by In a previous post focusing on the VMware NSX Migration Coordinator (VMware NSX for vSphere to NSX-T Migration – End-to-End User Defined Topology), I detailed the end-to-end process required to migrate VMware NSX Data Center for vSphere (NSX-V) to VMware NSX-T Data Center (now simply VMware NSX as of 4.x) and, more specifically, the ‘User Defined’ option, which allows customers to map NSX-V Edge Services Gateways (ESGs) and Distributed Logical Routers (DLRs) to NSX-T components (e.g., Tier-0 or Tier-1 Gateways). To perform this mapping, customers can either a) upload a pre-defined JSON file or b) use the NSX UI to select the appropriate Tier-0/Tier-1 Gateway via drop-down menus.
The previous post utilised VMware NSX Data Center for vSphere 6.4.13 and VMware NSX-T Data Center 3.2.1, however, labbing this in readiness for an upcoming customer engagement required VMware NSX Data Center for vSphere 6.4.14 and VMware NSX (formerly NSX-T) 4.0.1.1; herein lies the identification of a possible bug when using the UI to map ESGs/DLRs to Tier-0/Tier-1 Gateways.
First, let’s revisit the proposed user-defined topology. I want to map the below NSX-V ESGs/DLRs to the corresponding NSX Tier-0/Tier-1 Gateways. Specifically:
| NSX-V Name | NSX Name |
| NSX-ESG-01 (edge-1) | t0-gw-01 |
| NSX-DLR-01 (edge-5) | t0-gw-01 |
| NSX-ESG-01 (edge-4) | t0-gw-02 |
Likewise, a visual for the migration and mappings are defined below:
Per my previous post, I used the NSX UI to define the mappings (see screenshot below).
However, this time around, I hit a snag. On the next tab (Translate Configuration L3, L4-L7 services), I was now presented with an error message:
Specifically:
Config translation failed [Reason: [topology_plugin] Can not proceed with migration: Invalid NSX V Manager IP address <NSX-V-MANAGER-FQDN> is provided for mapping [{v_edges':['edge-1'], 'policy_gateway_name': 't0-gw-01', 'policy_gateway_path': '/infra/tier-0s/t0-gw-01'},{v_edges':['edge-4'], 'policy_gateway_name': 't0-gw-02', 'policy_gateway_path': '/infra/tier-0s/t0-gw-02'},{v_edges':['edge-5'], 'policy_gateway_name': 't1-gw-01', 'policy_gateway_path': '/infra/tier-1s/t1-gw-01'}]]This is validated by checking the /var/logs/migration-coordinator/migration-coordinator.log:
The alert itself is a little misleading as, at first glance, the issue appears to be an ‘Invalid NSX V Manager IP address <NSX-V-MANAGER-FQDN> is provided for mapping’, and all logs reference the same description, adding little to the troubleshooting effort.
JSON to the Rescue
By performing a rollback, I was able to switch to the JSON file option. This appear to work successfully; by using the below JSON file to configure the mappings, I was able to upload the JSON file in preference of the NSX UI and progressed successfully with the next steps of my migration. The mappings in the JSON file mirrored the mappings via UI.
[
{
"name":"nsxv-to-nsxt-mapping",
"v_edges_to_policy_gateways_mappings":[
{
"v_edges":[
"edge-1"
],
"policy_gateway_name": "t0-gw-01",
"policy_gateway_path": "/infra/tier-0s/t0-gw-01"
},
{
"v_edges":[
"edge-5"
],
"policy_gateway_name": "t1-gw-01",
"policy_gateway_path": "/infra/tier-1s/t1-gw-01"
},
{
"v_edges":[
"edge-4"
],
"policy_gateway_name": "t0-gw-02",
"policy_gateway_path": "/infra/tier-0s/t0-gw-02"
}
]
}
]
Root Cause
What exactly caused this issue? I don’t know. However, looking at the difference between the error output and the required JSON format, I notice a difference in single and double quotation marks (e.g., (‘) and (“)), however, this is just an assumption at the moment. As such, I have reached out internally within VMware to identify if this is a possible bug, and I will ensure to provide an update pending further information.
Should you experience the same error when using the UI, try a mapping configuration via JSON file and, hopefully, the above procedure will help you too.
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