nsx-t 2.4 manager cluster IP?

[niceguy001]

i'm wondering how 3 manager VMs work in NSX-T version 2.4.

does anyone know which IP address should I choose to login the manager if I deployed 3 managers? i can't find description in the installation guide.

or maybe the architecture of version 2.4 allowed us to login to the manager via any one of the three manager IPs?

another question is,

does the manager VMs automatically do the load-balance between three managers regardless of the location?

(e.g. one manager located in US site, the other two managers located in EU site.)

[mauricioamorim]

All NSX-T Manager appliances need to be on the same site. See NSX Manager VM System Requirements where it says "A given NSX Management cluster is designed to run in a single site. NSX Managers in a single NSX Management cluster should not be deployed in different physical data centers."

Regarding access, you can access any of them, but you can create a cluster VIP or use an external LB so you can access GUI/API using a single IP.

[niceguy001]

mauricioamorim​ nice answer!

I thought the manager nodes can communicate(operate, I meant) to each other through IP regardless of the physical location/site.

so even the VPN is deployed as a bridge for two different geo-location, the manager nodes still not supported to be deployed in these two different sites to operate.

the final question about accessing the manager nodes is, do I need to worry about the sync of configurations between managers' web UI if I access one the manager nodes randomly and do tasks ?

thanks!!!!

[mauricioamorim · Accepted solution]

The managers sync automatically, although it is recommended to create a cluster IP so all your API calls and access to the manager work on a single IP in the event of a manager failure.

Here’s what it says in the NSX-T 2.4 ICM:

The distributed persistent database runs across all three nodes, providing the same configuration view to each node. This way, a manager or controller running on one node has the same view of the configuration topology as those running on the other two nodes.

[mauricioamorim]

In case you missed it, a nice presentation explaining how to use a LB to provide a unique IP for the management/control cluster was just posted here: NSX-T Manager Cluster External LB by NSX-T