Your Browser is Out of Date

Nytro.ai uses technology that works best in other browsers.
For a full experience use one of the browsers below
Dell VxRail Network Planning Guide
Introduction Planning Your Data Center Network for VxRail
Introduction
VxRail hardware and the physical network infrastructure
VxRail clusters and nodes
Network switch
Data center network
VxRail networking port options
VxRail Ethernet adapter options
VxRail Fibre Channel adapter options
VxRail RoCE adapter options
VxRail node connectivity options
VxRail networking rules and restrictions
Topology and connections
VxRail Cluster Types VxRail Feature-Driven Decision Points VxRail Hardware and Switch Selection Decision Points Preparing Data Center for VxRail Implementation Planning the VxRail Cluster Implementation Planning for VxRail Satellite Nodes Configuring the Network for VxRail Preparing to Build the VxRail Cluster VxRail Network Considerations After Implementation

Topology and connections

Topology and connections

  • Various network topologies are possible with VxRail clusters. Complex production environments have multi-tier network topologies with clusters in multiple racks and spanning across data centers. Simpler workloads can be satisfied with the nodes and adjacent switches confined to a single rack, with routing services configured further upstream. A site diagram showing the proposed network components and connectivity is highly recommended before cabling and powering on VxRail nodes, and before performing an initial build of the VxRail cluster.

    Decide what network architecture you want to support the VxRail cluster, and what protocols will be used to connect to data center services and end users. For VxRail clusters managing production workloads, VLANs will be configured to support the VxRail networks. Determine which network tier the VxRail networking VLANs will terminate, and which tier to configure routing services.

    DiagramDescription automatically generated

    Figure 14.    High-level network topology with Layer 2 and Layer 3 options

    To determine the base number of ports required on each switch to support VxRail cluster operations, multiply the number of Ethernet ports on each VxRail node you will select to support VxRail networking by the number of nodes to be configured into the cluster. For a dual switch configuration, ports must be reserved on each switch to form an interswitch link for network traffic passage. You must also reserve additional ports to pass VxRail network traffic upstream, and one port on a switch to enable a laptop to connect to VxRail to perform initial build.

    If the VxRail clusters are located at a data center that you cannot access easily, we recommend setting up an out-of-band management switch to facilitate direct communication with each node.

    To use out-of-band management, connect the integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) port to a separate switch to provide physical network separation. Default values, capabilities, and recommendations for out-of-band management are provided with server hardware information. You must reserve an IP address for each iDRAC in your VxRail cluster (one per node).