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VCF 9 Deployment Guide

NSX Networking Requirements

NSX Requirements for VCF 9

NSX Version

  • Included Version: NSX 9.0 (based on NSX 4.x codebase) ships with VCF 9.0
  • Auto-Installation: NSX installs automatically with every workload domain deployment
  • Mandatory Install, Optional Use: NSX is required infrastructure but using virtual networking features remains optional—VLAN-backed port groups continue to work
  • Licensing: NSX uses VCF license assigned to vCenter; 90-day evaluation mode available until licensed
  • Standalone Not Supported: Starting VCF 9.0, standalone NSX upgrade or fresh installation is not supported—must use VCF BOM and lifecycle management

Architecture Changes

  • Single NSX per vCenter: Multi-NSX feature is not supported in VCF 9.0
  • Pre-Upgrade Requirement: Before upgrading, switch off multi-NSX feature or map each NSX Manager instance to individual vCenter instances
  • N-VDS Removal: N-VDS on ESX removed starting NSX 4.0.0.1—all environments must use native vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) 7.0+
  • Converged VDS: Migrate all ESX transport nodes from N-VDS to VDS before upgrading
  • NSX-V Retired: NSX for vSphere 6.x fully retired and not included in VCF 9

NSX Components

NSX Manager

  • Installs automatically as part of VCF or workload domain creation
  • Ensures workload domains are VPC-ready from the start

Edge Nodes

  • New deployment method via vCenter UI (previously SDDC Manager)
  • Minimum Medium form factor required for vSphere Supervisor enablement
  • Supports Intel and AMD EPYC chipsets
  • Active/Standby mode required for VPC connectivity when enabling Supervisor/VCF Automation
  • Centralized Connectivity Gateway mode required for vSphere Supervisor and VCF Automation

Transport Zones

  • TEP (Tunnel End Point) can now use VMkernel (VMK0) interface instead of dedicated VMkernel
  • Reduces IP address allocation requirements for hosts
  • EDP Standard (Enhanced Data Path) is default host switch mode for new installations

Key Changes from Previous Versions

Deployment Changes

  • Edge deployment moved from SDDC Manager to vCenter GUI
  • NSX VIBs now pre-packaged with ESX VIBs—single upgrade operation instead of two maintenance windows
  • Transit Gateway replaces Tier-1 Gateway when deploying via vCenter wizard

Networking Models

  • VCF 9 introduces VPC Networking alongside traditional Segment Networking
  • VPC model provides public cloud-like experience for networking/security configuration

Deprecated Features

  • Physical Server Connectivity via NSX Agent removed—no overlay connectivity for physical servers
  • KVM host NSX policies and non-VMware OpenStack integration not migrateable to NSX 9

Load Balancing

  • NSX native load balancer deprecated
  • Avi Load Balancer (now VMware Aria Load Balancer) required for L4-L7 load balancing services

Network Virtualization Options

When NSX Required

  • vSphere Supervisor deployment
  • VCF Automation services
  • Overlay networking requirements
  • Kubernetes/VKS with NSX VPC

When Optional

  • Traditional VM workloads can use VLAN-backed port groups
  • NSX sits ready but doesn’t force network topology changes
  • Can continue existing VLAN-based infrastructure

Import Requirements

  • VI domains require NSX 4.1.0.2+ for import into VCF 9
  • Clusters without NSX get it deployed automatically during import

Sources