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Dell VxRail Network Planning Guide
Introduction Plan the VxRail network
Plan the VxRail network
VxRail clusters and nodes
Network switch
VxRail relationship with the Ethernet switch VxRail node discovery and the Ethernet switch Basic switch requirements Switch performance considerations Storage network considerations Network redundancy and performance considerations
Data center network
Routing services
VxRail networking port options
VxRail Ethernet adapter options
VxRail FC adapter options
VxRail RoCE adapter options
VxRail DPU 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 Prepare the data center to implement VxRail 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

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 that span across data centers. Simpler workloads can be satisfied with the nodes and adjacent switches that are confined to a single rack, with routing services configured further upstream.

    Before cabling and powering on VxRail nodes and performing an initial build of the VxRail cluster, create a site diagram showing the proposed network components and connectivity.

    Select the network architecture to support the VxRail cluster and the protocols to connect to data center services and end users. For VxRail clusters managing production workloads, VLANs are configured to support the VxRail networks. Determine which network tier the VxRail networking VLANs terminate and which tier to configure routing services.

    Figure 17. High-level network topology with Layer 2 and Layer 3 options . High-level networktopology with Layer 2 and Layer 3 options
    High-level networktopology with Layer 2 and Layer 3 options

    VxRail cluster operations require several ports on each switch. To determine the base number of ports, multiply the number of Ethernet ports on each VxRail node to support VxRail networking by the number of nodes to be configured into the cluster. For a dual-switch configuration, reserve ports on each switch to form an interswitch link for network traffic passage. 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 at a data center that you cannot easily access, set up an OOB management switch to facilitate direct communication with each node.

    To use OOB management, connect the iDRAC port to a separate switch to provide physical network separation. Default values, capabilities, and recommendations for OOB management are provided with server hardware information. Reserve an IP address for each iDRAC in your VxRail cluster (one per node).