VxRail HCI System Software is the VxRail management software, providing a strategic advantage for VxRail by further reducing operational complexity. It is the software running atop the vSAN stack, encapsulating much of the key VxRail differentiation over other vSAN Ready Nodes and other HCI solutions on the market. VxRail HCI System Software provides out-of-the-box automation and orchestration for deployment of day-to-day, system-based operational tasks, which reduces the overall IT OpEx required to manage the stack. No build-it-yourself HCI solution provides this level of life cycle management (LCM), automation, and operational simplicity.

Figure 1.   VxRail stack

With VxRail HCI System Software, updates are simple and automated. Customers can have confidence in knowing that they are going from one known good state to the next, inclusive of all the managed software and hardware component firmware. Customers no longer have to verify hardware compatibility lists, run test and development scenarios, sequence and trial updates, and so on. The heavy lifting of sustaining and LCM is already done for them. In short, VxRail creates IT certainty.

VxRail cluster management is integrated into the vCenter Service interface via the VxRail Manager plug-in. The plug-in provides a fully integrated experience that is familiar to VMware users. The benefits of LCM services are extensible. The services use RESTful APIs to position the VxRail system as the platform of choice for software-defined data center (SDDC) and infrastructure as code (IaC) cloud deployments, as well as for customers who prefer to manage clusters at scale through scripts or custom automation solutions.

Within VxRail HCI System Software, SaaS multi-cluster management provides global visualization, simplified health monitoring, and multi-cluster management through a cloud-based web portal. These features build upon the LCM services to increase operational efficiency, especially for customers who have a large footprint of VxRail clusters and who have found managing at scale to be challenging.

VxRail security and compliance

Dell VxRail is a resilient, secure, and modern HCI system that directly addresses the challenges of security and compliance in modern-day environments.

The VxRail system is engineered, built, configured, and maintained based on the Dell Secure Development Lifecycle (SDL). The SDL follows a rigorous approach to secure product development, including executive-level risk management before products are shipped to market. vSphere—a significant part of VxRail HCI—has been developed using a similar approach, the VMware Security Development Lifecycle.

All VxRail software components, which are illustrated in Figure 2, have integrated security, with corporate security processes, unique security features, and supply chain control. Customers can be confident that VxRail can fit into their secure IT infrastructure design.

Each VxRail component has integrated security, with corporate security processes, unique security features, and supply chain control, so customers can be confident that VxRail can fit into their secure IT infrastructure design. The hardware consists of Dell PowerEdge servers and Intel or AMD processors. The virtualization and software layers include vSphere and vSAN, which is integrated into the kernel of vSphere. The integrated software and management included with VxRail consists of VxRail HCI System Software; VMware software and vCenter Server; and Dell Technologies software, including RecoverPoint for VMs and Secure Connect Gateway. Dell and VMware jointly engineered the components, which are delivered by and supported exclusively by Dell as a single product—VxRail.

Figure 2.   VxRail software bundle

VxRail is designed to meet several standards including Common Criteria EAL2+ certification and USGv6 certification, making it IPv6 Ready. The VxRail Product Security Configuration Guide provides guidance to further harden VxRail deployments. Customers can also use the VxRail STIG Compliance Guide and automated scripts to further harden their environments.

To learn more about the VxRail Comprehensive Security by Design, see Dell VxRail: Comprehensive Security by Design.