Changelog Feb 25, 2026 – Initial Post.

In my previous post, we looked at the manual, “maintenance-mode-first” approach to enabling EDP Standard without dropping a single packet. It’s a rock-solid method, but let’s be honest: if you have a cluster with 32 hosts, doing that manually is a lot of clicking.

This post details how to use the enable_uens.py script—a built-in tool that automates the heavy lifting while maintaining the same zero-impact principles.

Before we go on…why EDP Standard?

Running your servers without EDP Standard is like driving your car in eco-mode, but not getting the promised fuel economy 😩. Enabling it means 2.5X efficiency … this means 50-70% increase in packet processing power (PPS) with a lower CPU cost (we have the data).

Why use the script instead of the UI?

1. ✔️ Efficiency: It automates the per-host configuration that we previously did manually in the NSX Manager and vCenter Server.
2. ✔️ Safety: Just like our manual process, the script is designed to work in conjunction with host maintenance mode to avoid the dreaded “global toggle” disruption.
   
   Note: Enabling EDP by updating the Transport Node Profile setting is the way to go with VCF 9.0+. It leverages vSphere Configuration Profiles to make the in-product orchestration happen. If enabling VCP is an insurmountable obstacle, this scripted approach will also be available…

When should this process be used?

• You want to transition an live cluster to EDP Standard.
• You prefer a “set it and forget it” execution over manual UI navigation… or frankly require it due to your host scale.

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Prep Steps – Review Each for Max Success

Important: If you have esxi hosts in an unhealthy state, or in a condition that prevents them from entering maintenance mode, the script will not magically address that. The goal of the scripted approach is to reduce the burden of performing per-host steps on a large infrastructure.

1. NICs MUST still be on the certified driver/firmware listed in the Broadcom Compatibility Guide. As always – it is strongly recommended to use the latest EDP Standard certified drivers and firmware.
   
2. Transport Node Profile (TNP)
   Decide whether the script will use an existing Transport Node Profile (with EDP Standard enabled) or if you will let the script create one:
   
   • Auto-Create: If you provide a new TNP ID string, the script clones your current TNP but changes the mode to ENS_INTERRUPT.
     
   • Existing: If using an existing TNP, it must be identical to the current one except for the mode change, and it cannot currently be attached to the cluster.
     
3. Locate Script Files
   The script and sample configuration are located on the NSX appliance at:
   /opt/vmware/migration-coordinator-tomcat/bin/uens-adoption/config
   
   Note: If your environment is running NSX older than 4.2.3, use the uens_enable script I attached above.
   
   

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The Script: enable_uens.py

The enable_uens.py script is located on the NSX Manager. It is designed to handle the transition of the transport nodes and can even help reset those RSS parameters we discussed in the manual guide.

Pre-requisites

Steps prior to script execution:

1. Configure the JSON file
   Create or edit your configuration file (e.g., /tmp/path/enable_uens_config.json) with the following mandatory fields:
   
   {
"nsx_manager_details": {
"ip": "nsx-manager.example.com",
"username": "admin"
},
"vcenter_details": {
"ip": "vcenter.example.com",
"username": "administrator@vsphere.local"
},
"cluster_entry_list": [
{
"vcenter_cluster_name": "Your-Cluster-Name",
"tnp_id_to_apply": "New-TNP-ID",
"reset_high_performance_params": false,
"enter_mm_timeout_minutes": 30 } ] }
   
   Note: enter_mm_timeout_minutes must be ≥ 2.
   
2. Set the credentials
   
   To avoid manual password prompts, set your credentials as environment variables:
   
   export ENABLE_UENS_SCRIPT_NSX_PASSWORD="your-nsx-password"
export ENABLE_UENS_SCRIPT_VC_PASSWORD="your-vc-password"

How to Execute the Script

1. Login to the NSX Manager via SSH.
   
2. Navigate to the script directory:
   cd /opt/vmware/migration-coordinator-tomcat/bin/uens-adoption/config
   
3. Run the script with the following arguments:
   python enable_uens.py -f "/var/log/enable_uens_config.json" 2>&1 | tee -a /var/log/enable_uens.log
   
   Note: Use the -s flag if you need to skip SSL verification.

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Summary of the Procedure

The script follows a safe, rolling-update workflow:

1. Maintenance Mode: Places a host in maintenance mode.
   
2. Mode Change: Transitions the switch from STANDARD to ENS_INTERRUPT.
   
3. Exit & Repeat: Takes the host out of maintenance mode and moves to the next host.
   
4. Finalize: Once all hosts are updated, it attaches the new TNP to the cluster to ensure configuration consistency.

That is all this time. Thank you and please connect with me if you have questions!.

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Authors & Editors

P.S. Thank you Bo Hu for this collaboration!