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Deploying Contrail vCenter Fabric Manager Plug-in

 

Contrail Networking Release 1910 supports the Contrail vCenter Fabric Manager (CVFM) plug-in. With this release, the CVFM plug-in is installed when you install the Contrail Command user interface (UI). You can then enable this plug-in when you provision Contrail Command. However, if you have not enabled this plug-in during provisioning, you can enable the plug-in from the Infrastructure>Cluster page of the Contrail Command UI. For Contrail Networking Release 2008 and later, you can enable the plug-in from the Infrastructure>External Systems page of the Contrail Command UI.

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

These topics provide instructions on how to deploy the CVFM plug-in.

Prerequisites

Before you deploy the CVFM plug-in, 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 Plug-in while Provisioning Contrail Command

You can enable the CVFM plug-in while provisioning Contrail Command.

For steps to enable the CVFM plug-in while provisioning Contrail Command, refer to the How to Install Contrail Command and Provision Your Contrail Cluster topic.

Deploying CVFM Plug-in after Provisioning Contrail Command

Follow these steps to deploy the CVFM plug-in after provisioning Contrail Command.

  1. For Contrail Networking Release 2008 and later,

    1. Navigate to Infrastructure>External Systems.

      The External Systems page is displayed.

    2. Click Add Orchestrator and select Manage vCenter from the list.

      The Deploy vCenter page is displayed.

    For releases prior to Contrail Networking Release 2008,

    1. Navigate to Infrastructure>Cluster page.

      The Overview tab is displayed.

    2. Click Manage vCenter in the Control Nodes widget.

      The Deploy vCenter page is displayed.

  2. Enter the following information:

    Table 1: Enter vCenter Information

    Field

    Description

    vCenter Server (For Contrail Networking Release 2008 and later.)

    vCenter IP Address (For releases prior to Contrail Networking Release 2008.)

    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 user name.

    Password

    Enter the vCenter password.

  3. 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 plug-in on.

  4. Click Deploy.

    The CVFM plug-in 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) plug-in.