mx.rpc::AsyncRequest/acknowledge()
   at NetConnectionMessageResponder/resultHandler()
   at mx.messaging::MessageResponder/result()

Walter Dey · ‎04-21-2015

Please correct me if my understanding is wrong

- APIC creates the DVS in vCenter

- ESXi hosts must be added which happens outside of APIC (e.g. via power shell)

- vmkernel interfaces are created outside APIC, mapping to a port-group derived from a EPG

Q. if I have a dual homed ESXi server, I will finally end up with one uplink interface on vswitch, the other one on DVS ? what happens if I had e.g. 4 North bound interfaces ?

Walter.