VMware has typically used the traditional Standard Virtual Switch (SVS), which is host based networking. The Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS), which is a cluster based virtual switch; single point of configuration. Now both Cisco and IBM have release various software based distributed virtual switches that are installable into the vSphere environment.

Installing the 1000v used to be a pretty convoluted process, Cisco has now started using a Java based installer to assist with the installation.

Things to keep in mind, VLAN 1 is your native VLAN for vSwitch0, unless otherwise specified. In our case it was 102.

Domain ID, this is simply an identification number, nothing more, nothing less

1. Download the 1000V bundle from the Cisco website
2. Extract the 1000V bundle Zip file
3. Run the installer from: \Bundle\VSM\Installer_App\Nexus1000V-install.jar
4. Enter the vCenter IP, Port, User ID and Password

   1. 

      1000v installation step 1

5. Select the host to install the VSM onto.

   1. 

      1000v installation step 2

6. Select the OVA image, redundancy level and VM name.

   1. 

      1000v installation step 3

7. Select L2, configure Port Groups for L2, then select Create New next to Control, Management and Packet Port Groups.

   1. 

      1000v installation step 4

   2. Enter the appropriate porgroup and VLAN information. In this case we used:
      1.  1000v_Control_VLAN43 – VLAN ID: 43
      2. 1000v_Mgmt_VLAN42 – VLAN ID: 42
      3. 1000v_Packet_VLAN44 – VLAN ID: 44
8. Here,  we’re going to configure the vSwitch itself. You’re going to fill out the Virtual Switch name, username, password and IP address configuration. Be sure to have that information ready. Note: Domain ID; This ID can be anything you want. It’s for clustering purposes of the VSM.
9. Keep in mind, the native VLAN for vSwitch0 should be 1, unless otherwise specified in your environment. In our case we used VLAN 102.

   1. 

      1000v installation step 4

10. Now, review your configuration, then click next

    1. 

       1000v installation step 5

11. The installer will now go through the installation, indicating success at each step.

    1. 

       1000v installation step 6

12. Click no and then finish to complete the installation. We will migrate manually.

    1. 

       1000v installation step 7

13.  Then from the 1000v, run:

 

Lab_1000v#config t

Lab_1000v(config)#port-profile type ethernet Uplink

Lab_1000v(config-port-prof)# vmware port-group

Lab_1000v(config-port-prof)# switchport mode trunk

Lab_1000v(config-port-prof)# switchport trunk allowed vlan 70

Lab_1000v(config-port-prof)# channel-group auto mode on mac-pinning

Lab_1000v(config-port-prof)# no shut

Lab_1000v(config-port-prof)# state enabled

Lab_1000v(config-port-prof)# copy run start

The next step is to install the VIB (VEM) on the ESX host, to do this, grab it from the VSM (http://ip-of-vsm).

Note: we had to use the 144 VIB on ESX 5.1

To install the vib, first upload the vib file to the esx host, then copy to /var/log/vmware:

esxcli software vib install -v /var/log/vmware/filename.vib

Once completed… simply add the ESX hosts to the 1000v and select the appropriate vNIC’s.

Tags: Installing the Nexus 1000v - A step by step guide to installing the 1000v