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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

VxRail networking rules and restrictions

VxRail networking rules and restrictions

  • The following network rules and restrictions apply.

    • The Ethernet ports selected during the VxRail initial build to support the VxRail cluster are reserved for VxRail usage and cannot be reconfigured for purposes outside of VxRail networking.
    • Any unused Ethernet ports on the nodes that are not reserved for VxRail cluster networking can be used for other customer use cases, such as guest networks, external storage, and other requirements.
    • Guest networks can share resources with the Ethernet ports that are reserved for VxRail networking, or unused Ethernet ports on the nodes can be configured to support guest networks.
    • For VxRail clusters running all Ethernet ports at 1 GbE speed:
      • Reserve four ports on each node for VxRail network traffic.
      • Single processor VxRail models only.
      • Maximum of eight nodes per cluster.
      • Only hybrid VxRail models can be configured with 1 GbE speed. All-flash VxRail models cannot support 1 GbE.
    • For VxRail nodes supplied with Ethernet ports greater than 1 GbE:
      • The most common topology is to configure the cluster with either two ports or four ports per node to support VxRail networking traffic.
      • Starting with VxRail 7.0.400, six ports or eight ports per node can be selected to support VxRail networking. This option is best used for deployments supporting demanding and network-intense workloads.
      • Adding Ethernet ports beyond the ports that are initially reserved for VxRail networking is not supported after the cluster is configured and operational.
      • VxRail networks that become resource constrained due to increased workload demands can be migrated to higher-speed Ethernet ports, provided the VxRail cluster is running VxRail 7.0.010 or later.
      • Optionally, reserving six ports or eight ports per node for VxRail network traffic is supported. This option is best used for deployments supporting demanding and network-intense workloads.
    • Custom Ethernet port configurations are supported with restrictions:
      • Before VxRail 7.0.130, all Ethernet ports on the VxRail nodes that are selected for a VxRail cluster must be the same port type and run at the same speed.
      • For VxRail version 7.0.130 and later, the ports on the NDC or OCP and PCIe adapter cards that are configured in the VxRail nodes can run at different speeds. The NDC or OCP ports can run at 10 GbE and the ports on the PCIe adapter cards can run at 25 GbE.
      • Any ports that are assigned to the same VxRail network, whether based on NDC/OCP or PCIe, must run at the same speed. For instance, a VxRail network cannot be paired with one port running at 10 GbE and another port running at 25 GbE.
      • Individual VxRail networks can be assigned to Ethernet ports running at different speeds. One VxRail network can be assigned to ports running at 100 GbE, while another VxRail network can be assigned to ports running at 10 GbE.
      • You should not mix Ethernet port types such as RJ45 and SFP+ to support VxRail cluster network operations. Mixing different Ethernet port types invites complexity regarding firmware, drivers, and cabling with the data center network.
    Figure 16. Mixing network speeds and types to support VxRail networking . Mixing network speeds and types to support VxRail networking
    Mixing networkspeeds and types to supportVxRail networking