I guess that leads me to my next question which is whether we can operate vCD without NSX present at all (because we're looking at using ACI for all the SDN stuff). My guess is "no". Here's my scenario:
- vCenter is installed
- vCD 9.7 cell appliance is installed and configured
- NO NSX Manager deployed
So in order to add a vCenter into vCD using the https://vcdcell/cloud UI, part of the setup necessarily includes entering NSX manager details. Without this (because we're not going to use it, ergo it's not installed), I cannot proceed. Onto the next way then....I can use the https://vcdcell/provider UI to attach a vCenter alone but then is it mandatory that I register an NSX(-T) manager or can I just leave the vCenter as a standalone instance? I assume yes because the documentation (Attach a vCenter Server Instance Alone or Together with an NSX Manager Instance ) says:
Assuming I just leave the vCenter as a standalone, no-NSX instance, then in the https://vcdcell/provider UI under vSphere Resources I can see the vCenter itself and also objects in the Distributed Switches and Port Groups but no Hosts. If I use the https://vcdcell/cloud UI then under vSphere Resources I can also see objects in Switches & Port Groups, nothing in Hosts but this time nothing in vCenters. This means I cannot add any Provider VDCs as they need to be backed by a vCenter server resource. See the below screenshots as an example:
Maybe my assumption is correct and the VMware documentation is spot on, but is the reason I cannot see the vCenter server in the https://vcdcell/cloud UI because I haven't attached any NSX manager to the vCenter server and not just some bug or display/sync issue? Meaning that I really cannot operate vCD without a NSX instance?
I guess if the answer is we need an NSX manager then I suppose we can deploy one but not actually use any of the NSX components (DLR, DFW, VXLAN, etc) and hence we won't be billed for any of the components.