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SmartFabric Services with Multisite vSAN Stretched Cluster Deployment Guide
Notes, cautions, and warnings Introduction Hardware Used in this Guide Topology Deployment Planning SFS switch configuration Configure DCI switches Configure Fabric Interconnects Configure Networks Add ESXi hosts to topology
Add ESXi hosts to topology
vSAN cluster and services host initial configuration
Witness host initial configuration
ESXi host onboarding
Test connectivity
Configure a jump host Deploy the DNS server and the vCenter Server ESXi services and witness host configuration Deploy the vSAN Stretched Cluster Migrate the vCenter Server and the DNS server Add User VMs Deploy OMNI Validated Components Technical Resources CLI Command Output

ESXi host onboarding

Home > Networking Solutions > Converged and Hyperconverged Solutions > vSAN Networking Solutions > Guides > SmartFabric Services with Multisite vSAN Stretched Cluster Deployment Guide > ESXi host onboarding

ESXi host onboarding

  • In SFS, switch ports connected to servers are associated with networks using server interface profiles. In this section, the vSAN cluster hosts and the services host are on-boarded to the SmartFabric using the Import from Fabric feature.

    Note: The Import from Fabric feature requires LLDP. In the unlikely event the ESXi host NICs connected to the SmartFabric do not support LLDP, or if LLDP is disabled on the NICs, they will not appear on the Discovered Server Interface page. In this case they must be onboarded per the instructions in the Static server onboarding section of the Dell SmartFabric Services User Guide, Release 10.5.3. If you are statically onboarding the interfaces for this deployment (instead of Import from Fabric), use the following settings:
    • Server Interface ID – use the NIC MAC address without colons.
    • Server Profile – for the first interface, select New Server Profile, specify a name for the server profile, and set the Server Profile Bonding Type to AutoDetect, for subsequent interfaces select Existing Server Profile.
    • Tagged Networks - select the Management, vMotion, vSAN, and any optional networks created such as VM Data.
    • Untagged Network – select Client_Management_Network (VLAN-4091). Static Onboarding Option – Yes.
    • NIC Bonding – Disable. Leaf Node – select the leaf the NIC is connected to.
    • Interface – select the leaf port the NIC is connected to.
    • Routing Protocol – None. When done, the Server Interface Profile page for each site should look like the Server interface profiles created in Site 1 and Server interface profiles created in Site 2 figures.


    To onboard the ESXi hosts using the Import From Fabric feature, perform the following steps.

    1. In the SFS UI for Site 1, select the Server Interface tab.
    2. Under Server Interface Profile, click +IMPORT FROM FABRIC.
    3. All ESXi host-connected ports connected to the fabric appear on the Discovered Server Interface page, as shown.
      Figure 43. ESXi host interfaces discovered
      Note: Other connected devices that support LLDP will also appear in the list. Use the connected switch and port shown in the Discovered Interface column to identify ESXi hosts.

    4. Check the boxes next to all ESXi host-connected interfaces and click +ADD TO SERVER PROFILE.
      Note: For this example, there are five ESXi nodes in Site 1, resulting in 10 discovered interfaces. Four of the nodes are for the vSAN cluster. The fifth node is esx-svcs01 for the initial vCenter and DNS server deployment.

    5. In the Server Profile dialog box:
      1. Select New Server Profile.
      2. Next to Server Profile ID, enter a profile name, such as ESXi-host.
      3. Leave Bonding Type set to AutoDetect. The page appears as shown:
        Figure 44. Sever Profile window
    6. Click ASSOCIATE.The new profile, named ESXi-host in this example, is associated with the ESXi host interfaces, as shown.
      Figure 45. Interfaces associated with server profile
    7. Check the boxes next to all ESXi host interfaces and click +ADD NETWORKS.
    8. In the Add Server Interface Networks window, do the following:
      1. Next to Tagged Networks, select the Management, vMotion, vSAN, and any optional networks created such as VM Data. You do not need to select the built-it networks, 3939 and 4091.
        Note: VLAN 3939 is not used in this deployment. If an untagged network is not specified, as in this example, all interfaces will automatically be added to the SFS default untagged network, named Client_Management_Network:4091, when the configuration is applied.

      2. Click ADD.
      3. The Discovered Server Interface page appears as shown:
        Figure 46. Discovered server interface screen
    9. Ensure the networks are correct and listed by all ESXi node interfaces.
    10. Click the box next to all ESXi host interfaces and click CREATE to apply the configuration.
    11. In the Importing Server Interface Profiles window, a success message is displayed for each interface as shown:
      Figure 47. Success messages
    12. Click OK. The ESXi host interfaces appear in the Server Interface Profile list. When an interface is selected, the associated information for the port is displayed to the right of the interface profile list, as shown.
      Figure 48. Server interface profiles created in Site 1
    13. Repeat steps 1 through 12 above for Site 2. All steps and settings are the same as Site 1. When complete, the Server Interface Profile page for Site 2 looks like the figure below.
      Figure 49. Server interface profiles created in Site 2