NSX-T ALB Terminology

The Avi Controller

The Avi Controller which is the central component of the Avi architecture is responsible for the following:

• Control plane functionality like the:

• Infrastructure orchestration

• Centralized management

• Analytics dashboard

• Integration with the underlying ecosystem for managing the lifecycle of the data plane (Service Engines).

The Avi Controller does not handle any data plane traffic.

In Kubernetes/ OpenShift environments, the Avi Controller is deployed outside the Kubernetes/ OpenShift cluster, typically in the native type of the underlying infrastructure. However, it can be deployed anywhere as long as connectivity and latency requirements are satisfied.

The Avi Service Engines

The SEs implement data plane services of load balancing. For example, Web Application Firewall, DNS/GSLB, etc.

In Kubernetes/ OpenShift environments, the SEs are deployed external to the cluster and typically in the native type of the underlying infrastructure.

The Avi Kubernetes Operator (AKO)

AKO is an Avi pod running in Kubernetes that provides an Ingress controller and Avi-configuration functionality. AKO remains in sync with the required Kubernetes/ OpenShift objects and calls the Avi Controller APIs to deploy the Ingresses and Services via the Avi Service Engines.AKO is deployed as a pod via Helm.

Avi Cloud Type

The Avi Controller uses the Avi Cloud configuration to manage the SEs. This Avi Cloud is usually of the underlying infrastructure type, for ex. VMware vCenter Cloud, Azure Cloud, Linux Server Cloud etc.

Service Engine Groups

AKO supports a separate SE group per Kubernetes/OpenShift cluster. Each cluster will need to be configured with a separate SE group. However, multiple SE groups within the same cluster is not supported. As a best practice, it is recommended to use non-default SE groups for every cluster. SE group per cluster is not a requirement if AKO runs in the nodeport mode.

Deployment Modes

Single Arm Deployment

The deployment in which the virtual IP (VIP) address and the Kubernetes/ OpenShift cluster are in the same network subnet is called a Single Arm Deployment.

Two-Arm Deployment

When the virtual IP (VIP) address and the Kubernetes/ OpenShift cluster are in different network subnets, then the deployment is a Two-Arm deployment