Your plans may include the transformation of your current data center with disparate technologies and processes towards a software-defined data center. Consider that VxRail can be positioned as a building block towards that eventual outcome. The physical compute, network, and storage resources from built VxRail clusters can be allocated to the VMware cloud management and virtual desktop software solutions. They can be managed as a logical pool for end-user consumption. The software-defined data center can be designed and deployed to meet specific business and operational requirements by using VxRail clusters as the underlying foundation.
Figure 22. VxRail as the foundation for the software-defined data center
The path starts with a structured discovery and planning process that focuses on business use cases and strategic goals. That process drives the selection of software layers that are in the software-defined data center. Dell Technologies implements these software layers in a methodical, structured manner, with incremental planning and preparation of the supporting network in each phase.
The next phase after the deployment of the VxRail cluster is to layer the VMware Cloud Foundation software on the cluster. This phase enables assigning cluster resources as the underpinning for logical domains, whose policies align with use cases and requirements.
The information that is outlined in this guide covers networking considerations for VxRail. For more information about the architecture of VMware Cloud Foundation on VxRail, and to plan and prepare for its deployment, see the Dell Technologies VxRail Technical Guides.