VCF 9 Operations for Networks Deployment

Step-by-Step Guide: Deploying VCF 9 Operations for Networks

With the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9, the integration of operations management has reached a new level of seamlessness. One of the standout features is the integrated lifecycle management for VCF Operations for Networks (formerly vRealize Network Insight).

In this guide, we will walk through the end-to-end deployment of VCF 9 Operations for Networks, from binary management to configuring your first data sources. Whether you are a seasoned architect or a VCF admin, these steps—and my integrated “Pro Tips”—will help you get deployed right the first time.

Phase 1: Preparation and Binaries

Before we start the wizard, we need to ensure the house is in order. In VCF 9, the Lifecycle tab is your command center.

Navigate to Lifecycle > VCF Management > Binary Management. Ensure you have downloaded the operations-networks bundle. As you can see below, we are working with version 9.0.0.0.

Pro Tip: Always verify the “Download Status” is green before attempting deployment. If you are in a dark site (air-gapped), ensure your repository mirrors are fully synced.

Phase 2: The Deployment Wizard

Once the binaries are ready, head over to the Overview tab under Lifecycle. You will see a card for operations-networks. If it’s not yet installed, it will be grayed out with an “ADD” button. Click it to begin.

Step 1: Deployment Type

The wizard kicks off with the basics. Select New Install. Ensure the version defaults to the one we just downloaded (9.0.0.0). For most standard deployments, the “Standard” deployment type is sufficient.

Step 2: Certificates

Security is first-class in VCF 9. You can select an existing certificate or generate one on the fly. Here, we are using the vrni-l-01a certificate.

Step 3: Infrastructure Selection

This is where the rubber meets the road. You need to map the appliance to your physical resources.

vCenter Server: Select your management vCenter.
Cluster: Choose the management cluster (e.g., blr-m01-dc01).
Network: Pick your management port group (pg-esx-mgmt).
Datastore: Select your vSAN datastore.

Pro Tip: For “Disk Mode,” Thin is acceptable for labs and POCs to save space, but for production environments with high flow rates, always use Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed (or Eager Zeroed) to prevent storage latency from impacting flow ingestion.

Step 4: Network Configuration

Configure your DNS and NTP settings here.

DNS: Critical for resolution.
NTP: Time drift is the enemy of logs and flow analysis. Ensure this is accurate.

Step 5: Component Configuration

Here we define the “Platform” and “Collector” nodes.

Platform Node: The brain of the operation.
Collector Node: The eyes and ears that sit near the traffic. You will need to define the VM Names (e.g., vrni-platform, vrni-collector), IP addresses, and Node Sizes.

Pro Tip on Sizing: The “Small” node size is selected here, which is great for up to 10k VMs. If you plan to enable heavy flow collection (IPFIX) on a massive Distributed Switch, consider sizing up the Collector node to Medium or Large immediately to handle the UDP ingest buffer.

Step 6: Prechecks

Never skip this step. The “Run Precheck” button will validate everything from IP reachability to NTP synchronization and DNS lookups.

Wait for all validations to turn green. It checks infrastructure capacity, credential validity, and firewall ports.

Step 7: Summary & Topology

Before hitting the big green button, review the Topology view. It gives you a nice visual map of how the Platform and Collector connect to the network.

Review the summary table one last time. If you are confident, click Submit.

Phase 3: Validation

Once submitted, VCF takes over. You can monitor the progress in the Tasks view. You will see the workflow move through “Validate,” “Deploy,” “Configure,” and eventually “Success.”

When finished, the Lifecycle card will update to show “Deployed” with a generic “Manage” button.

Phase 4: Configuring Data Sources

Deployment is just the beginning. Now we need to feed it data. Launch the interface and go to Settings > Data Sources.

Adding vCenter

Click Add Account and select VMware vCenter.
Enter the FQDN and Credentials.
Crucial Step: Enable “Activate Network & Flow Collection”.
IPFIX on vDS: The wizard allows you to enable NetFlow (IPFIX) directly on the Distributed Switch (vDS). Select the vDS (blr-m01-cl01-vds01) where you want visibility.

Adding NSX-T

To get the full overlay/underlay correlation, you must add the NSX Manager.

Select VMware NSX-T Manager.
Point it to the VIP of your NSX cluster.
Enable IPFIX to receive Distributed Firewall (DFW) flow logs.

Conclusion

And there you have it! In under an hour, you have gone from a raw binary to a fully deployed, flow-collecting VCF Operations for Networks instance.

You now have deep visibility into your VCF environment, ready to troubleshoot micro-segmentation, analyze traffic patterns, and optimize application performance.

Happy Monitoring!

Thanks for hanging out and reading through! If you found this useful, feel free to share it with your colleagues who are currently navigating the VCF 9 landscape.

Catch you in the next blog!