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Deployment Guide—VMware IaaS on PowerEdge MX Servers and PowerMax Storage

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Management Cluster Deployment
Installing ESXi on the management hosts Configuring the ESXi management network Configuring standard virtual switches Creating a management datastore from the PowerMax LUN Deploying vCenter Server Appliance Adding vCenter Server to Unisphere storage management Configuring Active Directory authentication (optional) Disabling SSH on ESXi hosts (optional) Configuring the management cluster

Installing ESXi on the management hosts

  • Install VMware ESXi on each of the PowerEdge management hosts that will be part of the management cluster. For convenience, you can order PowerEdge servers with VMware ESXi 6.5 preinstalled; otherwise, you can install ESXi remotely through the iDRAC web interface or locally. This section describes how to perform the installation remotely. In our example, we assign static IP addresses to the management interfaces of the ESXi hosts. Using DHCP is not recommended for IP allocation of management hosts.

    Prerequisites

    To complete the procedures in this section, you need:

    • iDRAC IP addresses or fully qualified domain names (FQDNs)
    • iDRAC credentials
    • iDRAC Enterprise license applied on all nodes
    • Dell EMC-customized ESXi 6.5 image

    For download instructions, see VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5.x on Dell EMC PowerEdge Systems Image Customization Information on Dell EMC Online Support. Make a note of the image location on your system because you will need it when mounting virtual media.

    • Host names, Management VLAN ID, IP address information
    • vSphere credentials
    • Static IP addresses for each of the management servers
    • DNS server records for hostnames (optional)

    Note: The iDRAC User Guide provides instructions for setting up the iDRAC, including configuring the IP address. For a link to the guide, see the iDRAC page on Dell EMC Online Support.

    Configure the BIOS settings and connect to the iDRAC

    Configure the BIOS settings and connect to the iDRAC:

    1. Apply the BIOS settings profile that provides maximum virtualization performance:
      1. Connect to the iDRAC IP address of one of the management hosts by using an SSH client such as PuTTY.
      2. Log in with the following default credentials:
    • User—root
    • Password—calvin
      1. At the /admin1-> prompt, run the following command:

    racadm set bios.sysprofilesettings.WorkloadProfile VtOptimizedProfile

    1. Run the following command to process the change:

    racadm jobqueue create BIOS.Setup.1-1

    1. Restart the management host.
    2. Repeat the preceding steps for each remaining management host.
    1. Using a web browser, go to the iDRAC web interface at https://<iDRAC Address>.
    2. Log in with the following default credentials:
    • User: root
    • Password: calvin
    1. Click the Virtual Console preview, as shown in the following figure, to open the Virtual Console.

    For each iDRAC, ensure that pop-up support is enabled in your browser.

    Figure 8.         Virtual Console preview

    1. While connected to the Virtual Console, attach the virtual media by selecting Virtual Media > Connect Virtual Media.
    2. Select Virtual Media > Map CD/DVD.
    3. Click Browse to go to the location of the Dell EMC ISO file for VMware ESXi 6.5, select the file, and then click Open.

    This location must be available throughout the installation of ESXi on all servers.

    The Virtual Media – Map CD/DVD page appears.

    Boot to the installation media

    On the Virtual Media – Map CD/DVD page, boot to the installation media:

    1. Click Map Device.
    1. From the Virtual Console menu bar, select Next Boot.
    2. From the Next Boot list, select Virtual CD/DVD/ISO.
    3. Click OK to continue.

    Ensure that the location of the ISO you have mapped will be available through the full installation process.

    1. From the Virtual Console menu bar, select Power.
    2. From the Power list, select Power On System, or, if the system is already on, select Power Cycle System (cold boot).

    After the server restarts, the ESXi installer begins to load.

    Install VMware ESXi on the management cluster

    Install ESXi on the management cluster:

    1. In the iDRAC Virtual Console, at the Welcome to the VMware ESXi 6.5.0 Installation page, press Enter.
    1. Review the terms of the license agreement and, to accept the terms and continue, press F11.
    2. When prompted for Disk to Install, use the cursor keys to select the boot device on which to install ESXi.

    If the disk has previously been used to install ESXi, the following message appears.

     

    Figure 9.         ESXi Found message

    1. If the ESXi Found message appears:
      1. Use the cursor keys to go to Install.
      2. Press the space bar to perform a fresh installation.
      3. Press Enter.
    2. Select the keyboard layout for your environment and press Enter to continue.
    1. Enter the password that you want to use for the root account, reenter the password to validate it, and press Enter.
    1. On the confirmation page, press F11 to install VMware ESXi 6.5.
    2. When the installation is complete, from the Virtual Console menu bar, select Virtual Media > Disconnect Virtual Media.
    3. When prompted, click Yes to confirm that you want to close the Virtual Media session.
    4. On the Installation Complete page, press Enter to restart the server.