VxRAIL – 4.7 Install Notes

Note: this is an example for reference only please use the VxRail installation procedures provided by Dell EMC.

Prerequisites for installation include:

• Create all relevant ESXi, VC and VxRAIL manager DNS entries on AD/DNS server.
• Verify the customer DNS server can resolve all VxRail ESXi hostnames prior to deployment using nslookup.
• Verify NTP is working correctly, the following are some useful links: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1035833                https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1003736
• Ensure date is in sync:
  • ESXi set date and time:
    • esxcli system time set -d 19 -H 12 -m 30 -M 04 -y 2018
  • vCSA & PSC/VxRail Manager – view & set date and time:
    • # date
    • # date -s “19 APR 2018 12:30:00”
• Check if VxRail Manager VM is running (needs to run on the first host in cluster):
  • esxcli vm process list
• On the first host of the cluster set the VxRail Manager VM IP via IDRAC/DCUI (vxrail-idrac-esxi-shell-access-via-dcui):
  • vxrail-primary –setup –vxrail-address 192.1.20.50 –vxrail-netmask 255.255.255.0 –vxrail-gateway 192.1.20.1 –no-roll-back –verbose
• Enter the console (ALT+F1) and change the VLAN ID for the “VM Network” as per PEQ. e.g (VLAN 120):
  • esxcli network vswitch standard portgroup list
  • esxcli network vswitch standard portgroup set -p “VM Network” -v 120
• Restart loudmouth on each ESXi host: /etc/init.d/loudmouth restart
• Power cycle the VxRail Manager VM:

  • vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms

  • vim-cmd vmsvc/power.shutdown vmid

  • vim-cmd vmsvc/power.getstate vmid

  • vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on vmid

  • vim-cmd vmsvc/power.getstate vmid

• Ensure your switch has the required VLAN’s configured, in this example ESXi mgmt 120, vMotion 122, vSAN 123 and default Private Mgmt Network 3939. Sample DELL s4048 VLAN config:

!
interface Vlan 120
ip address 192.1.20.1/24
tagged TenGigabitEthernet 1/1-1/32
no shutdown
!
interface Vlan 122
ip address 192.1.22.1/24
tagged TenGigabitEthernet 1/1-1/32
no shutdown
!
interface Vlan 123
ip address 192.1.23.1/24
tagged TenGigabitEthernet 1/1-1/32
no shutdown
!
interface Vlan 3939
no ip address
tagged TenGigabitEthernet 1/17-1/32
no shutdown
!

The following are the pre-validation steps that VxRail Manager performs:

• Validating the compatibility of Witness, Management, vSAN, and vSphere vMotion port groups.
• Checking host is a witness node and validating its version.
• Validating the compatibility of Management, vSAN, and vSphere vMotion port groups.
• Checking each host has minimal number of NICs.
• Checking VLAN configuration for Management, vSAN, vSphere vMotion, and VM networks.
• Checking NIC configuration and link speed.
• Verifying host network configurations.
• Checking model numbers to verify proper support.
• Verifying the discovered hosts are as expected.
• Checking NTP server availability.
• Validating time configurations of VxRail Manager, ESXi nodes, and vCenter Server.
• Validating external DNS server host name records.
• Validating DNS server configuration.
• Performing VxRail Manager service account creation dry-run.
• Performing VxRail Manager account creation dry-run.
• Performing host accounts creation dry-run.
• Checking compatibility of ESXi disk group types.
• Searching for presence of requested VMware solutions.
• Verifying disk slot configuration.
• Searching for presence of requested partner solutions.
• Validating ESXi host version compatibility.
• Scanning network for IP usage.

Configure VxRail (Step-By-Step)

Browse to the VxRail Manager IP address which in this example is https://192.1.20.50, VxRail Welcome screen is displayed, click on ‘Get Started’ and accept the EULA:

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