VxRail management hostnames

Each of the VxRail management components you deploy in the VxRail cluster requires you to assign an IP address, and assign a fully qualified hostname. During initialization, each of these VxRail management components are assigned a hostname and IP address.

Determine the naming format for the hostnames to be applied to the required VxRail management components: each ESXi host, and VxRail Manager. If you deploy the vCenter Server in the VxRail cluster, that also requires a hostname. In addition, if you decide to deploy Log Insight in the VxRail cluster that needs a hostname as well.

Note: You cannot easily change the hostnames and IP addresses of the VxRail management components after initial implementation.

Select top-level domain

Begin the process by selecting the domain to use for VxRail and assign to the fully qualified hostnames. DNS is a requirement for VxRail, so select a domain where the naming services can support that domain.

Select VxRail Manager hostname

A hostname must be assigned to VxRail Manager. The domain is also automatically applied to the chosen hostname. Dell recommends following the naming format that is selected for the ESXi hosts to simplify cluster management.

Select ESXi hostnames

All VxRail nodes in a cluster require hostnames. Starting with VxRail version 7.0.010, you can use any host naming convention you want, provided that it is a legitimate format, or you can have VxRail auto-assign the hostnames to the ESXi nodes following VxRail rules automically during the VxRail initial build process.

If you plan to have VxRail auto-assign the hostnames during the cluster initial build process, make sure to follow the rules stated in this section. All ESXi hostnames in a VxRail cluster are defined by a naming scheme that comprises: an ESXi hostname prefix (an alphanumeric string), a separator (“None” or a dash ”-“), an iterator (Alpha, Num X, or Num 0X), an offset (empty or numeric), a suffix (empty or alphanumeric string with no .) and a domain. The Preview field that is shown during VxRail initialization is an example of the hostname of the first ESXi host. For example, if the prefix is “host,” the separator is “None,” the iterator is “Num 0X,” the offset is empty, and the suffix is “lab,” and the domain is “local,” the first ESXi hostname would be “host01lab.local.” The domain is also automatically applied to the VxRail management components. (Example: my-vcenter.local).

Enter the values for building and auto-assigning the ESXi hostnames if this is the chosen method.

If the ESXi hostnames will be applied manually, capture the name for each ESXi host planned for the VxRail initial build operation.

Select VxRail vCenter Server hostname

Note: You can skip this section if you plan to use an external vCenter Server in your data center for VxRail. These action items are only applicable if you plan to use the VxRail-managed vCenter Server.

If you want to deploy a new vCenter Server on the VxRail cluster, you must specify a hostname for the VxRail vCenter Server. The domain is also automatically applied to the chosen hostname. Dell recommends following the naming format that is selected for the ESXi hosts to simplify cluster management.