The NSX controller is a user space VM that is deployed by the NSX manager. It is one of the core components of NSX. It provides a control plane to distribute network information to hosts.
The NSX controller holds three primary tables. These are a MAC address table, ARP table and a VTEP table.
The NSX Controller is the Control Plane and is usually deployed in three-node cluster to ensure High Availability. There wont be any impact to the NSX Domain as long as 1 instance of NSX Controller is running.
In this lab I will configure only one controller, this scenario is not recommended for the production environment.
Click on + symbol under NSX controller nodes to deploy the first NSX controller node.
Select the options like NSX Manager, Datacenter, Cluster, Datastore, Host and Portgroup to deploy the NSX Controller. Click on Select option for “Connect To” to select the PortGroup. Enter the Password for the Controller VM administrative account and Click on OK to deploy the first Controller Node.
You will be able to see the status of the NSX Controller Node under NSX Controller nodes.
In the vCenter is possible to see the created VM.
With the NSX manager installed and controllers deployed, we are ready for the Host preparation.
Preparing Cluster and Hosts – Part 3