VCF 5.1 On VxRail 8.0.200 – Walkthrough (Part 4: VI WLD vLCM-based)

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

This is the 4th in a series of posts covering VCF 5.1 On VxRail 8.0.200. The following post provides an example walkthrough covering the process of deploying a vLCM-based VI Workload Domain using the UI for Workflow Optimization method.

VMware Cloud Foundation introduced support for Day-1 vLCM enablement in VI WLD for VCF On VxRail 5.1. The integration of vLCM with VCF On VxRail 5.1 is quite a significant development. Let’s break down the key points:

vLCM Enablement Workload Domain: With VCF on VxRail 5.1, support for vLCM enablement workload domain is introduced.
Public API for vLCM Enablement: In VxRail 8.0.200, a public API is now available specifically for enabling vLCM within VCF. This API provides programmatic access to manage and automate the vLCM enablement process during WFO.
Irreversibility of vLCM Enablement: Once vLCM is enabled for a VxRail cluster, you cannot revert back to the legacy mode.
vSAN ESA: vLCM is mandatory when enabling vSAN ESA. Cannot add an ESA cluster into a non-vLCM WLD.

Overall, these advancements in VCF on VxRail signify a step forward in simplifying and automating the management of hyper-converged infrastructure, enhancing both operational efficiency and infrastructure reliability.

Users can create a vLCM-based workload domain (WLD) through either SDDC Manager using WFO UI or WFO API script method. The UI method is captured in the screenshot below showcasing enabling the checkbox: Manage clusters in this workload domain using vLCM images.

You can view a list of prerequisites and an overview of the procedure on the VMware site here.

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

SDDC Manager – Pre-Reqs

Ensure to complete the following from within SDDC Manager UI:

Licensing details entered correctly
Repository logins authenticated successfully
Download NSX Manager bundle

Deploy VI WLD Using WFO UI Method

The following input values are required as per the process of creating a VI WLD from the SDDC Manager UI:

VI WLD Name.
SSO Domain Name.
DC Name.
vCenter Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN).
ESXi hosts, VxRail Manager, and NSX Manager instances (IP & FQDN resolvable).
vCenter IP address, netmask and gateway.
Root Password.
NSX Host Overlay Network (DHCP server if using). When VMware NSX creates TEPs for the VI workload domain, they are assigned IP addresses from the DHCP server.
Update VxRail Manager Certificate with the correct Hostname.

Change the VxRail Manger IP address & confirm discovery of hosts:

Update VxRail Manager Certificate with the correct Hostname by logging into VxRail Manager via ssh with mystic followed by su. cd /mystic dir and run the following script:

nslookup 10.2.0.20

./generate_ssl.sh crk-w01-c01-vxrm.crk.vcfvxrail.corp