The VMware NSX-T Edge nodes are added to a new PowerFlex rack or PowerFlex appliance to support the Edge routing and network services functionality of NSX-T Edge gateways. For PowerFlex appliance , the NSX-T Edge nodes are a part of the appliance or are provided by the customer.
The following table describes the requirements for PowerFlex rack and PowerFlex appliance . These requirements are considered as recommendations for PowerFlex appliance only if the NSX-T Edge nodes are provided by the customer.
| Component | PowerFlex rack and PowerFlex appliance requirements |
| Rack mount servers | The VMware NSX-T ready node hardware is designed with the following criteria:
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| CPU, memory, and storage | Requires the following minimum configuration for each VMware NSX-T Edge node host:
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| Physical cabling | Each NSX-T Edge node uses three dual-port 25 Gb Mellanox CX-4 LX (SFP+) cards to connect to either the border leaf or aggregation switches. If there is an issue with port capacity or a cable distance, the two management and two transport connections are relocated to the access switches. However the two external NSX-T Edge node connections always connect to aggregation or border leaf switches. The default configuration for VMware NSX-T Edge physical nodes is to connect to the aggregation or border leaf level (and not to the access) switches to optimize traffic flows. It also limits any potential deployment issues with multi-tenant routing and vPCs. The traffic optimization is more apparent when a multi-rack PowerFlex node is deployed.
The physical cable configurations are shown according to the physical
NSX-T Edge node :
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