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Dell VxRail Network Planning Guide
Introduction Plan the VxRail network VxRail Cluster Types VxRail feature-driven decision points VxRail hardware and switch selection decision points Prepare the data center to implement VxRail
Prepare the data center to implement VxRail
Prepare external network connectivity for VxRail
Prepare service connectivity for VxRail
Prepare for VMware vSphere+ subscription licensing
Prepare data center routing services
Prepare for multirack VxRail cluster
Prepare for VMware vSAN HCI mesh topology
Prepare external FC storage for dynamic clusters
Prepare for VxRail custom uplink assignments
Prepare data center network MTU
Prepare for LAG of VxRail networks
Identify switch ports to be configured for LAG
Plan LAG on switch port pairs
Prepare certificate authority server for VxRail
Identify isolation IP addresses for VMware vSphere High Availability
Plan the VxRail cluster implementation Planning vSAN Witness Networking Planning VxRail Satellite Nodes Networking Configure the Network for VxRail Prepare to build the VxRail cluster VxRail network considerations after implementation Appendix A: VxRail Network Configuration Table Appendix B: VxRail Passwords Appendix C: VxRail cluster setup checklist Appendix D: VxRail Open Ports Requirements Appendix E: VMware VDS port group default settings Appendix F: Physical Network Switch Examples

Prepare for VMware vSAN HCI mesh topology

Prepare for VMware vSAN HCI mesh topology

  • This section is relevant only in situations for sharing vSAN data store resources over the network.

    With an HCI Mesh topology, the local vSAN datastore on a VxRail cluster can be shared with other VxRail clusters. This storage sharing model is applicable only in a multi-cluster environment where the VxRail clusters are configured under a common data center object on a common VMware vCenter Server instance.

    With a vSAN HCI Mesh network, the VxRail cluster that leverages a local vSAN datastore for primary storage can also leverage the capacity on a remote vSAN datastore for application workload. If dynamic clusters are to be part of the vSAN HCI mesh network, they can mount a remote vSAN datastore on a cluster with free vSAN storage capacity and use that as their primary storage resource.

    Figure 38. Storage resource sharing between VxRail clusters with VMware vSAN HCI mesh. Storage resource sharing between VxRail clusters with VMware vSAN HCI mesh
    Storage resource sharing between VxRail clusters with vSAN HCI mesh
    To enable vSAN HCI mesh, the data center must have a network topology that can enable connectivity of the vSAN networks on the two participating VxRail clusters.
    • Two Ethernet ports on each node in the cluster will be configured to support vSAN network traffic.
    • A common VLAN can be assigned to this vSAN network on each cluster so they can connect over a Layer 2 network. This method is preferable if the client cluster does not have a local vSAN datastore. If a common VLAN is assigned, and the VxRail clusters are deployed against different sets of ToR switches, the VLAN must be configured to stretch between the set of switches.
    • If a unique VLAN is assigned to the vSAN network on each cluster, then connectivity can be enabled using Layer 3 routing services. If this option is selected, be sure to assign routable IP addresses to the vSAN network on each participating VxRail cluster.
    Figure 39. Enabling vSAN HCI mesh connectivity over a Layer 3 network. Enabling vSAN HCI mesh connectivity over a Layer 3 network
    Enable vSAN network connectivity between clusters
    To share storage resources between VxRail clusters both with VMware vSAN datastores in a VMware vSAN HCI mesh, prepare your data center to meet the following prerequisites:
    • A VMware vCenter Server instance at a version that supports VxRail 7.0.100 or later.
    • A VMware vSAN Enterprise license for each VxRail cluster using VMware vSAN HCI mesh topology.

    If your plans include sharing the VMware vSAN resources of a VxRail cluster with one or more VxRail dynamic clusters, meet the following prerequisites:

    • A VMware vCenter Server instance at a version that supports VxRail 7.0.240 or later.
    • A VMware vSAN Enterprise license is needed only for the VxRail cluster that is sharing its VMware vSAN storage resources. This license is not needed on a dynamic cluster because it does not have a local VMware vSAN datastore.

    If your plans include sharing the VMware vSAN resources from a VxRail stretched cluster, meet the following prerequisites:

    • The VxRail cluster participating in the vSAN HCI mesh topology must be running VxRail 8.0.100 or later.
    • The VMware vCenter Server instance that supports the VxRail clusters must be running at a version that supports VxRail 8.0.100.
    • The VMware vSAN datastore being shared is based in the OSA.

    The VxRail client cluster can consist of:

    • Dynamic nodes with no local VMware vSAN datastore.
    • VxRail cluster with a local VMware vSAN datastore using the remote stretched VMware vSAN datastore as secondary storage.
    • VxRail cluster with a stretched VMware vSAN datastore using the remote stretched VMware vSAN datastore as secondary storage.
    Figure 40. VxRail stretched cluster sharing VMware vSAN storage with a client cluster. VxRail stretched cluster sharing VMware vSAN storage with a client cluster