Dell HCI Configuration Profile (HCP) is the specification from Dell which captures the best practices and recommended configuration for Azure Stack HCI and Windows-based HCI solutions from Dell to get better resiliency and performance with the HCI solutions.
This feature functions at the cluster level and is supported for clusters running with Azure Stack HCI OS 21H2 (or later) and pre enabled Windows Server 2022.
- At-scale through the Azure portal leveraging the Azure Arc portfolio of technologies.
- Locally on-premises using Windows Admin Center.
By using a single Dell HCP policy definition, both cases provide a seamless and consistent management experience.
Dell OpenManage Integration with Windows Admin Center can integrate Dell HCP policy definitions into Azure policy. Then, Azure Stack HCI configuration compliance checks occur against these business rules to protect against malicious threats and inadvertent changes to cluster-level, BIOS, iDRAC, and component settings at-scale across many integrated systems.
Running Check Compliance automatically compares the recommended rules packaged together in the Dell HCP policy definitions with the settings on the running integrated system.
It's critical to re-align non-compliant policies with the best practices validated by Dell Technologies engineering, and our Dell HCP policy remediation WAC integration (unique at the moment) helps fixing any non-compliant errors by clicking Fix Compliance.
Some fixes may require manual intervention and others can be corrected in a fully automated manner using the Cluster-aware updating framework.
You can see Dell HCP Policies for Azure in action here.