VxRail 7.0.XXX Administration Participant Guide

ESCPXD05344 ~ VXRAIL
7.0.XXX
ADMINISTRATION
PARTICIPANT GUIDE
PARTICIPANT GUIDE
ESCPXD05344 ~ VxRail 7.0.XXX Administration
© Copyright 2023 Dell Inc Page 2

Table of Contents
VxRail Administration 7.0.XXX 11
VxRail Cluster Architecture and Deployment Options 12

VxRail Architecture Overview - Hardware Components 12
VxRail Architecture Overview - Software Components 13
Standard VxRail Cluster Architecture Overview 15
vCenter Option 1: Use the VxRail-Managed vCenter Server 16
vCenter Option 2: Join an Existing vCenter Server 17
Knowledge Check: Architecture and vCenter Server Deployment Options for a VxRail
Cluster 19
VxRail Networking Architecture - Physical 19
VxRail Networking Architecture - Virtual 20
VxRail Network Deployment Options 22
VxRail Deployed vSphere Distributed Switch - Predefined Network Profiles 23
Port Group Policies - Predefined Network Profiles 26
Post-Deployment Considerations 27
Enabling NIC Redundancy 28
Enabling NIC Teaming with Link Aggregation 31
Two VDS for VxRail Network Traffic 32
Knowledge Check: Network Deployment Options 33
License VxRail Using the vSphere Client 34

VxRail Management Functionality 34
vCenter Server Integration on VxRail 35
VxRail Licensing 38
License Management 40
Interaction: Add and Assign vSAN and vSphere Licenses 42
Manage VxRail Using the VxRail Plugin for vCenter Server 43

Verify the Deployment Status of the VxRail Plugin 43
Use the VxRail Dashboard to View System Health and Access VxRail Resources 43
VxRail Cluster System Page 45

VxRail Cluster Updates Page 46
VxRail Cluster Certificate Page 47
VxRail Cluster Hosts Page 48
VxRail Cluster Networking Page 49
VxRail Cluster Health Monitoring Page 49
VxRail Host Configure iDRAC Page 50
Interaction: Explore the Management Functionality of the VxRail Plugin 51
Configure the Support Account 51
Enable Remote Support Connectivity 52
Monitor the VxRail Cluster with the Physical View 55
Monitor a VxRail Host with the Physical View 57
Host Physical View: Disk 61
Host Physical View: NIC 64
Host Physical View: Power Supply 66
Explain the vSAN Configuration of a VxRail Cluster 69

Introduction to VMware vSAN 69
vSAN Datastore 69
vSAN Objects and Components 70
vSAN Services Overview 72
VM Storage Policies 73
vSAN Default Storage Policy 74
VxRail Built-In vSAN Storage Policy 75
Interaction: Explore the VxRail vSAN Cluster Configuration 77
Monitor the vSAN Health, Capacity, and Performance of a VxRail Cluster 78

Monitor vSAN Skyline Health 78
View vSAN Virtual Objects 81
Monitor vSAN Resyncing Objects 82
View vSAN Capacity 83
Monitor vSAN Performance 86
Interaction: Monitor Health, Capacity, and Performance of the VxRail vSAN Cluster 88
Configure vSAN Services 89

VMware vSAN Space Efficiency Overview 89
VMware vSAN Space Efficiency Options 89
VMware Recommendations - Space Efficiency 91
Enable VMware vSAN Space Efficiency 92
Verifying Space Savings from Deduplication and Compression 93
Interaction: Configure Space Efficiency 94
vSAN Encryption 94
Key Provider Requirement 96
Enable vSAN Encryption 97
Interaction - Configure Native Key Provider and Enable vSAN Encryption 100
Reserved Capacity Overview 100
Configure Capacity Reserve 101
Capacity Reserve Considerations 102
vSAN Disk Balance and Automatic Rebalance 103
Configure Automatic Rebalance 104
Knowledge Check - vSAN Automatic Rebalance 105
Manage and Use vSAN Storage Policies 107

Create a VM Storage Policy with vSAN Specific Attributes 107
Manage vSAN Storage Policy 112
Change vSAN Datastore Default Storage Policy 115
Deploy Virtual Machines with vSAN Storage Policies 116
VM Storage Policy Compliance and Modification 119
Interaction - Create and Use vSAN Storage Policies 121
Manage vSAN HCI Mesh 122

vSAN HCI Mesh 122
vSAN HCI Mesh Benefits 125
vSAN HCI Mesh Considerations 125
Mount Remote vSAN Datastore 127
Remote Datastores - Server View 129
Use Remote vSAN Datastore 130
VM Object Placement with vSAN HCI Mesh 132
Interaction: vSAN HCI Mesh - Mount and Use a Remote vSAN Datastore 132

Manage vSAN Cluster Availability 133
vSAN Object and Component States 133
vSAN Object Repair Timer 134
Overriding vSAN Object Repair Timer 135
Resynchronizing Components 136
Impact of vSAN Failure on VMs 137
Durability Components 138
Knowledge Check: vSAN Failure Handling 140
Knowledge Check: vSAN Failure Handling 140
vSAN Fault Domains 141
Number of vSAN Fault Domains 142
Create vSAN Fault Domains 143
VxRail Cluster with vSAN Fault Domains Configured 144
VM Object Placement with vSAN Fault Domains Configured 145
Interaction: Configure vSAN Fault Domains 146
Maintenance Mode - Hosts in a vSAN Cluster 146
Maintenance Mode vSAN Data Migration Pre-Check 147
Ensure Accessibility - Component Migration 150
Interaction - Place a Node into Maintenance Mode 152
Generate VxRail Procedures with SolVe 153

Dell Technologies SolVe 153
SolVe Online - VxRail Upgrade Procedures 155
Solve Online - VxRail Hardware Replacement and Miscellaneous Procedures 160
Example of Generating VxRail Procedure for Disk Replacement 164
Interaction: Generate VxRail Solve Procedure 170
Perform Cluster Expansion (Add Nodes) 171

VxRail Cluster Expansion 171
Cluster Expansion - Layer 2 Add Node Procedure 172
Using the VxRail Plugin to Add a Node 172
Add VxRail Hosts Wizard 173
Node Added Successfully 179
Interaction: Expand VxRail Cluster - Add Node 180

Multirack VxRail Cluster Expansion 180
VxRail Cluster Expansion over Layer 3 - Proxy Node 182
Perform Capacity Expansion for an Existing VxRail Node (Add Disks) 184
VxRail Node - Storage Capacity Expansion 184
Add Disk Wizard - Disk Group Add 185
Interaction: Add Disks to a VxRail Node 191
Perform VxRail Manager File-Based Backup 192

VxRail Manager File-Based Backup and Restore - Overview 192
VxRail Manager Backup and Restore Script 193
Manual Backup 195
Scheduled Backup 196
Copy Recovery Bundle to vSAN Datastore 197
VxRail vSAN Datastore - VxRail Backup Folder 198
Interaction: Perform VxRail Manager File-Based Backup 198
Knowledge Check: VxRail Manager File-Based Backup 199
Perform VxRail Software Upgrade 200

Differentiate Between the VxRail Software Upgrade Options 200
Enabling vLCM 203
vSphere Lifecycle Manager on VxRail 204
VxRail Software Upgrade Considerations 205
Generate Compliance Reports 206
Generate Advisory Reports 208
Interaction: Generate Compliance and Advisory Reports 211
High-Level Steps: Perform VxRail Software Upgrade 212
Interaction: Perform VxRail Software Upgrade 212
Manage VxRail Networking 213

SolVe Online - VxRail Network Related Procedures 213
Enable NIC Redundancy Across Integrated NIC and PCIe Ports 216
NIC Redundancy Across Integrated NIC and PCIe Ports Enabled 218
Modify Teaming and Failover Policies 221

Modify Teaming and Failover Policies - Example 223
Deploy Second VDS for VxRail Network Traffic 225
Interaction: Create and Configure a Second VDS for vSAN Traffic 228
Manage a Stretched Cluster 229

vSAN Stretched Cluster Overview 229
VxRail vSAN Stretched Cluster Deployment Requirements 230
VxRail vSAN Stretched Cluster Example 232
vSAN Storage Policy Rules for Stretched Clusters 233
Stretched Cluster Storage Policy Example - Site Mirroring and RAID 5 at Each Site 234
Stretched Cluster Storage Policy Example - RAID 5 at Preferred Site Only 236
VM-Host Affinity Rules for vSAN Stretched Clusters 238
Recommended VM-Host Affinity Rules for vSAN Stretched Clusters 240
Manage DRS Groups 240
Manage VM-Host Affinity Rules 244
Interaction: Manage Storage Policies and Affinity Rules in a vSAN Stretched Cluster 247
Perform VxRail Troubleshooting 248

VxRail Knowledge Base Articles 248
Searching the Knowledge Base 249
VxRail Advisories 250
VxRail Advisories Sign Up 252
VxRail Log Collection 255
VxRail Manager - Log Collection CLI 256
VxRail Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for Gathering Logs 258
Perform Log Collection for vCenter Server and ESXi Using the vSphere Client 259
VxRail Log File Locations 261
Interaction: Perform Log Collection 262
vSAN Troubleshooting Resources 263
VxRail Cluster - All Issues 263
Investigate vSAN Alarms in Skyline Health 264
Investigate VXR Event Codes 267
vSAN Proactive Tests 269
Troubleshoot vSAN Using ESXCLI 272

Remove a VxRail Node from a Cluster 275
Remove a VxRail Node from a Cluster 275
Interaction: Remove a VxRail Node from a Cluster 276
Perform Power Control Operations on a VxRail Cluster 277

Shut Down a VxRail Cluster 277
Steps to Shut Down a VxRail Cluster 277
Power up a VxRail Cluster After a Scheduled Shut Down 280
Interaction: Shut Down a VxRail Cluster 282
Manage TLS Certificates 283

VxRail Manager Certificate Overview 283
Creating the Key File and Certificates 283
Steps for Replacing a VxRail Certificate 284
Interaction: Replace VxRail Manager Self-Signed TLS Certificate with a Trusted CA-Signed
Certificate 287
Configure Automatic Renewal of Trusted CA-Signed VxRail Manager TLS Certificate. 287
Interaction: Configure Automatic Renewal of Trusted CA-Signed VxRail Manager TLS
Certificate 289
Import New VMware vSphere Certificates to VxRail Manager 289
Manage Passwords 290

Change the VxRail Manager User Account Passwords 290
Interaction: Reset mystic User Account 291
Update the VxRail Management Account Password 291
Change ESXi Management Password 294
Sync Password with VxRail Manager 295
Interaction: Change the VxRail Management Account Password in a Customer-Supplied
vCenter 296
Interaction: Change the VxRail Management Account on a VMware Host Client 296
VxRail 7.0.XXX Administration On-Demand Lab 297

VxRail 7.0.XXX Administration On-Demand Lab 297
You Have Completed This Content 298

Appendix 299
Glossary 315

VxRail Cluster Architecture and Deployment Options
VxRail Administration 7.0.XXX

VxRail Cluster Architecture and Deployment

Options
VxRail Architecture Overview - Hardware Components
In a VxRail environment, the cluster is the primary unit of deployment.
An Example of a Standard VxRail Cluster Hardware Architecture
A standard VxRail cluster is made up of the following hardware

components:
 VxRail Nodes - Dell PowerEdge servers that are configured and
optimized to support the VMware and VxRail software components. A
standard VxRail cluster is made up of 3 - 64 nodes.
 Top of Rack (ToR) Switches - Physical Ethernet switches that carry
internode network traffic. A VxRail cluster supports one or more ToR
switches.
 Out-of-Band (OOB) Management Switch - Physical Ethernet switch
that provides separate connections for the iDRAC management
interface on each VxRail node. Separating iDRAC management
connections from the ToR switches is optional.

VxRail Architecture Overview - Software Components
To learn about the VxRail software components, select each tab.
VMware Technologies
VMware Technologies Components Architecture of a VxRail Cluster
 ESXi - A customized hypervisor that is installed locally onto VxRail

nodes. ESXi provides virtualized compute, network, and storage
resources for virtual machines and containers. ESXi is also the base
platform for vSAN and VDS technologies.
 vSAN - A storage virtualization technology that combines individual
VxRail node disks and presents the storage to the cluster as a single
datastore.
 vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) - A network switch virtualization
technology that spans all nodes in a cluster. VDS enables simplified
management and virtual machine network connectivity.
 vCenter Server - A centralized platform that provides management
and monitoring capabilities for VMware server virtualization, vSAN,
VDS, and VxRail nodes.

VxRail Manager
VxRail Manager Architecture
VxRail Manager - A virtual machine that provides the discrete UI for

VxRail cluster deployment and a vCenter plugin for postdeployment
operations. VxRail Manager also has other VxRail HCI components such
as APIs and ecosystem connectors.

Standard VxRail Cluster Architecture Overview
Standard VxRail Cluster Architecture Example
An example of a standard VxRail cluster could be configured as:

 Three VxRail nodes
 Dell ToR switches
 Dell Management switch
 Customer-supplied vCenter Server

vCenter Option 1: Use the VxRail-Managed vCenter

Server
VxRail clusters are deployed with one of two vCenter options. The first
option is to use the VxRail-managed vCenter Server.
A new VxRail-managed vCenter Server is deployed on a new VxRail

cluster. This option is used for a stand-alone cluster deployment or the
first cluster in a multicluster deployment.
VxRail-managed vCenter Server Architecture
Considerations:
 Includes a nontransferable standard vCenter license for VxRail nodes
only
 Uses VxRail Lifecycle Management for vCenter software upgrades
 Does not support vCenter High Availability (HA)
 Deployed with a noncustomizable vSphere Single Sign-on (SSO)
domain called vsphere.local
 Supports internal or external DNS server options

 Supports VxRail-deployed Virtual Distributed Switches

 Supports Enhanced Link Mode with other VxRail-managed vCenter
Servers
vCenter Option 2: Join an Existing vCenter Server
The second vCenter deployment option is to Join an existing vCenter

Server. This option can be further divided into two options, each with its
own considerations.
To learn more about the Join an existing vCenter Server deployment

option, select each tab.
Existing VxRail-managed vCenter Server
A new VxRail cluster is deployed with an existing VxRail-managed

vCenter Server that is on another cluster. This option is used for a second
or subsequent cluster deployments.
New Cluster with an Existing VxRail-managed vCenter
Considerations:
 Includes a nontransferable standard vCenter license for VxRail nodes
only
 Uses VxRail Lifecycle Management for software upgrades
 Does not support vCenter HA
 Uses existing noncustomizable vSphere SSO domain called
vsphere.local

 Requires an external DNS server

 Supports a new VxRail-deployed or existing Virtual Distributed
Switches
Existing Customer-supplied vCenter Server
A new VxRail cluster is deployed with an existing vCenter server that runs
on infrastructure that is external to a VxRail cluster. This option is used for
single or multiple cluster deployments.
New Cluster with an Existing Customer-supplied vCenter
Considerations:
 Requires a separate vCenter license
 Uses customer-defined procedures for vCenter LCM
 Supports vCenter HA
 Supports a custom vSphere SSO domain
 Requires an external DNS server
 Supports a new VxRail-deployed or existing Virtual Distributed
Switches

Knowledge Check: Architecture and vCenter Server

Deployment Options for a VxRail Cluster
1. An organization has a VxRail cluster with a VxRail-managed vCenter.

The administrator is about to add non-VxRail hosts to the virtual data
center to create a cluster using the native vSphere processes of
adding hosts.
What happens when the hosts are added?

a. The host add succeeds, but the organization is violating the
vCenter license agreement.
b. The host add fails since the vCenter license only works for VxRail
nodes.
c. The host add fails since the vSAN license only works on VxRail
nodes.
d. The host add succeeds, but a new vCenter license must be
entered to complete the operation.
VxRail Networking Architecture - Physical
The physical switch infrastructure supports all the network traffic for the
VxRail cluster. VxRail logical networking depends on the ToR switches for
physical connectivity between the nodes, and to the core production
network. VxRail network traffic is configured for Layer 2 networking. For
supported VxRail network speeds, interfaces, and supported network card
options, see the Dell VxRail Spec Sheet.
To learn more about the networking architecture, select each tab.
VxRail Network Switches
VxRail nodes connect to one or more ToR network switches and are
configured as part of the VxRail cluster.

VxRail nodes with two ToR switches and optional management switch
VxRail Network Interface Cards
VxRail models support various configurations of the integrated network

interface card (NIC). Most VxRail models support optional PCIe NICs.
Each VxRail node has a 1 GbE RJ45 port for Integrated Dell Remote
Access Controller (iDRAC) connectivity.
VxRail node with iDRAC, integrated, and PCIe NICs
VxRail Networking Architecture - Virtual
In a standard VxRail cluster, a vSphere Distributed Switch provides virtual

networking capabilities for hosts and virtual machines. A VDS has two
types of port groups. Distributed port groups connect virtual machines and
host services to the VDS. Uplink port groups map to the host NICs and
provide a connection to the upstream physical switches. Uplink port
groups use NIC port aliases like vmnic0 for the physical NIC ports.

During the initial build of a VxRail Cluster, a predefined or custom network

profile is selected. This profile determines the number of VDS, number of
uplink port groups, and uplink failover policy for each distributed port
group.
VxRail VDS Overview
VxRail networking is grouped into six types of traffic. Each traffic type is
associated with a distributed port group that exists on one or two VDSs.
 Discovery
 Usage: Internal network for VxRail node discovery during initial
implementation and cluster expansion
 VLAN ID: Configurable, default 3939
 Management
 Usage: External network for ESXi host management
 VLAN ID: Configurable, default untagged
 vCenter Server
 Usage: External network for vCenter Server and VxRail Manager
management
 VLAN ID: Configurable, default untagged
 vMotion
 Usage: Internal network for cluster vMotion traffic
 VLAN ID: Configurable
 vSAN

 Usage: Internal network for cluster vSAN traffic

 Guest VM (optional)
 Usage: External network for production VMs

Important: VxRail supports IPv6 for discovery traffic only.

All other types of network traffic must be IPv4.
VxRail Network Deployment Options
VxRail supports three VMware vSphere Distributed Switch network

options:
 VDS predefined network profile - Contains the default configurations
for VDS. VxRail Manager creates the VDS on the vCenter Server, at
the time of deployment. The VDS is created using the network profile
settings which reflect best practices for common configurations.
 VDS is predefined, and the configuration cannot be customized.
 VDS is created as a single VDS only.
 VDS is configured with standard port group names.
 Custom network profile with new VDS - Enables administrators to
configure VDS settings. When Custom network profile with new
VDS is selected, VxRail Manager deploys a VDS with the specified
configuration. The configuration options include: Number of VDS,
network traffic type, Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU), host NICs,
NIC configuration, and VDS Port Group Teaming and Failover.
 Custom network profile with existing VDS - Enables administrators
to configure VDS settings. When Custom network profile with
existing VDS option is selected, VxRail Manager uses one or more
preconfigured VDS on an existing vCenter Server.

VxRail Deployed vSphere Distributed Switch -

Predefined Network Profiles
The predefined port group uplink configuration for the VxRail deployed
VDS depends on the number and type of node ports that are used for
VxRail traffic. Two uplinks are configured for each port group, one active
and one standby. Predefined profiles require specific cabling. To learn
more about the cabling and port group uplink usage for the predefined
network profiles, select each tab.
2x10 GbE or 2x25 GbE (All

Integrated NIC
Ports)
Cabling - 2x10 GbE or 2x25 GbE (Integrated NIC ports)
Traffic Type Uplink1 - Integrated Uplink2 - Integrated

NIC P0/vmnic0 NIC P1/vmnic1

Management Active Standby
vSphere vMotion Active Standby
vSAN Standby Active
vCenter Server Network Active Standby
VxRail Management Active Standby
4x10 GbE (All Integrated NIC ports)
Cabling - 4x10 GbE (Integrated NIC ports)
Traffic Type Uplink1 - Uplink2 - Uplink3 - Uplink4 -

Integrated Integrated Integrated Integrated
NIC NIC NIC NIC
P0/vmnic0 P1/vmnic1 P2/vmnic2 P3/vmnic3
Management Standby Active Unused Unused

vSphere Unused Unused Standby Active

vMotion
vSAN Unused Unused Active Standby
vCenter Active Standby Unused Unused

Server
Network
VxRail Standby Active Unused Unused

Management
4x25 GbE (2x25 GbE Integrated NIC + 2x25 GbE PCIe)
The cabling for 4x25 GbE (2x25 GbE Integrated NIC + 2x25 GbE PCIe)
profile is different from cabling for the 4x10 GbE (All Integrated NIC ports)
profile. Integrated NIC P0 is cabled to Switch 1, while PCIe Port P0 is
cabled to Switch 2. These two ports form a HA failover pair. In a similar
manner, Integrated NIC P1 is cabled to Switch 2, while PCIe P1 is cabled
to Switch 1. These two ports form an HA failover pair as well.
Cabling - 2x25 GbE Integrated + 2x25 GbE PCIe NICs

Traffic Type Uplink1 - Uplink2 - Uplink3 - Uplink4 -

Integrated Integrated PCIe PCIe
NIC NIC P0/vmnic2 P1/vmnic3
P0/vmnic0 P1/vmnic1
Management Active Unused Standby Unused
vSphere Unused Standby Unused Active

vMotion
vSAN Unused Active Unused Standby
vCenter Standby Unused Active Unused

Server
Network
VxRail Active Unused Standby Unused

Management
Port Group Policies - Predefined Network Profiles
The port groups in a VxRail deployed VDS with a predefined profile are
configured with the teaming and failover settings that are shown in the
table.
Setting Value Additional Information
Load Balancing Route based on Directs network traffic up

originating virtual port one uplink and does not
attempt to share the
workload between the
uplinks.

Network failure Link status only Do not change this setting.

detection VMware recommends
having three or more
physical NICs in the team
for ‘beacon probing’ to work
correctly, which is not
supported with VxRail.
Notify switches Yes Instructs the virtual

distributed switch to notify
the adjacent physical
switch of a failover.
Failback Yes If the uplinks are in an

active-standby
configuration, the failed
adapter takes over for the
standby adapter once it has
recovered and comes
online again.
Default teaming and failover policy for all port groups in VxRail deployed VDS with a
predefined profile
Post-Deployment Considerations
After the initial deployment, some VxRail networking options can be

changed to improve redundancy and performance.

Cabling - 4x10 GbE (Integrated NIC ports)
Consider a VxRail system that has been deployed with the predefined
4x10 GbE (all Integrated NIC ports) network profile.
 The Integrated NIC on each node is a single point of failure.
 Since each port group is configured with one active and one standby
uplink, load balancing is not available.
 Only one VDS is configured for all network traffic.
VxRail administrators can modify the VxRail networking to address the

concerns with the existing configuration.
 Enable NIC redundancy across Integrated NIC and PCIe ports.
 Enable Link Aggregation for vSAN, vMotion, and production networks.
 Deploy a second VDS.
Enabling NIC Redundancy
To enable NIC redundancy across Integrated NIC and PCIe Ethernet

ports, reconfigure the VxRail networks as shown in the table. VxRail traffic

from selected networks is migrated from the original Integrated NIC

Ethernet ports to the PCIe Ethernet ports.
Starting configuration Ending configuration
2 Integrated NIC ports 1 Integrated NIC port and 1 PCIe

port
2 Integrated NIC ports 2 Integrated NIC ports and 2 PCIe

ports
4 Integrated NIC ports 1 Integrated NIC port and 1 PCIe

port
4 Integrated NIC ports 2 Integrated NIC ports and 2 PCIe

ports
The VxRail nodes must have available PCIe ports that are cabled to the
Top of Rack (ToR) switches. The ToR switch ports must be configured to
support VxRail traffic.
In Example 1, the starting configuration is a VxRail system that is

deployed with the predefined 4x10 GbE (all Integrated NIC ports) profile.
The VxRail network has been reconfigured to use two Integrated NIC
ports and two PCIe ports in Example 2.

Example 1 - Cabling - 4x10 GbE (Integrated NIC ports)
Example 2 - Reconfigured to support NIC redundancy - 2x10 GbE Integrated NIC and
2x10 GbE PCIe Ports

Enabling NIC Teaming with Link Aggregation
By default, the port groups for VxRail networks with predefined profiles are
configured with one active and one standby uplink; load balancing is not
available. However, the vSAN and vMotion networks could benefit from
load balancing across the NICs.
Link aggregation is the bundling of two physical network links to form a

single channel. Two ports on a VxRail node are peered with a matching
pair of ports on the ToR switches to support load balancing and traffic
optimization.
Example - VxRail system with link aggregation
Link aggregation requirements and restrictions:

 Not supported on VxRail management networks (ESXi Management,
Private Management, VxRail System VMs)
 Supported on VxRail non-management networks (vSAN/vMotion)
 Port requirements:

 Two dedicated Ethernet ports per VxRail node for VxRail

management traffic without link aggregation
 Two dedicated Ethernet ports per VxRail node for VxRail non-
management traffic with link aggregation
 ToR switches that support:
 Static link aggregation or dynamic link aggregation with Link

Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)
 Multichassis link aggregation for load balancing across switches
In the example, vmnic1 and vmnic2 are configured as a Link Aggregation
Group (LAG) and carry the vSAN and vMotion traffic. Integrated NIC P1
and PCIe P0 are peered with ports on the ToR switches and configured as
a port channel.
vmnic0 and vmnic3 carry the VxRail management traffic, they are
configured as an active/standby pair with no link aggregation.
Two VDS for VxRail Network Traffic
The default VxRail configuration is a single VDS for all VxRail networks.
VxRail can be deployed with two VDS to support network segmentation
requirements. The two virtual switches are used to separate the VxRail
networks.
Either two or four uplinks can be assigned to each VDS. In the example,
VDS 1 carries the VxRail Management traffic, while VDS 2 carries the
vSAN and vMotion traffic.

Example - VxRail system with two VDS
Knowledge Check: Network Deployment Options
2. An administrator notices excessive latency and alerts about poor

vSAN performance on a VxRail cluster. The cluster was deployed
using a predefined network profile with a 2x10 GbE NIC configuration.
Each VxRail node has two unused NIC ports.
What networking tasks can an administrator do to improve

performance for the vSAN network? Select two (2).
a. Enable NIC teaming with link aggregation.
b. Enable NIC redundancy.
c. Deploy a second VDS for vSAN traffic.
d. Disable NIC teaming and enable link aggregation.

License VxRail Using the vSphere Client
VxRail Management Functionality
VxRail Manager is used for the hardware and software life cycle
management and serviceability of VxRail. VxRail Manager is not used for
virtualization management.
VxRail Manager provides a single dashboard in vSphere. Users can

visualize, monitor, and manage not only vSphere events, but events from
the PowerEdge servers and VxRail Manager. With this dashboard,
vSphere is the central point for event management.
The VxRail Manager software is preinstalled on the VxRail cluster as a

single virtual machine. The VxRail Plugin is deployed on the vCenter
Server and centralizes VxRail management from the vSphere Client. After
the initial deployment of the VxRail cluster, VxRail Manager functionality is
accessed through the VxRail Plugin. VxRail Manager and the VxRail
Plugin work together to provide comprehensive management of the VxRail
system.
To learn more about the integration of VxRail Manager, select each

hotspot.
1: Deploy

 Initial configuration
 Automation used for deployment tasks
2: Update
 Perform software upgrades.

 View installed components and version.
3: Monitor
 Health
 Events
 Operational state
4: Maintain
 Direct access from the interface to support, articles, and community

 Disk replacements
vCenter Server Integration on VxRail
VxRail is integrated with vCenter Server to provide management,

maintenance, and monitoring of the virtual infrastructure components.
To learn more about the integration of vCenter Server in a VxRail

environment, select each tab.
Role of vCenter Server
vCenter Server manages the following objects in the VxRail infrastructure:

 vSAN cluster
 vSAN datastore
 ESXi hosts
 Virtual machines
 Virtual networking

vCenter Server Interface for VxRail
The vSphere Client is the vCenter Server user interface for managing the
virtual environment. The vCenter Server managing a VxRail vSAN cluster
contains components that are configured during the VxRail deployment.
Components include the ESXi hosts, vSAN cluster, vSAN datastore,
VxRail Manager VM, and the VxRail Plugin.
vSphere Client home page showing the vSphere menu
VxRail Plugin
The VxRail Plugin for vCenter Server provides VxRail cluster management
from the vSphere Client. VxRail actions are available both at the VxRail
cluster and VxRail node levels.

VxRail Plugin cluster level showing VxRail configure options
VxRail Plugin node level showing the VxRail physical view

VxRail Licensing
The VxRail-managed vCenter Server comes with a vCenter Server

Standard license.
The VxRail system is shipped with 60-day evaluation licenses for vSphere
and vSAN. The vSphere evaluation period starts when the VxRail nodes
are first powered on. New licenses must be applied before the end of the
evaluation period.
Examples of impact due to license expiration include:

 The host is disconnected from the vCenter Server.
 Virtual machines are unable to be powered on, if in powered off state.
 Disk group capacity unable to be increased or disk groups cannot be
created.
Licensing that is purchased through Dell is provided using Partner

Activation Codes and must be activated through the VMware Customer
Connect account. Licenses are viewed and added through the vSphere
Client. To view the licenses, browse to the vSphere Client Menu >
Administration > Licensing. To learn more about VxRail licensing, select
each hotspot.
vSphere Client showing the licenses applied
1: The licenses tab shows all the available licenses that are applied to the
system. If new vSphere and vSAN licenses are needed, they can be

obtained through an existing Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) or

purchasing them through Dell, VMware, or an authorized Dell partner.
2: The Products tab displays the available licenses that are organized by
product.
Example displaying the Products tab with available licenses.
3: The Assets tab displays the license status of various assets like
vCenter Server Systems, Hosts, vSAN Clusters, Supervisor Clusters, and
Solutions. The Assets tab is also used to assign available license to the
various assets. To assign an available license, select the asset and click
Assign License.
Example presenting the Assets > HOSTS tab.

Additional information:
 Software Licensing Options for VxRail
 VMware vSphere and vSAN Editions Feature
Comparison
 About ESXi Evaluation and Licensed Modes
 Considerations about the vSAN License
 How to activate Partner Activation Codes (PAC) for
vSphere License
License Management
In this example, vSphere Client is used to add and assign a vSAN license
to a VxRail cluster. To learn more about the process, click each tab.
View License
When a license is about to expire, a notification is displayed at the top of

the vSphere Client page. Selecting the MANAGE YOUR LICENSES
button launches the Administration > Licenses page. In the example, an
expired vSAN license is shown.

License Administration - View Assigned Licenses
Add License
There are multiple ways to add a license. One of the ways is to go to the
Licenses tab and select ADD. The Licenses tab lists all the available
licenses. The ADD option allows adding multiple licenses for multiple ESXi
hosts, CLUSTERS, and SOLUTIONS. Clicking ADD launches the New
Licenses wizard.
License Administration - Add Licenses

Assign License
After the license keys are added, go to the Assets > VSAN CLUSTERS
tab to assign the licenses to the applicable asset. Select the VxRail
Cluster asset and click ASSIGN LICENSE to launch the Assign License
wizard. In this example, the newly added vSAN license has being
assigned to the VxRail Cluster asset.
License Administration - Assign License
Interaction: Add and Assign vSAN and vSphere

Licenses
The Online Course Contains an Interaction Here.
[Detailed description of the Interaction for Guides]

Manage VxRail Using the VxRail Plugin for vCenter Server
Manage VxRail Using the VxRail Plugin for vCenter

Server
Verify the Deployment Status of the VxRail Plugin
The VxRail Plugin provides VxRail Manager functionality in the vSphere

Client. During the VxRail deployment process, the VxRail Manager installs
the VxRail Plugin for vCenter on the vCenter server.
To verify that the plugin is deployed and enabled, go to Menu >

Administration > Solutions > Client Plugins. The VxRail Plugin is
decoupled from the version of the VxRail. In this example, the VxRail
version is 7.0.372 which uses version 9.1.0.0 of the plugin.
VxRail Plugin on the Client Plugins page showing deployed and enabled
Use the VxRail Dashboard to View System Health and

Access VxRail Resources
The VxRail Dashboard displays the overall system health, support

resources, VxRail community information, and Knowledge Base (KB)
articles and is Internet dependent. If the data center was a dark site, the

VxRail Community, Knowledge Base, and Support sections would be

unavailable.
To access the VxRail Dashboard, go to Menu > VxRail.
To learn about the Dashboard, select each hotspot.
VxRail Dashboard displaying system health, and links for support

resources, the VxRail Community, and Knowledge Base articles
1: System Health provides a quick reference for overall system health

status. The health status aggregates health metrics from iDRAC, vCenter,
and VxRail Manager. Status is shown as one of the following:
 Healthy - System is normal. There are no major issues to address.

 Error - An error has occurred. There is an issue that should be
addressed when possible.
 Warning - The system needs attention. There are some issues that
require attention, such as a disk space limit has been reached.
 Critical - Immediate action is required. There are issues that must be
addressed immediately to prevent downtime or data loss.
2: Support provides links to configure connectivity to Dell Support,

engage with Dell Support or download resources that are associated with

VxRail. This section is not fully populated until a support account is set up
and the VxRail Manager has Internet connectivity.
3: VxRail Community provides links to articles in the VxRail online

community. The VxRail community is a collection of discussions from
VxRail users and VxRail experts. This section is only populated if the
VxRail Manager has Internet connectivity.
VxRail Community Page - https://www.dell.com/community/VxRail/bd-

p/vxrail
4: Knowledge Base includes links to KB articles that are related to VxRail

Manager. To access the KB articles, the VxRail Manager virtual machine
(VM) must be able to access the Dell Support site with a valid Dell Support
account.
VxRail Cluster System Page
At the cluster level, the Configure > VxRail > System page displays
system information about VxRail, and provides links to product
documentation, the privacy statement, and software updates. The System
page also provides information about the cluster. Clicking the question
mark in the System Information section opens VxRail Help in a new
browser tab.

VxRail Plugin System page showing system and cluster information
VxRail Cluster Updates Page
The Updates page displays the installed components along with their
version and facilitates software upgrades. On this page, administrators
can generate a compliance report. The report compares the expected
software and firmware versions for VxRail components to the versions
installed on the system.

VxRail Plugin Updates page showing installed components and their version
VxRail Cluster Certificate Page
The Certificate page displays the current VxRail Manager TLS Certificate.
During deployment, a self-signed certificate is generated for VxRail
Manager. Administrators can use this page to manually update the
customer-supplied certificate or configure automated renewals.

VxRail Plugin Certificate page showing that the cluster is using a valid TLS Certificate
VxRail Cluster Hosts Page
The Hosts page displays details of the VxRail hosts in the cluster.
Administrators can use this page to add new VxRail nodes or update the
hostname and management IP address of the ESXi hosts.
VxRail Plugin Hosts page listing the hosts in the cluster

VxRail Cluster Networking Page
The Networking page displays settings to manage Internet access for the
VxRail Manager VM, configure proxy settings and configure traffic
throttling. The proxy settings allow VxRail to connect to an external
network. Traffic throttling limits the communications between VxRail
Manager and vCenter.
VxRail Plugin Networking page showing that Internet Connection is enabled
VxRail Cluster Health Monitoring Page
The Health Monitoring page shows if health monitoring is enabled or

disabled. Health monitoring is enabled by default and should remain
enabled during normal operations. The setting can be disabled during
cluster maintenance operations to prevent false alarms.

VxRail Plugin Health Monitoring page showing that health monitoring is enabled
VxRail Host Configure iDRAC Page
At the host level, the Configure > VxRail > iDRAC Configuration page
displays the iDRAC settings for the selected node. Administrators can use
this page to add users and change network settings.
VxRail Plugin iDRAC Configuration page showing IPv4 and VLAN Settings

Interaction: Explore the Management Functionality of

the VxRail Plugin
Configure the Support Account
At the cluster level, the Configure > VxRail > Support page allows
administrators to connect VxRail Manger to Dell Support resources. By
linking to support resources, administrators can access the VxRail
Community and KB articles from the VxRail Dashboard. Administrators
can also access the VxRail Market and perform Internet software
upgrades using the VxRail Plugin.
In addition to VxRail Manager having an Internet connection, an active

Dell support account is also required. Create a support account at Dell
Technologies, if necessary.
To learn how to link the support account to VxRail Manager, select each
tab.
VxRail Support Page
Select the EDIT button to open the Edit Dell Technologies Support
Account wizard.

VxRail Plugin Support page with the Support Account Edit button identified
Edit Support Account
Enter the Support Account credentials to link the account with the VxRail
system and allow access to support services.
Edit Dell Technologies Support Account wizard
Enable Remote Support Connectivity
Remote Support Connectivity provides secure, automated access

between Dell Support and a VxRail system. It allows the system to send

configuration data to Dell Support, transmits system data to CloudIQ, and

enables Remote Support to connect with the system.
Remote Support Connectivity can be configured two ways. One way is to

use the Remote Connectivity Service and Embedded Service Connector
which are built into the VxRail Manager VM (Connect Directly). The other
way is to connect through a separate Secure Connect Gateway (SCG)
system VM (Connect using Gateway Server).
To learn about enabling Remote Support Connectivity, select each tab:
Launch Enable Connectivity Wizard
In the Connectivity section of the VxRail > Support page, select

ENABLE to open the Enable Connectivity wizard. The Internet
connection for VxRail Manager must be enabled on the VxRail >
Networking page in order to enable Remote Connectivity here.
VxRail Plugin Support page with the Connectivity Enable button identified.
Network Connection - Connect Directly
In the Network Connection step of the wizard, select Connect Directly,

if the VxRail system connects directly to Dell support. Administrators can
choose no proxy, a proxy that has been configured in the VxRail
Networking page or set up a new proxy in this wizard.

Enable Connectivity wizard - Network Connection step with the Connect Directly
configuration options identified
Network Connection -
Connect using Gateway
Alternately, select Connect using Gateway Server, if the VxRail system

connects to a SCG. Enter the IP address and port for the gateway.
Enable Connectivity wizard - Network Connection step with the Connect using Gateway
Server configuration options identified.

Customer Improvement Program
Customer Improvement Program collects usage, performance, capacity,

and configuration information of the VxRail system. Dell uses this
information to improve VxRail and the customer experience. Participation
in the program is optional, and administrators can choose the level of data
that is collected. However, participation is required for Telemetry Data to
be sent to CloudIQ.
Enable Connectivity wizard - Customer Improvement Program step with the data
collection options identified
Generate the Enable Remote Support Connectivity VxRail procedures at

SolVe Online, for more details about configuring Remote Connectivity.
Important: Once remote connectivity is configured, none of

the parameters can be changed. Remote Connectivity has
to be disabled and configured again.
Monitor the VxRail Cluster with the Physical View
At the cluster level, the Monitor > VxRail > Physical view page shows
the physical view of all VxRail nodes in the VxRail cluster. The top of the
page shows details about the cluster. To view information about an

individual VxRail node, select the node. The information panel on the right
presents the node-specific information.
Click the ACTIONS drop-down menu to view the available options for the
node.
VxRail Plugin Physical View page at the cluster level
1:

ACTIONS drop-down menu
Monitor a VxRail Host with the Physical View
At the host level, the Monitor > VxRail > Physical view page shows the
front and back view of the selected VxRail node. The top of the page
shows details about the node. The information panel on the right presents
additional details of the node.
To learn about the details that are presented for the node and
maintenance activities available, select each hotspot.
VxRail Plugin Physical View page at the host level

1: The BOOT DEVICE tab shows information about the boot devices in
the node.

BOOT DEVICE tab showing details for the boot devices
2: The ALERTS tab shows alerts that are related to the node. The alerts
are displayed with a link to the related Dell Technologies Knowledge Base
(KB) article.

The ALERTS tab showing no new alerts found for the node
3: The actions available on this page are the same as the actions
available on the Physical View page of the cluster.
ACTIONS drop-down menu showing available maintenance activities

4: The OVERVIEW tab shows details about the node, such as the power
status, the health, and the firmware versions.
OVERVIEW tab showing details of the node
Host Physical View: Disk
To view the details of a disk, select the disk in the Front View of the node.
To learn about the details that are presented for the selected disk and
maintenance activities available, select each tab.

Information
The INFORMATION tab shows details such as the health, disk type, and
the remaining write endurance.
INFORMATION tab showing details for the selected disk
Alerts
The ALERTS section shows alerts that are related to the disk. Alerts are
generated when the remaining write endurance reaches certain levels:

 Warning: 30%
 Error: 20%
 Critical: 5%
The ALERTS tab showing no new alerts found for the selected disk
Actions
The ACTIONS drop-down menu shows the maintenance activities

available for the disk.

ACTIONS drop-down menu showing available maintenance activities
Host Physical View: NIC
To view the NIC details of a node, select the network interface ports in the
Back View.
To learn about the details presented for the selected NIC, select each tab.
Information
The INFORMATION tab shows details such as the MAC address of the
NIC port, link speed, and the link status.

INFORMATION tab showing details for the selected NIC
Driver Version
The DRIVER VERSION tab shows the NIC Driver version.

DRIVER VERSION tab showing the current driver version for the selected NIC
Host Physical View: Power Supply
To view the details of a power supply, click the power supply in the Back
View of the Node.
To learn about the details presented for the selected power supply, select
each tab.
Information
The INFORMATION tab shows details such as the health, serial number,
and part number of the power supply.

INFORMATION tab showing details for the selected power supply
Alerts
The ALERTS section shows alerts that are related to the power supply.
The alerts have links for the related Dell Technologies KB articles.

The ALERTS tab showing no new alerts found for the selected power supply.

Explain the vSAN Configuration of a VxRail Cluster
Introduction to VMware vSAN
VMware documentation for more information:

 vSAN Technology Overview
In a cluster deployed with vSAN, vSAN aggregates locally attached disks

to create a single storage pool shared across all ESXi hosts in the cluster.
vSAN software resides on the ESXi hypervisor and is integrated with
VMware vSphere. vSAN supports virtualization features such as High
Availability, vMotion and Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS).
vSAN in a virtual infrastructure
vSAN Datastore
A vSAN cluster consists of two or more physical ESXi hosts. Each host
either contains all-flash devices or a combination of flash and HDDs.
These devices contribute cache and capacity to the vSAN datastore. The
cache device is always a flash device, and the capacity devices could be

either all flash or all hard drive. For example, in an all-flash system, both
the cache and capacity drives are flash. In a hybrid system, all the
capacity disks are HDDs. Each host can have one or more disk groups. A
disk group contains one cache device and one or more capacity devices.
The disk groups of all ESXi hosts in a vSAN cluster are combined to
create a vSAN datastore. The datastore capacity depends on the number
and the size of capacity disks on each ESXi host, and the number of ESXi
hosts in the cluster.
vSAN storage is used in a standard VxRail cluster. The number of disks

and disk groups is VxRail model dependent. For more information, see the
VxRail 7.x Support Matrix and search for "Disk Group Configuration
Rules."
Example showing the make up of a vSAN Datastore using Disk Groups
vSAN Objects and Components
vSAN storage is object-based, and policy driven. Virtual Machines created

on a vSAN datastore include many objects such as VM Home
namespace, VM swap, and VMDK. Each object is made up of
components, which reflect the VM storage policy.

In the example, a VM is deployed, and a storage policy is applied to it. To

learn about the objects and components, select each hotspot.
vSAN objects and components
1: This VMDK object uses a vSAN storage policy with the Failures to
tolerate set to 1 failure - RAID 1 (Mirroring).
2: The VMDK object is mirrored/replicated based on the RAID 1 storage

policy defined. Each replica is a component of the object. If the storage
policy specifies RAID 5/6 protection, the object is striped across multiple
disks. Each stripe is said to be a component of the object.
3: In a RAID 1 configuration, the storage object contains a Witness

component. Witness components contain metadata information. Their
purpose is to serve as a tie-breaker when availability decisions are made
to meet the storage policy setting. They are used to determine if a quorum
of components exists in the cluster. A witness consumes about 2 MB of
space for metadata on the vSAN datastore.

vSAN Services Overview
vSAN includes various services to collect performance data, reserve

capacity, enable space efficiency, and enable data encryption.
To learn more about vSAN Services, select each hotspot.
Cluster > Configure > vSAN > Services page.
1: When the vSAN Performance Service is enabled, it collects

performance data and displays it in a graphical format on the Monitor >
vSAN > Performance page. This page contains vSAN performance
statistics, including Input Output Operations per second (IOPS),
throughput, and latency.
The performance service database is stored as a vSAN object. A storage

policy is assigned to the object to control space consumption and
availability of that object. If the object becomes unavailable, performance
history for the cluster cannot be viewed until access to the object is
restored.
2: Data Services is used to enable space efficiency operations, and data

encryption.
3: Reservations and Alerts are used to reserve capacity to ensure that

there is enough space in the cluster to perform operations, such as rebuild
and repair.

4: Advanced Options is used to set the amount of time vSAN waits to

repair an object if a host has failed or is in maintenance mode. Enabling
automatic rebalance is also done using Advanced Options.
VM Storage Policies
VM storage policies are assigned to objects and define availability and

performance characteristics. Storage policies are assigned during a VM
deployment and can be changed after deployment. If a VM has multiple
VMware Virtual Machine Disk (VMDKs), each VMDK can have its own
policy. A storage policy can only be deleted when it is not associated with
any vSAN objects.
The number of Failures to Tolerate (FTT) and Failure Tolerance Method

(FTM) settings in the storage policy govern vSAN fault tolerance behavior.
FTT is the number of failures the vSAN object is designed to tolerate.

When FTT is set to 1, a vSAN object can tolerate the failure of a single
component. By default, the vSAN Default Storage Policy is assigned to the
local vSAN datastore with settings FTT=1 and FTM = RAID 1 (Mirroring).
If no data protection is required, storage policies can be created with no
data redundancy.
FTM supports either RAID 1 (Mirroring) or RAID-5/6 (Erasure Coding).

The level of resiliency and the capacity that is consumed by an object is a
result of the combined FTM rule and FTT rule. The table below presents
the available configuration settings for a vSAN storage policy fault
tolerance.
RAID Type FTM FTT
RAID 1 Mirroring 1, 2, or 3
RAID 5 Erasure coding (no witness) 1
RAID 6 Erasure coding (no witness) 2

vSAN Default Storage Policy
All virtual machine objects deployed to a vSAN datastore are assigned a

storage policy. If not explicitly defined, new VMs are assigned the default
storage policy that is assigned to the datastore. VMs created by cloning or
using a template inherit a policy from the source VM unless otherwise
specified. This default storage policy can be cloned or modified but cannot
be deleted. As VM storage requirements are defined, additional storage
policies can be created.
To manage VM Storage Policies from within the vSphere Client, select the
Menu icon in the upper-left corner. In the navigation bar, select Policies
and Profiles. In the Policies and Profiles window, select VM Storage
Policies. For more information about the vSAN Default Storage Policy,
see the VMware About the vSAN Default Storage Policy document.
vSAN Default Storage Policy
To learn more about changing the default storage policy for a vSAN
Datastore, see the VMware Change the Default Storage Policy for vSAN
Datastores document.

VxRail Built-In vSAN Storage Policy
The initial setup of VxRail creates the VXRAIL-SYSTEM-STORAGE-

PROFILE storage policy. This policy is assigned to the VxRail system
VMs deployed during the VxRail first run process. The VXRAIL-SYSTEM-
STORAGE-PROFILE policy best meets the storage requirements of the
system VMs. The VXRAIL-SYSTEM-STORAGE-PROFILE storage policy
cannot be deleted, though other vSAN storage policies can be created
and used as necessary. To learn about the storage policy below, select
each hotspot.
VM Storage Policies
1: The VM Compliance tab shows which VMs are using the selected
storage policy and their compliance status. The VxRail Manager and the
VMware vCenter Server Appliance VMs are examples of VxRail system
VMs that use the VXRAIL-SYSTEM-STORAGE-PROFILE. vSAN
monitors and reports on the policy compliance status of the VMs.

Image showing VMs with compliant storage policies.
2: The VM Template tab shows which VM templates are associated with

the selected storage policy.
VM Template tab showing there are not any VMs associated with this storage policy
3: The Storage Compatibility tab shows which datastores support the

selected storage policy.

Image showing the Storage Compatibility showing the policy is compatible with the
VxRail Virtual vSAN Datastore
4: The Rules tab shows general and placement information about the
selected storage policy. In this example, a standard VxRail cluster is
deployed with VxRail-managed vCenter Server. The number of failures to
tolerate is set to 1. Object space reservation is set to Thick provisioning.
A VM with this policy applied is guaranteed storage and is RAID 1
protected.
Interaction: Explore the VxRail vSAN Cluster

Configuration

Monitor the vSAN Health, Capacity, and Performance of a VxRail Cluster
Monitor the vSAN Health, Capacity, and

Performance of a VxRail Cluster
Monitor vSAN Skyline Health
Skyline Health is used to monitor the status of cluster components and

troubleshoot problems. To access Skyline Health, first select the VxRail
cluster in the Hosts and Clusters view. Then select vSAN > Skyline
Health on the Monitor tab.
vSAN health checks are organized into categories. Each category

contains individual component tests. Categories with issues appear at the
top as shown in the graphic. To learn about Skyline Health, select each
hotspot.
Skyline Health page in the vSphere Client
1: The vSAN Skyline Health check runs every 60 minutes by default. The
date and time of the last check is displayed here.
2: Skyline Health can be run on demand by clicking the RETEST button.

The purpose of the RETEST option is to ensure that changes made to the
cluster did not have a negative impact.

3: The Performance service collects and analyzes performance statistics

and displays their state.
Healthy Performance service
4: vSAN Support Insight is part of the VMware vCenter Customer

Experience Improvement Program (CEIP). Joining CEIP enables vSAN
Support Insight. Once enabled, vSAN Support Insight collects vSAN
log information and sends the data to the VMware Analytics Cloud on a
regular cadence.
Online Health
5: The vSAN Disk Balance test checks each healthy disk in the vSAN
cluster, and gets a summary of the disk usage. If the imbalance exceeds a
system-determined threshold, vSAN Disk Balance shows the warning.

When automatic rebalance is enabled by selecting CONFIGURE

AUTOMATIC REBALANCE, vSAN balances the cluster, and no user
attention is needed.
vSAN Disk Balance summary
6: Move the slider to the right to view vSAN health history. vSAN stores up
to 30 days of health data.
vSAN Health History showing 30 days of health data
7: The overview shows the health check count on the health status,
Primary issues with the nested issues, and Other health issues. The
nested issues are the result of the primary issue and resolving the primary
issue might solve the related nested issues.

Overview to monitor the core health issues of your vSAN cluster
8: The vSAN Build Recommendation category has been expanded to

show the related health checks. In a VxRail environment, vSAN Build
Recommendation warnings can be ignored because the VMware
vCenter Update Manager is not used for Life Cycle Management (LCM).
vSAN Build Recommendation Engine Health
View vSAN Virtual Objects
The Virtual Objects page displays the Object State and the Storage
Policy for each virtual object. To monitor vSAN virtual objects, select the
Monitor tab for the cluster and then Virtual Objects under the vSAN
heading.
To learn about the placement details, select the hotspot.

vSAN Virtual Objects page in the vSphere Client
1:
Object Physical Placement
With an object selected, the VIEW PLACEMENT DETAILS link becomes

active. Selecting VIEW PLACEMENT DETAILS opens a new Physical
Placement window displaying information about the selected object. The
view displays object component information, such as Type, Component
State, and Host.
Monitor vSAN Resyncing Objects
When a hardware device, host, or network fails, or if a host is placed into

maintenance mode, vSAN initiates resynchronization in the vSAN cluster.

vSAN Resyncing Objects page in the vSphere Client
To monitor vSAN resyncing, select the Monitor tab and then Resyncing
Objects under the vSAN heading.
The Object repair timer field is at the top of the window. This field
displays the amount of time vSAN waits before repairing an object after a
host failure or during host maintenance. The repair timer only applies to
Absent vSAN objects as opposed to Degraded objects which are repaired
immediately (if possible). The page that is displayed below shows the
Total resyncing objects, Bytes left to resync, and the Total
resynching ETA. If there are any scheduled resync operations, they are
also displayed next to the Scheduled resyncing field.
View vSAN Capacity
The vSAN Capacity view displays the capacity of the vSAN datastore,
deduplication and compression efficiency, and the breakdown of capacity
usage.
To monitor the capacity of a vSAN cluster, select the Monitor tab for the
cluster and then Capacity under the vSAN heading.
To learn about Capacity details, select each hotspot.
vSAN Capacity page in vSphere Client

1: The CAPACITY HISTORY displays the vSAN Datastore capacity

history. Up to 30 days of CAPACITY HISTORY can be viewed.
Capacity usage chart of one day
2: The What if analysis displays the estimated Effective free space with
the selected storage policy. The storage policy selection options are
dependent upon the policies that exist. In the example, the storage policy
that is selected is vSAN Default Storage Policy.
In case the space efficiency options were enabled, the What if analysis
can report Effective free space due to Compression or Deduplication and
Compression.

Effective free space section of the Capacity page
3: The Capacity Overview displays the storage capacity of the vSAN

datastore, including used space, free space, written space, and reserved
space. Capacity that is reserved refers to the Operations and Host
Rebuild reserve, while Object reserved refers to items like preallocated
thick space that has yet to be written.
In case the space efficiency options were enabled, the Capacity

Overview would also show the space savings due to Compression or
Deduplication and compression.
Capacity Overview section of the Capacity page
4: The Usage breakdown overview shows data usage by categories like

VM, User objects, and System usage.
Usage breakdown section of the Capacity page

Monitor vSAN Performance
The vSAN performance is available at the Cluster, Host, and VM levels.
To learn about vSAN available stats, select each tab.
Cluster Level Performance
vSAN cluster Performance charts can be used to monitor the workload of

the vSAN cluster. The performance service must be enabled to view
historical performance data. Maximum of a 24 hour performance history
window and data points are every 15 minutes when viewing the most
recent 24 hours of data. vSAN performance charts are available at the
cluster level under Monitor > vSAN > Performance.
The VM tab at the top of the performance page is selected. vSAN displays
performance charts for clients running on the cluster, including IOPS,
throughput, latency, congestions, and outstanding I/O. The statistics on
these charts are aggregated from the hosts within the cluster.
vSAN cluster level performance page, displaying metrics about clusters in the
perspective of VM consumption

Host Level Performance
vSAN performance charts are also available at the host level. Select a
host under the VxRail cluster > Monitor > vSAN > Performance.
The Frontend data is any I/O activity before vSAN processing. The
Backend is any I/O activity including vSAN processing such as
encryption, deduplication, compression, parity, mirroring, striping,
witnesses, checksums, and metadata.
The detailed statistical charts for VM, BACKEND, DISKS, PHYSICAL

ADAPTERS, HOST NETWORK, IOINSIGHT, and VSAN DIRECT can be
viewed at the host level. To view the performance metrics, select the
required object at the top of the pane. In the example, DISKS is selected
for the first ESXi host in the cluster. This view provides charts for
Frontend (Guest) IOPs, Frontend (Guest) Throughput, Frontend
(Guest) Latency, Overhead IOPs and more.
vSAN host level performance page, displaying disk metrics
VM Level Performance
vSAN performance charts are also available at the VM level. Select a VM

hosted on the VxRail cluster in the navigation panel, and then select
Monitor > vSAN > Performance.

vSAN displays performance charts for the VM, including IOPS,

Throughput, and Latency.
vSAN VM level performance page, displaying VM metrics
Interaction: Monitor Health, Capacity, and Performance

of the VxRail vSAN Cluster
The web version of this content contains an interactive activity.

Configure vSAN Services
VMware vSAN Space Efficiency Overview
For more information about the vSAN Space Efficiency options,

go to:
Compression only option
Using Deduplication and compression
vSAN provides the ability to perform data block-level deduplication and

compression. This ability saves storage space.
vSAN only supports two space efficiency options on all-flash systems:

 Compression only
 Deduplication and compression
When enabled on a vSAN all-flash cluster, redundant data within each

disk group is reduced.
The two techniques are unrelated but work together to ensure space
efficiency. Deduplication removes redundant data blocks, while
compression removes additional redundant data within each data block.
Determining whether to enable compression or deduplication/compression
is based on if a given dataset benefit enough to justify enabling one
setting or the other. The decision to implement is workload-dependent.
VMware vSAN Space Efficiency Options
Space efficiency options are disabled by default. The options are enabled
at the vSAN cluster level.
Compression only is applied on a per disk basis, while Deduplication and

compression are applied on a disk group basis.

When space efficiency options are enabled or disabled, vSAN performs a

nondisruptive rolling reformat of all the disk groups on every host. vSAN
evacuates the data from an existing disk group, removes, and re-creates it
with a new format.
Compression only Deduplication and

compression
Failure domain Disk - If a capacity disk Disk Group - If a capacity

fails, only the disk is disk fails the entire disk
affected. group is affected.
Capacity disk Disk group reformatting is Disk group reformatting is

addition to disk not required. not required, but
group recommended for
maximum space savings.
Capacity savings Moderate High

potential 1
System usage Minimal High

overhead
Differences between Compression only and Deduplication and compression
Best Practice: Enabling space efficiency options at initial

setup is recommended to avoid the overhead and potential
performance impact of the reformatting operations.
1
Capacity savings are workload-dependent and not guaranteed.

VMware Recommendations - Space Efficiency
With some file types, a compression ratio of 2:1 is often possible.

Datatypes that are already compressed, such as certain graphics formats
and video files or encrypted files, may yield little or no reduction. Select
workloads can benefit from deduplication.
VMware recommends the following space efficiency settings for the best
balance of capacity savings and performance impact:2
Workload Recommendation Capacity Performance

Savings Impact
OLTP Compression only Moderate Minimal

databases
Mixed Compression only Moderate Minimal

workloads
VDI using Compression only Moderate Minimal

instant
clones
VDI using Compression only Moderate Minimal

linked clones
VDI using full Deduplication and High Moderate

clones compression
VMware workload general recommendations
2
Table source: VMware vSAN Virtual Blocks blog -
https://blogs.vmware.com/virtualblocks/2020/09/22/space-efficiency-using-the-new-
compression-only-option-in-vsan-7-u1/.

Enable VMware vSAN Space Efficiency
vSAN space efficiency options are enabled from the vSAN Services
page.
To learn more about enabling vSAN space efficiency, select each hotspot.
Image of the vSAN Services options for the VxRail cluster
1: The Space efficiency radio buttons are used to select the required
space efficiency option.
2: The Allow reduced redundancy option is used when the vSAN cluster
might not have enough resources for the disk groups to be fully
evacuated. For example, a three-node cluster with FTT set to 1 does not
have the resources to evacuate data for the disk group reformat. The
Allow reduced redundancy option keeps the VMs running. However the
VMs might be unable to tolerate the full level of failure defined in the
storage policy. As a result, during the format change, the VMs might be
temporarily at risk of experiencing data loss. vSAN restores full
compliance and redundancy after conversion is complete.
3: Clicking APPLY applies the selected vSAN Services options.

The recent tasks page shows all the tasks that are associated with the
disk reformatting.
Verifying Space Savings from Deduplication and

Compression
The storage savings depend on different factors such as the datatype and
the number of duplicate blocks. A larger disk group potentially provides a
higher deduplication ratio. Space efficiency capacity savings are
monitored from the vSAN Capacity page.
To learn more about capacity usage, select each hotspot.
Image showing the vSAN Capacity page
1: After the Deduplication and compression service is enabled, the

Capacity Overview section displays the deduplication and compression
savings. The ratio is based on the required logical capacity before
applying deduplication and compression, compared to the physical
capacity required after applying deduplication and compression. It might
take several minutes for capacity updates to be reflected in the capacity
usage window as the disk is reclaimed and reallocated.
2: The Usage breakdown before deduplication and compression

section displays the logical space that is required before deduplication and

compression are applied. You can further expand each usage category.
The Overhead for compression is shown in the graphic.
Interaction: Configure Space Efficiency
vSAN Encryption
vSAN supports Data-in-Transit encryption (DITE) and Data-at-Rest

encryption (D@RE). The two encryption options are unrelated and can be
enabled or disabled independently at the cluster level. vSAN encryption is
supported in hybrid, all-flash, stretched, and 2-Node cluster configurations.
To learn about some of the differences between vSAN Data-in-Transit and

Data-At-Rest encryption, see the table.3
 Using Encryption in a vSAN Cluster
3
The data for this table was sourced from the Using Encryption in a vSAN Cluster
document - https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-
vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vsan.doc/GUID-F3B2714F-3406-48E7-AC2D-
3677355C94D3.html

vSAN Data-in-Transit vSAN Data-At-Rest Encryption

Encryption
Data and metadata is encrypted Data that is written to the vSAN

as it moves between data hosts datastore is encrypted.
and witness host4.
A key provider is not required. A key provider is required.

vSAN uses symmetric keys that vSAN uses asymmetric (public) keys.
are generated dynamically and The vCenter Server requests
shared between hosts. Hosts encryption keys from an external Key
generate an encryption key when Management Server (KMS). The KMS
they establish a connection and generates and stores the keys, and
they use the key to encrypt all the vCenter Server obtains the key
traffic between the hosts. IDs from the KMS and distributes
them to the ESXi Hosts.
Data and metadata is encrypted Data is encrypted using XTS AES 256
using AES 256-bit encryption. cipher, in both the cache and capacity
tiers of the vSAN datastore.
File service data traffic is Data is encrypted after all other

encrypted between the vSAN processing, such as deduplication and
Virtual Distributed File System compression, is complete.
(VDFS) proxy and server.
Comparison between vSAN DITE and D@RE
4
A Witness host applies only to vSAN 2-node and vSAN stretched cluster
architectures.

Key Provider Requirement
Data-At-Rest Encryption requires a key provider be added to the vCenter

Server. Once a key provider is added, a trust must be established
between the vCenter Server and the KMS before the encryption service is
enabled.
vSAN encryption can be enabled during initial configuration or later.
Add Key Provider
To add a key provider, in the left pane, select the vCenter Server. Then
select the Configure tab. In the middle pane, scroll down to Security,
select Key Providers, and click ADD.
There are two options for setting up a key provider:
 A vSphere Native Key Provider (NKP) is an internal key provider.

 A Standard Key Provider is an external key provider.
Image showing the navigation path to add an encryption key provider
Establish Trust
A trust must be established between the KMS and the vCenter Server
after adding a key provider. Establishing trust is only required when
configuring a Standard (External) Key Provider.

Use the appropriate product documentation for setting up the KMS.
Image showing the location of the Establish Trust option required when configuring an
external key provider
 Set up the Standard Key Provider
 Set up a Native Key Provider
 VMware Certified Key Management Servers list
Enable vSAN Encryption
vSAN encryption is enabled from the vSAN Services page. In the

example, both Data-at-Rest encryption and Data-in-Transit encryption
are disabled.
To learn more about enabling vSAN encryption, select each hotspot.
vSAN Services page with the vSAN Services options window open

1: Clicking EDIT launches the vSAN Services dialog.
2: Data-at-Rest encryption initiates a rolling disk reformat. Review the

warning on the page.
D@RE disk formatting warning
The Wipe residual data check box erases residual data from devices
before enabling encryption. Keep this box cleared unless you want to wipe
existing data from the storage devices when encryption a cluster
containing VM data.
The Key provider defaults to the key provider that has been added to the
vCenter Server.

3: vSAN initiates the rekey process to generate new keys at the scheduled
intervals. The default rekey interval is set to one day. The Rekey interval
can be changed to match corporate compliance requirements.
DITE Default Rekey intervals
You can also set a CUSTOM Rekey interval by manually entering the
values between 30 to 10080 minutes.
DITE Custom Rekey intervals
Best Practice: Enable the Data-At-Rest encryption

service right after the initial build.
Additional Information: vSphere Encryption and vSAN

Encryption Differences.

Interaction - Configure Native Key Provider and Enable

vSAN Encryption
Reserved Capacity Overview
vSAN requires capacity for internal operations, such as storage policy

changes, rebalancing, object repair, and rebuilds. The general
recommendation has been to reserve 25-30% of the vSAN storage as
slack space for such operations.
Slack space is not a hard limit that vSAN enforces. The ratio was a
conservative estimation that is based on an approximation for all
environments. However, often the reserve capacity was underutilized.
Capacity Reserve has two parameters:

 Operations reserve is capacity that is reserved for internal vSAN
operations, such as object rebuild or repair.
 Host rebuild reserve is capacity that is reserved for vSAN to be able
to repair if one host fails. The host rebuild reserve is equal to the
capacity of one ESXi host in a homogeneous cluster.
The Operations reserve and Host rebuild reserve capacity depend on

the system configuration and are not a fixed ratio computation. The
reserve capacity factors in variables such as cluster size, number of
capacity disks, disk groups, and other features in use. The percentage of
reserved space decreases with more nodes in the cluster.

Consider the examples below:

The first is a four-node VxRail cluster with a total capacity of 174.62 TB.
vSAN reserves 28.25% of the capacity. This percentage is similar to the
slack space recommendation.
Four-node VxRail cluster - Total capacity 174.62 TB
The second is a 24-node VxRail cluster with total capacity of 670.68 TB.
vSAN reserves 7.86% of the capacity. This percentage is well below the
slack space recommendation.
24-node VxRail cluster - Total capacity 670.68 TB
Configure Capacity Reserve
vSAN Capacity Reserve is enabled either from the vSAN Capacity page,
or the vSAN Services page.
Either method opens the Reservation and Alerts dialog. On the dialog
page, Host rebuild reserve can only be enabled after enabling
Operations reserve. It is optional for administrators to enable Operations
Reserve and Host rebuild reserve.

Reservation and Alerts Dialog
When enabled, vSAN changes the amount of available capacity that is

advertised on the cluster and prevent provisioning activities from
consuming the reserved capacity.
An additional feature is Customize alerts. This feature allows the

generation of alerts when the threshold is reached. An administrator
customizes the thresholds as needed. In the example, the alerts are
configured as a warning at 80% of available capacity and an error alert at
100% of available capacity.
Capacity Reserve Considerations
Once Capacity Reserve is enabled, vSAN prevents the creation of new

VMs or powering on VMs if such operations consume the reserved space.
vSAN does not prevent powered on VMs from consuming vSAN storage
even after the threshold limits are reached.

vSAN administrators should monitor the vSAN capacity usage to ensure

that capacity usage is below the Capacity Reserve threshold limits. vSAN
Skyline Health also monitors the vSAN capacity utilization and triggers
alarms when the threshold limits are reached.
vSAN Capacity Threshold and Utilization Overview
vSAN Capacity Reserve is not supported on:

 Clusters with less than four ESXi hosts
 Stretched clusters
 Clusters with fault domains or nested fault domains
For more considerations, go to Understanding “Reserved

Capacity” Concepts in vSAN.
vSAN Disk Balance and Automatic Rebalance
For guidance on the usage of the vSAN Automatic Rebalance

feature, view the blog Should Automatic Rebalancing be
Enabled in a vSAN Cluster?
To monitor vSAN Disk Balance, expand the Cluster category in the

vSAN Skyline Health report and select vSAN Disk Balance. By default,
AUTOMATIC REBALANCE is disabled. The status of this health check
turns yellow when the capacity usage exceeds a system-determined
threshold. When AUTOMATIC REBALANCE is enabled, vSAN
automatically rebalances to get the variance of the consumption

percentages between the highest and lowest consumed disk to less than
half the rebalancing threshold.
vSAN Disk Balance Overview tab shows the disk usage statistics for the cluster.
If AUTOMATIC REBALANCE is enabled, the Disk Balance tab displays

the status of any rebalancing operations. If AUTOMATIC REBALANCE is
not enabled, the need for proactive rebalancing is displayed.
Disk Balance tab displays the status of any rebalancing operations.
Configure Automatic Rebalance
The vSAN Automatic rebalance feature is disabled by default. vSAN

Automatic rebalance is enabled either from the Skyline Health vSAN
Disk Balance page, or from vSAN Cluster > Configure > vSAN >
Services > Advanced Options.

vSAN Services - Advanced Options dialog
Either method opens the Advanced Options dialog. VMware

recommends the default value of 30 for the Rebalancing threshold %.
Decreasing this value could increase the amount of resynchronization
traffic with no functional benefit.
A benefit of using the feature is the automation of the process. vSAN

automatically rebalances the disks when needed. vSAN chooses when to
conduct the rebalancing based on the configured threshold percentage
and does not consider other processing requirements.
However, an administrator may choose to leave the Automatic rebalance

feature disabled. When the feature is disabled, the administrator controls
when the rebalancing occurs.
Knowledge Check - vSAN Automatic Rebalance
1. Use the simulator to enable the Automatic rebalance feature on the

vSAN Cluster. When finished, click Submit.

990749567

Manage and Use vSAN Storage Policies
Create a VM Storage Policy with vSAN Specific

Attributes
VM Storage Policies are created from the VM Storage Policies page of the
vSphere client. Go to Menu > Policies and Profiles. In the left pane,
select VM Storage Policies.
VM Storage Policies can have vSAN related rules. A VM Storage policy

can be assigned to a vSAN datastore as the default storage policy.
To create a VM Storage Policy, select CREATE, the Create VM Storage

Policy wizard opens. To learn about creating a storage policy, select each
tab. In the example, the intent is to create a RAID 5 VM Storage Policy.
Name and description
On the Name and description page, create a unique name and add an
optional description for the new policy.
Create VM Storage Policy wizard-Name and description

Policy structure
On the Policy structure page, check Enable rules for "vSAN" storage.
A vSAN page is added to the wizard after enabling the rules for vSAN
storage.
Policy structure with vSAN storage rules enabled
vSAN Availability
On the vSAN Availability page, Specify the required Site disaster

tolerance and Failures to tolerate options.
vSAN Availability With Site disaster tolerance and Failures to tolerate identified

Site disaster tolerance provides options for standard and stretched

clusters.
Failures to tolerate provides options for No data redundancy, Mirroring,

and Erasure Coding.
Mirroring supports one, two, or three Fault Domain failures. For N failures
tolerated, N+1 copies of the object are created.
Erasure coding supports one Fault Domain failure with RAID 5 or two
Fault Domain failures with RAID 6. Erasure coding is supported on All-
flash systems only.
The required minimum number of fault domains depends on the Failures

to tolerate setting.
vSAN Storage rules
On the vSAN Storage Rules page, the Encryption services, Space

efficiency, and Storage tier options are specified.
An All flash configuration is required when using RAID-5/6 (Erasure

Coding). Hybrid or All flash configurations can be used when fault
tolerance is set to RAID 1 or no data redundancy.
The example below places VMs on datastores which are on an all flash
storage tier, with no preference for encryption services, or space
efficiency.

vSAN Storage rules with All flash selected
vSAN Advanced Policy Rules
On the vSAN Advanced Policy Rules page, additional rules can be

configured. In this example, the default values have been selected.
Object space reservation is the percentage of the virtual machine disk

object capacity that must be reserved for VM use. The default is Thin
provisioning (0% reservation). The Thick provision option fully reserves
storage for the VM (100% space reservation). Space reservation can also
be set at the percentage values of 25%, 50%, or 75%.
For additional vSAN policy rules, see the vSAN Advanced Policy Rules.

Storage compatibility
The Storage compatibility page lists the datastores compatible with the
defined vSAN rules. In this example, there is only one vSAN datastore that
meets the requirements of the configured storage policy.
Storage compatibility with compatible vSAN Datastore identified
Incompatible datastores can be located by selecting INCOMPATIBLE

option on the Storage Compatibility page.
Review and finish
On the Review and finish page, Review the defined policy. Clicking
FINISH creates the policy.

Review and finish for creating a RAID 5 VM Storage Policy
Manage vSAN Storage Policy
To manage a vSAN storage policy, select the policy in the VM Storage

Policies page.
To learn more about managing a storage policy, select each hotspot.
VM Storage Policies page with one policy selected

1: Clicking CHECK triggers a VM storage policy compliance check. All

vSAN objects that use this policy are checked for compliance. The results
are shown in the VM Compliance tab in the lower half of the VM Storage
Policies page.
2: Clicking EDIT opens the Edit VM Storage Policy wizard. This wizard is
similar to the Create VM Storage Policy wizard.
If a storage policy is in use, the wizard shows a warning as shown in the

graphic. The changes can be applied immediately to all the affected VMs
or manually later. Changes to the policy can result in resynchronization
operations and the creation of new vSAN components. Choosing to apply
the changes manually later, results in the VM compliance state becoming
Out of Date.
Warning - VM Storage Policy in Use
3: Clicking CLONE opens the Clone VM Storage Policy wizard. Use this
wizard to create a storage policy using the existing policy as a template.

The Clone VM Storage Policy Wizard
4: Clicking REAPPLY checks for any out-of-date vSAN objects and

reapplies the storage policy. In the image, one VM has Out of Date vSAN
components. Reapplying the policy might take significant time depending
on the type of policy change and the amount of data to be moved.
Reapply VM Storage Policy dialog

5: Clicking DELETE deletes the existing VM Storage Policy. However,

storage policies that are in use cannot be deleted. In the image, the policy
is in use and cannot be deleted.
Delete VM Storage Policy Warning dialog
6: The VM Compliance tab displays the storage policy compliance

information for all the virtual machines that use the policy. In the image,
there are two VMs use this policy and both are complaint.
VM Compliance tab
Change vSAN Datastore Default Storage Policy
The default storage policy for a vSAN datastore is the vSAN Default
Storage Policy. If a storage policy is not explicitly selected during the
deployment of a new VM, the default policy is used.
The default storage policy for the vSAN datastore can be changed. For
space efficiency, administrators with all-flash VxRail systems may choose
to implement a storage policy with RAID 5 erasure coding as the default
policy. In the example, a storage policy that is named RAID5 Policy has
been created. This policy can be made the default for the vSAN datastore.
Changing the vSAN datastore default storage policy has no impact on

existing storage policies.

Image of the Change Default Storage Policy selection window for the VxRail vSAN
Datastore Default Storage Policy
Deploy Virtual Machines with vSAN Storage Policies
Deploying a virtual machine on a vSAN cluster is similar to the process of

deploying a VM on any other vSphere cluster. The difference is in the
Select storage step. In a vSAN environment, select the required vSAN
storage policy and datastore. Based on the vSAN storage policy selection,
compatible vSAN datastores are identified.
To learn more about selecting vSAN storage with various VM deployment

methods, select each tab.
New VM
Example of deploying a new VM. The storage policy selection defaults to

Datastore Default. Keep the default selection or select the required vSAN
storage policy and a compatible vSAN datastore.

Select storage - Deploy new VM
OVF template
Example of deploying an OVF template. The storage policy selection

defaults to Datastore Default. Keep the default selection or select the
required vSAN storage policy and a compatible vSAN datastore.
Select Storage - VM from OVF template
VM from template
Example of a VM deployed from a template. Either choose to Keep

existing VM storage policies, or select the required vSAN storage policy.

Select storage - VM from template
Clone VM
Example of cloning an existing VM. Either choose to Keep existing VM

storage policies, or select the required vSAN storage policy.
Select storage - Clone existing VM

VM Storage Policy Compliance and Modification
The Policies page is located under the Configure tab for the Virtual
Machine. The VM Policies page is used to monitor the storage policy
compliance and to change the assigned storage policy.
To learn about monitoring VM storage policy compliance and changing

assigned policies, select each tab.
VM Storage Policy Compliance
The Policies page displays all the vSAN objects that belong to the VM,
the associated storage policy, and the compliance status.
VM Polices page - All objects compliant.
Selecting a particular object displays any associated compliance failures.

A noncompliant status triggers the VM storage compliance alarm.
Modify Assigned Policy
To change the associated storage policies for a VM:
Select EDIT VM STORAGE POLICIES from the VM Policies page.

Edit VM Storage Policies
If required, the policies can be changed on a per vSAN object basis.
Policy Change Considerations
A storage policy can be changed on a running VM, however, policy

change may cause resynchronization and new component creation, which
may temporarily affect cluster performance.
Best practices:
 Ensure that sufficient vSAN storage capacity exists for the rebuilds.
 Apply new policies one object at a time and inspect the impact.
 Ensure that there are enough fault domains to meet the new policies
requirements.
Consider a 100 GB virtual disk protected with a RAID 5 storage policy.

This vSAN object has four components and consumes about 133 GB of
storage.

The Physical disk placement view of RAID 5 object - four components
Changing the storage policy of this object to the vSAN Default Storage
Policy would result in the creation of new vSAN components.
The default vSAN policy is a RAID 1 policy, the change in the RAID layout
requires the creation of two data and one witness component.
The Physical disk placement view of RAID 1 object - two data and one witness
components
Until the policy change is complete, two complete sets of components co-
exist and consume about 333 GB (133 GB + 200 GB) of storage.
Interaction - Create and Use vSAN Storage Policies

Manage vSAN HCI Mesh
vSAN HCI Mesh
vSAN HCI Mesh allows administrators to mount the vSAN datastore of a

vSAN cluster on other vSAN clusters which are within the same vCenter
inventory.
The vSAN HCI Mesh client clusters5 can be standard vSAN clusters or
vSAN HCI Mesh compute clusters6.
5
Client cluster -The vSAN cluster to which a remote vSAN datastore has
been mounted.
6
vSAN HCI Mesh compute clusters do not have local vSAN datastores.
These clusters do not require a vSAN license.


vSAN HCI Mesh configuration - VxRail Cluster 1 is the server cluster and VxRail Cluster
2 is a client cluster
Requirements:
 Clusters in the same virtual data center in vCenter
 vSAN Enterprise license or higher for the server cluster7
 vSAN network connectivity between clusters8
 Layer 2 or Layer 3
 Latency below 5 milliseconds
Scalability:
 A server cluster can export its vSAN datastore to a maximum of five
client clusters.
 A client cluster can mount a maximum of five remote vSAN datastores.
 A vSAN datastore can be mounted on a maximum of 128 ESXi hosts
(includes both server and client hosts).
Supported features:
 vSphere vMotion and Storage vMotion
 vSphere HA
 vSphere DRS
 vSAN Storage Policy Based Management
Unsupported features:
 Data-In-Transit encryption
7
Server cluster - The vSAN cluster where the storage is locally hosted.
This vSAN cluster provides storage resources to the client clusters.
8
VMware recommends 25 GbE networks for vSAN HCI Mesh configurations.

 Stretched and 2-Node vSAN clusters

 vSAN File and iSCSI Target services
vSAN HCI Mesh Benefits
Balance capacity across vSAN clusters - vSphere Storage vMotion can

move data between vSAN datastores depending on available capacity.
Independent scaling of compute and storage - Storage and compute

can scale independently with vSAN HCI Mesh. Cost savings are achieved
by ordering only the appropriate licenses.
Heterogeneous storage - All-flash and hybrid vSAN datastores can be

mounted to a vSAN HCI Mesh client cluster. Administrators can choose
where to place the VMs based on the storage tier of a storage policy.
vSAN HCI Mesh Considerations
VxRail Cluster Shutdown
The VxRail cluster shutdown validation process is aware of vSAN HCI

Mesh configurations. The shutdown of a VxRail vSAN HCI Mesh server
cluster cannot proceed if there are running VMs on a client cluster using
the remote datastore. The VMs must be either powered off or migrated to
some other storage before shutting down the server cluster.

VxRail Cluster Shut Down wizard - Example of a validation failure due to VMs which are
still running on a client cluster
vSAN HCI Mesh - Loss of connectivity between client and server

clusters
A client cluster enters the Datastore with All Paths Down (APD)
condition 60 seconds after detecting a cross-cluster communication issue.
VMware recommends setting the vSphere HA response for a datastore
with APD to Power off and restart VMs. VMs are restarted when the
datastore becomes available.
vSphere HA failure response for a datastore with APD

Mount Remote vSAN Datastore
To learn about mounting a remote vSAN datastore, select each tab.
Mount Remote Datastore
To manage mounting and unmounting of remote vSAN datastores, go to

the Configure tab of the client VxRail cluster, and then select vSAN >
Remote Datastores.
To mount a remote vSAN datastore, click MOUNT REMOTE

DATASTORE.
In the example, the vCenter Server manages two VxRail clusters, VxRail-
DEV and VxRail-MGT. Both the clusters reside in the data center VxRail-
DC.
Local datastores are identified with the (Local) prefix. For the VxRail-DEV
cluster, only the local vSAN datastore DEV-vSAN-Datastore is mounted.
Remote Datastores view of a VxRail cluster - No remote vSAN datastore mounted
Select Remote Datastore
The mount wizard displays all the available remote vSAN datastores.
In the example, the remote vSAN datastore MGT-vSAN-Datastore that is

hosted on cluster VxRail-MGT is available. Select the datastore and then
click NEXT.

Select datastore step of the Mount Remote Datastore wizard - One remote vSAN
datastore is available
Compatibility Check
The mount wizard performs a compatibility check. If all the compatibility

checks pass, click FINISH. If compatibility checks fail, remediate the
issues and try again.
Mount Remote Datastore wizard - Successful compatibility check

Example of an unsuccessful compatibility check due to cluster connectivity

issues.
Remote Datastore Mounted
In the example, the remote datastore MGT-vSAN-Datastore has been

mounted. VxRail-MGT is the vSAN HCI Mesh server cluster and VxRail-
DEV is the client cluster. None of the VMs hosted by the client cluster are
using storage from the remote datastore as of yet.
Remove Datastores view of a VxRail cluster - Remote datastore mounted
Remote Datastores - Server View
Once a client has mounted a remote datastore, the client cluster is

displayed in the Remote Datastores view of the vSAN HCI Mesh server.
In the example, VxRail-MGT is the server cluster. VxRail-DEV is a client

cluster using the datastore MGT-vSAN-Datastore.

Remote Datastores view of a VxRail vSAN HCI Mesh Server cluster
Use Remote vSAN Datastore
Using a remote vSAN datastore is similar to using the local vSAN

datastore. To learn about using remote vSAN storage, select each tab.
VM Deployment
New VMs can be deployed with remote vSAN storage. The remote vSAN
datastore is listed as a compatible datastore as long it satisfies the
required storage policy. In the example, MGT-vSAN-Datastore is a
remote vSAN datastore.

Select storage page of the Deploy OVF Template wizard - Compatible remote vSAN
datastore
Storage vMotion
Storage vMotion can be used to migrate VMs to and from remote vSAN
storage. In the example, VM2 is hosted on the VxRail-DEV cluster and
uses storage from the local vSAN datastore DEV-vSAN-Datastore. Based
on the existing storage policy, remote vSAN datastore MGT-vSAN-
Datastore is compatible.
Select storage page of the Migrate VM wizard - Compatible remote vSAN datastore

VM Object Placement with vSAN HCI Mesh
In a vSAN HCI Mesh configuration, all the objects for a VM reside in a

single vSAN datastore, either local or remote. To view VM object
placement, go to the Monitor tab of the VM and then select vSAN >
Physical disk placement.
In this example, VM1 is hosted on the VxRail-DEV cluster and uses

storage from the remote vSAN datastore on the VxRail-MGT cluster.
Physical disk placement for a VM using a remote vSAN datastore
Interaction: vSAN HCI Mesh - Mount and Use a

Remote vSAN Datastore

Manage vSAN Cluster Availability
vSAN Object and Component States
The virtual objects page displays an overview of cluster objects and

checks problems in the environment.
To learn more about the health of vSAN Objects and components, select
each tab.
Virtual Objects
Go to the Monitor tab of the VxRail cluster. Under vSAN select Virtual
Objects. On the below page, VMs listed in the Name column have objects
using a storage policy that cannot fulfill the expected number of fault
domains.
Review vSAN Health Service - Data Health – vSAN Object Health

knowledge base article for more information about Object State.
VMs with Object State - Reduced availability with no rebuild alarm
Component Physical Placement
To view, the component Physical Placement, select any object under the
Virtual Objects page and click VIEW PLACEMENT DETAILS.

Components Physical Placement - Node vcluster730-esx02.edu.local is in maintenance

mode and the components of VM objects are in an Absent state
Active: Healthy and functioning correctly
Active-Stale: No longer synchronized with other components of the same

vSAN object
Reconfiguring: Applying storage policy changes
Absent: Temporary component failure where the component might

recover and restore its working state
Degraded: Not expected to return because of a detected failure
vSAN Object Repair Timer
The amount of minutes vSAN waits before repairing an object after a host
is either in a failed state (absent failures) or in maintenance mode.
Some environments may not want their data unprotected for the 60 minute
default or may even have requirements for thresholds to be less than 60
minutes.

There are circumstances when increasing the Object repair timer to a

value higher than 60 minutes might be beneficial. During VxRail software
upgrade operations, the Object repair timer is automatically increased to
360 minutes to prevent unnecessary resynchronization.
To edit the Object repair timer, from the Configure tab of the vSAN
cluster, choose EDIT under the Advanced Options of vSAN Services.
Configure Object repair timer page - 60 minutes is a default Object repair timer
Overriding vSAN Object Repair Timer
The page for vSAN object health includes a button for rebuilding
components immediately, rather than waiting as specified by the Object
repair timer.
Before the Object repair timer expiry, the administrator can immediately
repair the objects, if the resources are not coming back in a reasonable
time.
To repair objects immediately, go to Cluster > Monitor > vSAN > Skyline
Health > vSAN object health and select REPAIR OBJECTS
IMMEDIATELY. Similar functionality is also under Cluster > Monitor tab >
Resyncing Objects > RESYNC NOW.

vSAN object health displaying 14 unhealthy objects - Select REPAIR OBJECTS

IMMEDIATELY to initiate the object repair immediately
Resynchronizing Components
The resynchronizing of components can be initiated in two ways:
Failure events: User-initiated events:
 Cache device failure  An administrator changes the

policy, such as RAID 1 to
 Storage controller failure
Erasure Coding.
 Host network communication
 An administrator triggered
failure
reconfiguration such as enabling
 Host failure deduplication or compression
initiates disk formatting.
 An administrator placing host
into maintenance mode with full
data migration
Absent and Degraded are the two failure states of vSAN components.
View the table below for more information.
Component Description Recovery Cause

Failure State

Absent If vSAN detects vSAN starts  Lost network

a temporary rebuilding connectivity
component absent  Physical
failure where components if network
the component they are not interface
might recover available within controller
and restore its a certain time failure
working state interval. By
the component default, vSAN  ESXi host
is placed in the starts rebuilding failure
absent state. absent  Unplugged
components flash or
after 60 capacity
minutes. device
Degraded If vSAN detects vSAN starts  A flash or

a permanent rebuilding the capacity
component affected device failure
failure and components  Storage
assumes that immediately. controller
the component failure
is not going to
recover, the
component is
placed in the
degraded state.
Impact of vSAN Failure on VMs
If the vSAN cluster experiences more failures than the policy for a virtual
machine object tolerates, a virtual machine object may become
inaccessible.
Depending upon which object is inaccessible, virtual machines behave in

the following way:

Object Type Virtual Machine State Virtual Machine

Symptoms
VM Home  Inaccessible The virtual machine

namespace processor might fail,
 Orphaned
and the virtual
machine might be
powered off.
VMDK Inaccessible The virtual machine

remains powered on,
but the I/O
operations on the
VMDK are not being
performed. VM
operating system
may lock up or at the
least applications
fail.
Durability Components
Placing a host into maintenance mode or any failure in a vSAN cluster

creates temporary durability components for each component that is
marked absent.
The durability components contain the new writes. Once the original
component is back online, its data is synchronized with the durability
component.
Durability components reduce the overall time required to take a

component from Active-Stale to Active. The reason the durability
component is called durability is that new writes are protected hence the
name durability.
To learn more about durability components, select each tab.

Active Components
Consider a four-node VxRail cluster and all the nodes are in a healthy
state. Place one of the nodes in maintenance mode with ensure
accessibility option, so that there is no impact on the running VMs.
Active Component State - All the nodes in healthy state
Durability Components
The node vcluster730-esx01.edu.local is placed in maintenance mode

with the ensure accessibility option.

The absent state of the component on node vcluster730-esx01.edu.local and their

Durability components on the other nodes.
Knowledge Check: vSAN Failure Handling
1. What does the VxRail administrator do when noticing vSAN

components in a degraded state, with all the nodes being online?
a. Initiate a repair object immediately.
b. Wait for the Object repair timer to lapse.
c. Check the Resyncing Objects page for resync activity and
determine root of the problem.
d. Reconfigure the storage policy.
Knowledge Check: vSAN Failure Handling
2. The administrator has to upgrade the memory on nodes. This task is

expected to take a hour and a half. What should the administrator do
before placing the node in maintenance mode in order to avoid rebuild
of vSAN absent components?
a. Move all the VMs to other nodes.
b. Run the node removal script.
c. Increase the vSAN Object Repair Timer.

d. Change the vSAN storage policy.
vSAN Fault Domains
A fault domain consists of one or more vSAN hosts grouped according to

their physical location in the data center. When a vSAN cluster spans
multiple racks, fault domains enable you to protect against rack and
chassis failure. Fault domains enable vSAN to tolerate failures of entire
physical racks, a single host, capacity device, network link, or a network
switch.
By default, each host in a vSAN cluster is an implicit fault domain. If fault

domains are configured, vSAN applies the active VM storage policy to the
fault domains instead of the individual hosts.
In the example, a vSAN cluster has eight hosts across four racks, four
fault domains have been configured for rack awareness. A storage policy
with RAID 1 protection has been applied to the VMs in the cluster. vSAN
ensures that the components of a VM object are placed in different fault
domains.

Example of a vSAN cluster with four fault domains showing the components of a RAID 1
object placed in different fault domains
Number of vSAN Fault Domains
For a balanced storage load and fault tolerance when using fault domains,
consider the following guidelines:
 Provide enough fault domains to satisfy the failures to tolerate value

that is configured in the storage policies.
 Assign the same number of hosts to each fault domain.
 Use hosts that have uniform configurations.
 If possible, provide an additional fault domain with available capacity
for rebuilding data after a failure.
The tables show the minimum number of fault domains that are required
for various protection options.
Number of Failures to Mirror copies Minimum Number of

Tolerate Fault Domains

1 2 3
2 3 5
3 4 7
Number of Failures to Erasure Coding Minimum Number of

1 RAID 5 4
2 RAID 6 6
Create vSAN Fault Domains
After the initial VxRail deployment, each node acts as its own fault
domain. If necessary, fault domains can be configured. To manage vSAN
fault domains, select the VxRail cluster, and then go to Configure > vSAN
> Fault Domains.
In the example, the VxRail cluster has eight nodes. To create a fault
domain, click the plus (+) icon, the New Fault Domain window opens.
Name the domain, select nodes, and then click CREATE.

vSAN Fault Domains page showing the creation of a new fault domain.
VxRail Cluster with vSAN Fault Domains Configured
In the example, four fault domains have been configured for the VxRail
cluster. Each fault domain has two nodes.

vSAN Fault Domains page showing four fault domains
Fault Domain Nodes
FD1 vcluster730-esx01.edu.local
vcluster730-esx02.edu.local
VM Object Placement with vSAN Fault Domains

Configured
In the example, VM1 is hosted on a VxRail cluster with four fault domains
configured. A storage policy with RAID 5 protection has been assigned to

the VM. The components of each of the RAID 5 objects are placed in a
different fault domain.
VM Physical disk placement page showing the object component placement for VM1
Interaction: Configure vSAN Fault Domains
Maintenance Mode - Hosts in a vSAN Cluster
vSAN cluster capacity is reduced when a host enters maintenance mode

and no longer contributes storage.
The vSAN storage resources for a VM are distributed across the cluster.
Maintenance mode uses vMotion to move the active memory of VMs to
other cluster nodes. vSAN storage components on the node are moved as
directed by the selected vSAN data migration option. The impacted vSAN
components can be moved only if the remaining cluster nodes have
enough free space to meet the storage policy requirements.
To place a host into maintenance mode, in the left pane, select the node.
On the node page, select ACTIONS > Maintenance Mode > Enter
Maintenance Mode.

Maintenance Mode page with available vSAN data migration options
There are three vSAN data migration options when placing the node in
maintenance mode:
 Ensure accessibility (default) - vSAN only migrates the components
that are essential for running VMs. This option is typically used while
performing upgrades.
 Full data migration - vSAN transfers all the data from this host to the
other hosts in the cluster. This option is typically used when removing
a host permanently.
 No data migration - vSAN does not evacuate any data from the host.
This option is typically used when shutting down an entire cluster.
Maintenance Mode vSAN Data Migration Pre-Check
Performing a vSAN data migration PRE-CHECK before placing a host into

maintenance mode is recommended. The PRE-CHECK determines
whether the operation can succeed and evaluates the impact on the vSAN
cluster.
To learn more about data migration PRE-CHECK, select each tab.

Start PRE-CHECK
On the node page, select ACTIONS > Maintenance Mode > Enter
Maintenance Mode > GO TO PRE-CHECK. Select the "vSAN data
migration" type from the drop-down menu. Success for one type of
migration might be a failure for another since they have different
requirements. Click PRE-CHECK.
Data Migration PRE-CHECK page for selecting the node and vSAN data migration option
PRE-CHECK
Results
The result indicates if a host can successfully enter maintenance mode

and the amount of data that is to be moved.
The Ensure accessibility PRE-CHECK passed and the host can enter maintenance mode
Object state
The Objects state tab lists the vSAN objects that are affected. In this
example, 16 vSAN objects become non-compliant when the node moves
to maintenance mode. vSAN waits for the delay timer to expire before

rebuilding the noncompliant objects. The delay timer can be increased

when the maintenance mode window is more than 60 minutes.
PRE-CHECK report on Object state showing 16 noncompliant objects
Cluster Capacity
The Cluster Capacity tab shows the impact to the vSAN cluster capacity.
In this example, the cluster has adequate capacity.
PRE-CHECK report on Cluster Capacity showing Predicted capacity and requirements
Predicted Health
The Predicted Health tab shows the impact of the vSAN health checks. In
this example, 16 vSAN objects would have Reduced availability with no
rebuild - delay timer alarm. vSAN waits for the delay timer to expire
before rebuilding the objects.

PRE-CHECK report on Predicted Health showing 16 Object count with Reduced

availability with no rebuild alarm
Ensure Accessibility - Component Migration
The Ensure accessibility option ensures that all running VMs, including
VMs with no data redundancy remain accessible. Components of
unprotected vSAN objects are migrated to another host.
Components of protected vSAN objects are not migrated and marked as

absent. The vSAN object remains accessible.
To view examples, select each tab.
Unprotected vSAN object
Hard disk 1 is an unprotected vSAN object with only one component

residing on vcluster730-esx01. Placing the node vcluster730-esx01 into
maintenance mode with Ensure accessibility triggers a migration of the
affected component to another host.
Before placing the node in maintenance mode, the component residing on vcluster730-
esx01

The component has been migrated to vcluster730-esx03 and remains

accessible.
After placing the node in maintenance mode with Ensure accessibility, the component
migrated to vcluster730-esx03
Protected vSAN object
Hard disk 1 is RAID 1 protected and has two components on two different
nodes. Placing the vcluster730-esx01 node into maintenance mode with
Ensure accessibility does not trigger a migration of the component.
Before placing the node in maintenance mode, the components residing on vcluster730-
esx01 are in Active state
The component is marked Absent, and a Durability Component is

created on the vcluster730-esx02 node. Hard disk 1 continues to be
accessible.
The components on the node vCluster730-esx01 are marked Absent, when the node
vCluster730-esx01 is placed in maintenance mode with Ensure accessibility

Interaction - Place a Node into Maintenance Mode

Generate VxRail Procedures with SolVe
Dell Technologies SolVe
Dell Technologies Solution for Validating your engagement (SolVe) is an

interactive procedure generator for servicing Dell products.
A valid user account is required to access SolVe. Customers and Partners

must register for a user account. See How to Access SolVe Online for
details. In order to get through the wizards for most Solve procedures the
VxRail version, VxRail model, and VxRail deployment type is needed.
SolVe is available as an online or a stand-alone application:

 SolVe Online - Web-based application
 Access Solve Online procedures
 Always has up-to-date procedures.
 SolVe Desktop - User-installed Windows application
 Access SolVe Desktop application

 Can be used offline.
 Update regularly for up-to-date procedures.
The list of available procedures depends on the access level of the user:
Dell Employee9, Partner, or Customer.
9
Dell Employees can impersonate all access levels.

SolVe Online - Customer View - VxRail Procedures

SolVe Online - Dell Employee View - VxRail Procedures
SolVe Online - VxRail Upgrade Procedures
To learn about customer facing VxRail upgrade procedures, select each

hotspot.

Customer facing VxRail SolVe Upgrade procedures page
1: Firmware Upgrade Procedures.
Typically firmware upgrades are performed as a part of the VxRail

software upgrade procedure. The G560/G560F Chassis Management
firmware is an exception. The firmware for G560/G560F component is
upgraded separately.

VxRail Firmware Upgrade Procedures - Select VxRail Appliance Model and Component
to Upgrade Firmware
2: Hardware Upgrade/Expansion Procedures.
Hardware Upgrade/Expansion Procedures - Select a Procedure

3: Software Upgrade Procedures.
VxRail Software Upgrade Procedures - Select the VxRail Appliance Model
VxRail Software Upgrade Procedures - Select the Installed VxRail Software Version

VxRail Software Upgrade Procedures - Select the Target VxRail Software Version
VxRail Software Upgrade Procedures - Select the current VxRail Configuration

Solve Online - VxRail Hardware Replacement and

Miscellaneous Procedures
To learn about customer facing VxRail hardware replacement and

miscellaneous procedures, select each hotspot.
Customer facing VxRail SolVe Replacement and Miscellaneous

procedures page
1: Hardware Replacement Procedures are VxRail model dependent.

VxRail Hardware Replacement Procedures - Select the VxRail Appliance Model
After selecting the model, Select the Hardware Component to replace.

Unsupported components are disabled.

VxRail Hardware Replacement Procedure - Select the Hardware Component to replace
2: The available 'How To' Procedures are different if the VxRail system is
part of a VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) on VxRail environment.

VxRail How To procedures - Select the VCF configuration on VxRail
After confirming on VCF, choose the required activity.
VxRail How To Procedures - Select the activity

3: Power Control Procedures are VxRail version dependent.
VxRail Power Control Procedures - Select the activity and VxRail Software Version
Example of Generating VxRail Procedure for Disk

Replacement
The VxRail version and model of the node are required for generating the
SolVe procedure. In the vSphere Client, select the cluster in question and
then select Configure tab, and under the VxRail heading select System.
Collect the VxRail software version and model details from the System
tab.
To learn about the steps for generating a disk replacement procedure in

Solve, select each tab.
VxRail Model
Select the VxRail model. Once the model is selected, scroll down to select
the component to be replaced.

VxRail Hardware Replacement Procedures - Select the VxRail Appliance Model
Replacement Component
Select the component. As an example Capacity SSD is selected. SolVe

shows relevant KB articles and these KBs are also in the generated
procedures. The informational message must be acknowledged to
proceed.

VxRail Hardware Replacement Procedure - Select the Hardware Component to replace
VxRail Version Confirmation
Answer the questions about the installed VxRail version. The capacity
SSD replacement procedure is different for older VxRail versions.

VxRail Hardware Replacement Procedures - VxRail software version confirmation
VxRail Version
Select the VxRail software version.

VxRail Hardware Replacement Procedures - Select the VxRail software version
Usage Information
Update the Usage information, this is helpful if there is an open service

request(SR) with Dell.

VxRail Hardware Replacement Procedures - Enter Usage information
Generate Procedure
Generate the procedure. The generated procedure is automatically

downloaded, an email with the link to the procedure is also sent. SolVe
maintains a history of the generated procedures for a limited time.
Example of a disk replacement procedure.

VxRail Hardware Replacement Procedures - Generate the SolVe procedure
Interaction: Generate VxRail Solve Procedure

Perform Cluster Expansion (Add Nodes)
VxRail Cluster Expansion
Planning Considerations for Scalability

VxRail Node Discovery Methods
The initial deployment of a VxRail cluster is limited to six nodes. Nodes

can be added to the cluster in one to six node increments.
While a VxRail cluster can be extended beyond a single physical rack, the
typical use case is for cluster expansion within the same rack. When
adding nodes within the same Layer 2 network segment, the IP addresses
must be on the same subnets as the existing cluster.
Considerations for node addition:

 Node discovery method
 If existing cluster used manual discovery, continue to use manual
discovery.
 If existing cluster used automatic discovery, use either automatic or
manual discovery.
 Use the VxRail Node Addition Matrix to verify that the new node
versions are compatible.
The add node process checks for compatibility after the new nodes are
discovered. Hardware compatibility checks ensure that the VxRail models
are compatible. Software compatibility checks ensure that the ESXi,
drivers, firmware, and the vSphere Installation Bundle (VIB) versions on
the new node are at the supported version levels. Compatible nodes at an
older version are automatically upgraded to the cluster version during the
node add process.
Contact Dell support for assistance with incompatible nodes.

Cluster Expansion - Layer 2 Add Node Procedure
To add a VxRail node to a cluster in the same Layer 2 segment, use

SolVe to generate the Compute Node Expansion procedure for Layer 2.
Excerpt of a customer facing SolVe procedure showing the selections for adding a node
to the same Layer 2 segment.
Follow the procedure to complete the node add process. High-level steps:
 Mount the node in the rack.
 Connect the node to AC power.
 Connect the node to the ToR switches.
 Power on the node.
 Configure iDRAC for the node.
 Verify date and time settings on the node.
 Adjust the VLAN IDs of the port groups on the node if necessary.
 Add the node to the VxRail cluster.
Using the VxRail Plugin to Add a Node
For VxRail clusters configured with automatic node discovery, the VxRail
Dashboard displays a notification when new nodes are discovered.
VxRail Dashboard - New hosts detected

Selecting Add to cluster redirects to the Hosts page of the VxRail

cluster. Alternately, from the Hosts and Clusters view, select the VxRail
cluster, and then select the Configure tab. Expand the VxRail section and
select Hosts.
To initiate the node add process, select ADD.
VxRail Hosts page
Add VxRail Hosts Wizard
Selecting ADD on the VxRail Hosts page launches the Add VxRail Hosts
wizard. To learn how to use the Add VxRail Hosts wizard, select each
tab.
Discovered Hosts
For VxRail clusters configured with automatic node discovery, the

discovered nodes and compatibility status are listed. Relevant warnings
are also shown. For VxRail clusters configured with manual node
discovery, the hosts must be manually discovered.
Select the nodes that should be added to the cluster. In the example, one
compatible node has been discovered.

Discovered Hosts page
vCenter User Credentials
The vCenter user could be the vCenter administrator or a user with the
VMware HCI Management role. Provide the vCenter user credentials.
vCenter User Credentials page

NIC Configuration
Map the physical NICs to the uplinks on the VDS. The NIC to uplink
mapping defaults to that of the first node in the VxRail cluster.
NIC Configuration page
Host Settings
Provide the hostname, IP address, management username, management

password, and root password. For VxRail implementations with an
external DNS server, ensure that the forward and reverse Type A records
have been added.

Host Settings page
Host Location
Optionally provide the rack name and position.
Host Location page
Network Settings
Provide the vSAN and vMotion network information.

Network Settings page - vSAN and vMotion
Validate
Validate the input settings before adding the node to the cluster. The
validation process is similar to the validation performed by the VxRail
Deployment Wizard during the initial configuration. The validation process
could be used to determine the readiness of the environment for node
addition without adding the nodes.
To start the validation process, click VALIDATE.

Validate page - Start validation
Finish
After a successful validation, add the node to the cluster.
The host can be left in Maintenance Mode after the node add process
completes. The default setting is No. In the example, the Yes option is
selected.
To start the node add process, click FINISH.

Validate page - Successful validation
Node Added Successfully
A node has been successfully added to the VxRail cluster. In this

example, the node was left in maintenance mode.
The node resources are available to the cluster when the node is taken
out of maintenance mode. Taking the node out of maintenance mode
could lead to DRS or vSAN disk rebalance activities. Take the node out of
maintenance mode when the cluster activity is low.

VxRail Hosts page - Node added successfully to the VxRail cluster
Interaction: Expand VxRail Cluster - Add Node
Multirack VxRail Cluster Expansion
A VxRail cluster can extend beyond a single physical rack. All the network
addresses applied to the VxRail nodes within a single rack must be within
the same subnet. In a multirack VxRail system, the VxRail System VMs
run on the nodes in the first rack.
To learn about the available options for extending VxRail beyond a single
rack, select each tab.
Multirack VxRail cluster with the same subnet
The same subnet, gateway, and VLANs are assigned to all the VxRail
networks on the ToR switches in both racks. Physical connectivity is
required between the ToR switches in both racks. In the example, a new

expansion rack (Rack 2) is being added to the existing VxRail cluster in

Rack 1 over a Layer 2 network.
Example presenting a Layer 2 Multirack VxRail cluster expansion setup.
Multirack VxRail cluster with different subnets
All VxRail networks in the expansion rack are assigned a different subnet,
gateway, and VLAN ID. VLANs for first rack are configured on its ToR
switches. VLANs for the expansion rack are configured on its ToR
switches. Routing services for the different VxRail networks is enabled
using the upstream network. In the example, a new expansion rack (Rack
2) is being added to the existing VxRail cluster in Rack 1 over a Layer 3
network.
SolVe procedures for compute node expansion over a Layer 3 network

are available only to Dell Employees and Partners.

Example presenting a Layer 3 Multirack VxRail cluster expansion setup.
VxRail Cluster Expansion over Layer 3 - Proxy Node
For multirack cluster expansion over Layer 3, an unclaimed node in the

new rack is selected as a Proxy node. The Proxy node on the expansion
rack discovers remaining unclaimed VxRail nodes on the internal
management network10. The Proxy node passes the discovered node
properties to VxRail Manager through the external management network.
The Proxy node is also added to the VxRail cluster as a node.
10
The internal management network is also known as the Discovery
network or Private Management network. The default VLAN ID assigned
to the internal management network is 3939 and can be changed.

In the example, a new expansion rack (Rack 2) is being added to the

existing VxRail cluster. An unclaimed node from Rack 2 has been
identified and configured as the Proxy node.
Example presenting a Layer 3 Multirack VxRail cluster expansion setup with a Proxy
node.
Important: Dell Customers must contact support for

assistance with adding a node to a new or existing Layer 3
network segment.

Perform Capacity Expansion for an Existing VxRail Node (Add Disks)
Perform Capacity Expansion for an Existing VxRail

Node (Add Disks)
VxRail Node - Storage Capacity Expansion
Expand VxRail node storage capacity by adding capacity disks to existing

vSAN disk groups or by adding new vSAN disk groups. It is a best practice
to add disks and disk groups in a balanced manner across all nodes. The
VxRail node must have available disk slots for capacity expansion.
The disk group configuration and disk slot placement rules are VxRail
model dependent. See appendixes A through D of the VxRail 7.x Support
Matrix for details. SolVe procedures are available for Capacity Drive
(HDD/SDD) Expansion and Disk Group Add. The procedures are VxRail
model and software version specific.
Examples of Disk Slot Placement for VxRail Models
The Add Disk wizard handles the addition of capacity disks and disk
groups. To launch the wizard, click Add Disk under the ACTIONS menu
in the VxRail node Physical View.

VxRail Physical View - Node with available disk slots
Important: SolVe procedures for adding disks are not

available to Customers for some VxRail systems with Non-
Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) disks. Contact Dell
Support for help if the required SolVe procedure is not
available.
Add Disk Wizard - Disk Group Add
To learn about adding a disk group using the Add Disk wizard, select
each tab.
Insert New Disk
To add a disk group, select No, I want suggestions about disk slots for
the new disks.
Set the Disk Type to Cache Disk, and then select NEXT.

Insert New Disk step - Request disk slot suggestion for Cache Disk
Disk Suggestions
The wizard scans the system and recommends disk slots for the cache
and capacity disks. Review the recommended disk slot locations. Insert
the cache disk, and at least one capacity disk into the recommended slots.
In the example, the recommended cache disk slot is 9, capacity disks
should start at slot 4.
Cache and capacity disks are not interchangeable and have different
model numbers. Ensure that the new disks are supplied by Dell and have
not been used in any system previously. If a disk has any signature or a
previously configured file system, the add disk procedure fails.
After the disks have been inserted, select I have inserted new disks, and
then select NEXT.

Disk Suggestions step - Recommended disk slot locations for the new disks
Verify Disk
The wizard discovers the inserted disks and presents a table with the disk
details. In this example, the cache disk is in slot 9 and one capacity disk is
in slot 4.
Confirm that the disks are in the expected slots, and then select NEXT.

Verify Disk step - Listing of inserted disks
Select vSAN Services
If space efficiency features are enabled on the cluster, the Add Disk
wizard displays the Select vSAN Services step. In this example,
compression is enabled on the cluster. Select Yes, and then select NEXT.
The compression service is applied to the newly added disk group.
Select vSAN Services step - Cluster with compression enabled

Validate
The wizard performs a validation. If all the validation tasks pass, select
NEXT.
Validate step - Successful validation
Complete Addition
Follow the progress of the disk group addition. Select FINISH after the
process is complete. The new vSAN disk group becomes part of the fault
domain that the VxRail node belongs to.

Complete Addition step - Disk group addition in progress
Complete Addition step - Disk group addition completed successfully
Disk Group Add SolVe procedure for a VxRail E560F node.

Interaction: Add Disks to a VxRail Node

Perform VxRail Manager File-Based Backup
VxRail Manager File-Based Backup and Restore -

Overview
The VxRail Manager file-based backup and restore mechanism is

designed to help recover from a catastrophic failure of the VxRail Manager
VM. The benefit is that there is no requirement for any data protection
product.
To learn about the VxRail Manager file-based backup and recovery

process, select each hotspot.
VxRail Manager file-based backup and recovery process
1: The VxRail Manager backup and restore script is a Python script

available on the VxRail Manager VM. The backup script archives VxRail
Manager configuration files, database tables, and optionally the log files.
For a VxRail cluster where vSAN is the primary storage, the backup
archives are stored in a folder on the VxRail vSAN datastore. The backup
can be run manually or scheduled.

2: The restoration of the VxRail Manager VM may become necessary

under certain circumstances. For example, the accidental deletion of the
VxRail Manager VM or an unrecoverable failure of the VxRail Manager
VM.
Customers must engage Dell Support for assistance with the restore
process.
3: During the restore, the backed-up configuration is applied to the newly

deployed VxRail Manager VM.
The VMware vCenter Server and the vSAN cluster must be healthy for a
successful restore.
4: The VxRail Manager VM and the VxRail cluster must be operational

and healthy in order to setup VxRail Manager file-based backup.
The backup can be configured after the initial deployment of a VxRail

system, or after the VxRail Manager VM has been restored from a file-
based backup.
5: The restore process starts with the deployment of a new VxRail

Manager VM that matches the version of the current VxRail Manager.
SolVe procedure - How To Perform VxRail Manager File-Based Backup
Important: Customers must engage Dell Support for

assistance with the VxRail Manager file-based restore
process.
VxRail Manager Backup and Restore Script
The script is on the VxRail Manager VM in the

/mystic/vxm_backup_restore directory. To run the script, open a
console or a secure shell (SSH) session to the VxRail Manager VM. The
script must be run as the root user.

VxRail Manager backup and restore script - Help
Tip: There are two versions of the script -

vxm_backup_restore.py and
vxm_backup_restore_limited_bandwidth.py. The
limited bandwidth script is designed for use cases such as
VxRail 2-Node vSAN clusters in remote offices with Internet
bandwidth limitations. The two scripts are identical from a
procedural point of view.

Manual Backup
To learn about the arguments used, and the steps the script performs,
select each hotspot.
Example of running the backup script manually
1: The -b argument is used to backup VxRail Manager. The --keeplog

argument is used to include the VxRail Manager logs in the backup
archive.
2: The script maintains a catalog of all the backups in the

vxmbackup.json file on the VxRail vSAN datastore. The catalog file is
created when the backup script is run for the first time. Then, each time
the script runs, the catalog file is downloaded from the vSAN datastore
and updated with the latest information. The updated catalog file is
uploaded back to the datastore after the backup operation is complete.
3: The script creates the backup archive locally on the VxRail Manager
VM and then uploads the archive to the VxRail vSAN datastore.
4: Once the backup archive has been successfully uploaded to the VxRail
vSAN datastore, the local archive on the VxRail Manager VM is deleted.

Scheduled Backup
The scheduled backup frequency can be daily, weekly, or monthly. The

backup schedule uses the operating system time zone that is set on the
VxRail Manager VM. To learn about determining the time zone setting, the
arguments for scheduling a backup, and the steps the script performs,
select each hotspot.
Example of scheduling a periodic backup
1: The date command displays the VxRail Manager operating system

time zone. In this system, the time zone is UTC.
2: In this example, the VxRail Manager backup schedule is set to daily at

01:00 UTC. The time is specified in the 24-hour format. The rotation is set
to 7 (retain up to seven backup files), and the VxRail Manager logs are
included.
3: The script updates the Cron job on the VxRail Manager VM with the
requested schedule. The schedule information is updated in the
vxmbackup.json file. The updated vxmbackup.json file is uploaded to
the VxRail vSAN datastore.
Best Practice: In addition to the periodic backups, Dell

Technologies recommends doing a manual backup
immediately after a service procedure such as a node
addition, removal, or replacement.

Copy Recovery Bundle to vSAN Datastore
VxRail systems include a recovery bundle11 on the VxRail Manager VM.

The VxRail Manager file-based backup process does not backup the
recovery bundle. For a successful VxRail Manager file-based restore, the
recovery bundle must be manually copied to the vSAN datastore.
Use the scp command to copy the recovery bundle from the VxRail
Manager VM to the vSAN datastore. The bundle is in the
/data/store2/recovery directory.
Example of copying the recovery bundle to the VxRail vSAN datastore
Before running the scp command, enable SSH on the VxRail node that is
used for the copy process. In the example shown, VxRail node
vcluster730-esx01.edu.local is used for the copy process. The scp
command challenges for the root password.
The VxRail Manager restore process starts with the deployment of a new
VxRail Manager VM, a recovery bundle is not included. The VxRail
Manager file-based restore script uses a VxRail backup archive and the
recovery bundle on the vSAN datastore to complete the restoration.
11
The recovery bundle contains code that is used during the VxRail node
add process. If the node is at a lower version than the VxRail cluster, the
bundle is used to upgrade the node to the version of the cluster.

Important: A VxRail software upgrade creates a version-

specific recovery bundle. The new bundle should be copied to
the vSAN datastore after the software upgrade.
VxRail vSAN Datastore - VxRail Backup Folder
The backup archives, the backup catalog, and the recovery bundle are all
stored in the VxRail vSAN datastore in a folder named
VxRail_backup_folder. The example shows the recovery bundle, the
vxmbackup.json file, and two backup archives.
VxRail vSAN datastore - Contents of the VxRail backup folder
Interaction: Perform VxRail Manager File-Based

Backup
Use the CLI Simulator to log in to the VxRail Manager VM and perform
VxRail Manager file-based backup.
CLI Simulator capabilities:
The CLI Simulator has limited capabilities. Enter the commands in the
order described in the instruction panel.

Some command-line arguments have an abbreviated and a long form, use

the abbreviated form in this simulation. For example, in a live environment
the -b or --backup arguments can be used to create a backup, in the
simulator use -b.
The simulator does not hide passwords, nor does it support tab
completion of commands.
The simulator supports copying and pasting, and using the up arrow to
retrieve previous commands.
Knowledge Check: VxRail Manager File-Based Backup
Use the CLI simulator to view the help for the vxm_backup_restore.py
script. After reviewing the help, answer the questions.
1. The VxRail administrator must setup a VxRail file-based backup

schedule that runs every Monday at 2:00 AM. The VxRail Manager
logs must be included, and ten backup files should be retained.
What should the period argument be set to?
2. What should the weekday argument be set to?
3. What should the hour argument be set to?
4. What should the rotation argument be set to?

Perform VxRail Software Upgrade
Differentiate Between the VxRail Software Upgrade

Options
The VxRail software upgrade can be initiated from the VxRail Plugin. To
initiate a software upgrade, select the Configure tab for a cluster. In the
middle pane, select VxRail > Updates.
To learn more about VxRail updates, select each tab.
COMPLIANCE
The COMPLIANCE tab displays the Compliance Status of the cluster.

The Compliance Report runs daily, or administrators can manually
generate a report.
This tab also displays the components that are installed on the cluster and
their versions.
VxRail Plugin Updates COMPLIANCE tab

INTERNET UPDATES
The INTERNET UPDATES tab allows administrators to automatically

access and download the required upgrade bundle. Advisory reports can
also be generated from this tab.
To use the Internet updates option, VxRail Manager must have Internet
connectivity and be configured with a Dell support account.
VxRail Plugin INTERNET UPDATES tab
LOCAL UPDATES
The LOCAL UPDATES tab allows administrators to upgrade a VxRail

system that is not connected to the Internet. To perform a local update,
download the software upgrade bundle from the Dell Support Site and
upload the bundle into VxRail.
Administrators can download a single bundle that contains all required

files, or if there are bandwidth limitations, download the bundle in multiple
parts. The multiple files can be uploaded into VxRail to perform the
upgrade.

VxRail Plugin LOCAL UPDATES tab showing multiple files that are uploaded to VxRail
SETTINGS
The SETTINGS tab allows administrators to enable vSphere Lifecycle

Manager (vLCM) on VxRail. vLCM is an enhanced version of vSphere
Update Manager (VUM). VxRail Administrators can continue to use VxRail
LCM, or enable vLCM on VxRail.
Whether VxRail LCM or vLCM on VxRail is used, upgrades must be done

through the VxRail Plugin Update page. Upgrading through the vSphere
Lifecycle Manager UI is not supported and can cause the cluster to
become noncompliant and unstable.

VxRail Plugin Updates SETTINGS tab
Enabling vLCM
Dell does not recommend using vLCM until version 7.0.400 or

higher per KB 000202113 and release notes:
To enable vLCM on VxRail, the VxRail system must be in a compliant

state. When vLCM on VxRail is enabled, the settings for vSphere Lifecycle
Manager are updated to point to the folders in VxRail Manager as the
source.
All default VMware-based Download Sources must be disabled so they

are not used when vLCM is enabled for VxRail. Failure to disable these
settings results in failure messages during vLCM enablement for VxRail.
To disable the Download Sources, go to vSphere Menu > Lifecycle

Manager > Settings > Patch Setup.

vSphere Client Lifecycle Manager Patch Setup page showing VxRail Manager as the
source depot
vSphere Lifecycle Manager on VxRail
Review the How does vSphere LCM compare with VxRail LCM?
Blog for more information about vLCM.
vSphere Lifecycle Manager on VxRail is beneficial in environments that

have installed custom components and software on their VxRail install
base and want a unified upgrade experience. vLCM on VxRail facilitates
the upgrades of the custom components.
VxRail LCM is beneficial in environments that do not have a requirement

to customize the LCM process. The components and software that are
deployed on the VxRail installed base are within the supported scope of
VxRail LCM.
vLCM on VxRail VxRail LCM
Customized environment - Custom Engineered ecosystem - Fully

components and software can be integrated, preconfigured, and
installed on the VxRail. tested VxRail environment.

Desired state – Administrators Validated State - Software, drivers

define, maintain, and validate a and firmware are defined, tested,
desired state. and validated by Dell.
Homogenous hosts – Nodes must Heterogenous hosts – Supports

have identical configurations within mixed node configurations within a
a cluster. cluster.
Requires support from multiple Requires support from a single

vendors. vendor.
Caution: Once vLCM is enabled for VxRail a cluster, you

cannot revert to VxRail LCM.
VxRail Software Upgrade Considerations
The graphic shows the VxRail Updates page for a system at version
7.0.372.
Specific VxRail software versions allow direct upgrade to VxRail version

7.0.xxx. See the VxRail version 7.0.x Release Notes for exact version
information.
The release notes also provide details of the fixes and features in each
release compared to previous releases, these details help drive the
decision to upgrade.

Current VxRail version installed on the system
Consider the following before performing a VxRail Software upgrade to

version 7.0.xxx:
 The external vCenter Server should be at the supported version level

before upgrade. See the VxRail and External vCenter interoperability
Matrix for more information.
 VMware Horizon and other integrated VMware solution software

should be at the supported version. Check the specific solution release
notes before upgrading.
Generate Compliance Reports
The Compliance Report compares the current component version state

with the defined (expected) component version state for the running
version of VxRail. Any component version variances (drift) are labeled as
noncompliant.
To learn more about the Compliance Report, select each hotspot.
VxRail Plugin Updates page showing the COMPLIANCE tab

1: To create a drift report, select Create New Report, and select Create.
Access the new report from the View the report link in the Compliance
tab.
Create Compliance Drift Report wizard

2: The View the report link displays the Compliance Drift Report. The
report shows which components are compliant, and which components
are not compliant with the expected version.
VxRail Compliance Drift Report
Generate Advisory Reports
The advisory report displays the impact of an upgrade on all components

in a VxRail system. It provides guidance on what the final cluster
configuration will be once the upgrade process completes. Advisory
reports can be generated from the INTERNET UPDATES tab, or from the
LOCAL UPDATES tab.
To learn more about creating an advisory report from the LOCAL

UPDATES tab, select each tab.

Download Metadata File
The Installer Metadata file is one of the files in the multipart upgrade
bundle. It contains a baseline file that describes each supported VxRail
component and the supported version for that specific release.
The installer metadata file is downloaded from the Dell Support site >
VxRail Drivers and Downloads tab.
VxRail 7.0.410 upgrade packages on the Dell Support site with the installer metadata
package identified
Upload Metadata File
The advisory report only requires the metadata input file – not the entire
upgrade bundle. This small file allows administrators to compare their
current version of VxRail to various upgrade candidates to see the
differences that each potential upgrade would entail.
Select the file and upload it to VxRail Manager.

VxRail > Updates > LOCAL UPDATES page with the SELECT REPORT FILE and
UPLOAD options identified
Create Advisory Report
Select Create Advisory Report. Once the report is generated, select

View Report.
VxRail > Updates > LOCAL UPDATES page with the VIEW REPORT option identified

View Report
The advisory report identifies the components that must be upgraded and
the version they will be upgraded to.
Sample advisory report showing the components that must be upgraded and their target
version.
Interaction: Generate Compliance and Advisory

Reports

High-Level Steps: Perform VxRail Software Upgrade
The administrator performs the following high-level steps to upgrade

VxRail software:
 Download the appropriate SolVe procedure.

 Ensure that the following passwords are available:
 VxRail Manager root
 vCenter Administrator
 vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) root
 Run VxVerify to check update readiness of the VxRail system.
 Ensure the cluster and vSAN are healthy.
 Take a snapshot of each service VM.
 Perform the upgrade.
Interaction: Perform VxRail Software Upgrade

Manage VxRail Networking
SolVe Online - VxRail Network Related Procedures
VxRail network-related procedures are available under Miscellaneous >

'How To' Procedures.
To view the available customer facing network-related procedures for

standard VxRail clusters, select each hotspot.
SolVe Online - VxRail 'How To' Procedures
1: Change VLAN ID
SolVe redirects to the VMware documentation for changing VLAN IDs.

Change VLAN ID - 'How To' Procedures
VMware documentation - Configure VLAN Tagging on a Distributed Port

Group or Distributed Port.
2: Change VxRail IP Addresses
Dell Customers must contact support for assistance with some IP address
change procedures as shown in the graphic. The rest of the procedures
can be run without the assistance of Dell support.
The procedures to repoint the DNS and NTP servers are also located
here.

Change VxRail IP Addresses - 'How To' Procedures
3: Change other VxRail Cluster settings
The procedures to modify the VxRail Virtual Distributed Switches and

switch settings are located here.

Change other VxRail Cluster settings - 'How To' Procedures, with procedures to modify
switch settings identified
Enable NIC Redundancy Across Integrated NIC and

PCIe Ports
To enable NIC redundancy across Integrated NIC and PCIe Ethernet

ports, migrate VxRail traffic for selected networks from the Integrated NIC
ports to the PCIe ports.
Consider a VxRail cluster with a VDS that is configured with two

Integrated NIC ports for all VxRail network traffic as shown in the first
graphic. This VDS can be reconfigured to use two Integrated NIC ports
and two PCIe ports as shown in the second graphic.

VxRail network - Initial configuration without NIC redundancy
VxRail network - Final configuration with NIC redundancy
High-level steps:
1. Cable VxRail PCIe ports to ToR switches.

2. Configure ToR switches to support VxRail network traffic on switch

ports that are connected to the PCIe ports.
3. Reconfigure VxRail VDS:
a. Add uplinks.
b. Map PCIe physical adapters to uplinks.
4. Modify the active and standby uplinks for port groups.
Detailed steps are documented in the How to enable NIC redundancy

across NDC-PCIe ports SolVe procedure.
NIC Redundancy Across Integrated NIC and PCIe

Ports Enabled
A VxRail cluster with a VDS that was initially configured with two
Integrated NIC ports for all VxRail network traffic has been reconfigured.
The final configuration uses two Integrated NIC ports and two PCIe ports.
To view the changes that were made to the configuration, select each tab.
VDS Uplink Configuration
The initial configuration had two uplinks. Integrated NIC ports (vmnic0 and
vmnic1) were mapped to the uplinks. The final configuration has four
uplinks. Two uplinks were added and the PCIe ports (vmnic4 and vmnic5)
were mapped to these uplinks.

Topology view of the VxRail VDS - Comparison of uplink configuration
Management Port Group Configuration
In the initial configuration, the management port group used uplink1 and
uplink2. In the final configuration, the management port group has been
reconfigured to use uplink1 and uplink3. This port group now has NIC
redundancy across an integrated NIC port (vmnic0 mapped to uplink1)
and a PCIe port (vmnic4 mapped to uplink3).

Management port group Policies view - Management port group Policies view -
Initial configuration with uplinks identified Final configuration with uplinks identified
vSAN Port Group Configuration
In the initial configuration, the vSAN port group used uplink2 and uplink1.
In the final configuration, the vSAN port group has been reconfigured to
use uplink4 and uplink2. This port group now has NIC redundancy across
an integrated NIC port (vmnic1 mapped to uplink2) and a PCIe port
(vmnic5 mapped to uplink4).

vSAN port group Policies view - Initial vSAN port group Policies view - Final
configuration with uplinks identified configuration with uplinks identified
Modify Teaming and Failover Policies
For VxRail systems deployed with predefined network profiles, VxRail

network port groups are configured with one active uplink, one standby
uplink, and no load balancing. The port group uplink configuration can be
modified to active/active for all VxRail networks.

NIC teaming with link aggregation can be configured for VxRail non-
management traffic - vSAN, vMotion, and production networks.
Relevant SolVe procedures:

 How to modify port group teaming and failover policies
 How to enable Dynamic LAG on VxRail Networks
VDS port group Load balancing options:
Load balancing Supported VxRail Physical switch

option networks configuration
Route based on All12 No changes required

originating virtual
port
Route based on All No changes required

source MAC hash
Route based on All No changes required

physical NIC load
Route based on IP vSAN and vMotion Requires EtherChannel

hash configuration - Static LAG
View the VMware documentation for details on the Load-Balancing

Algorithms.
12
Route based on originating virtual port is the default setting for VxRail port groups that
are deployed with the predefined network profiles.

Modify Teaming and Failover Policies - Example
The VxRail administrator wants to modify the port group uplink

configuration of the Management network to active/active with load
balancing. To view an example of modifying the teaming and failover
settings for a port group, select each tab:
Initial state
In the example, Load balancing is set to Route based on originating

virtual port, uplink1 is active, uplink2 is on standby. To modify the
configuration, click the EDIT button.
Policies view of the VxRail Management port group - initial state
Modify Failover order
Failover order: uplink2 has been moved from Standby to Active.

Port group Edit dialog - Teaming and failover - Failover order
Modify Load balancing
Load balancing is changed to Route based on physical NIC load.
Port group Edit dialog - Teaming and failover - Load balancing

Port group modified
The port group has been modified. Load balancing is set to Route based
on physical NIC load, both uplinks are active.
Policies view of the VxRail Management port group - final state
Deploy Second VDS for VxRail Network Traffic
For VxRail systems deployed with predefined network profiles, the default
configuration is a single VDS for all VxRail networks. If the network
requirements change after deployment, create another VDS and migrate
the selected VxRail networks to the new VDS. An additional VDS can also
be deployed for production VM traffic.
Detailed steps are documented in the Convert 1 Virtual Distributed Switch

to 2 Virtual Distributed Switches SolVe procedure.

High-level steps:
1. Cable VxRail NIC ports to ToR switches.
2. Configure ToR switches to support VxRail network traffic.
3. Create a VDS with the required number of uplinks.
4. Create port groups for the VxRail networks that must be migrated to
the new VDS.
5. Configure new VDS:
a. Add hosts to the VDS.

b. Assign physical adapters to uplinks.
c. Migrate VMkernel adapters for the required VxRail networks from
the old VDS to the new VDS.
To view an example of a VxRail system that has been reconfigured to use
two VDS, select each tab.
Initial configuration
The VxRail system has been configured with one VDS and two uplinks for
all VxRail and production traffic. Each node in the cluster has an
integrated NIC with four ports. The first two ports of the NIC are mapped
to the uplinks on the VDS, two ports are unused. VMkernel adapter vmk3
on each node carries the vSAN traffic.
The VxRail administrator wants to move the vSAN traffic to the unused
NIC ports on a separate VDS.

VxRail system with one VDS - Topology view of VDS with the vSAN port group and
uplinks identified
Final configuration
A second VDS with two uplinks and a port group for the vSAN traffic has
been created. Physical adapters vmnic2 and vmnic3 of each node have
been assigned to the uplinks. The VMkernel adapters that carry the vSAN
traffic have been moved to the port group in the new VDS.
VxRail system with two VDS - Topology view of new VDS with the vSAN port group and
uplinks identified

Interaction: Create and Configure a Second VDS for

vSAN Traffic

Manage a Stretched Cluster
vSAN Stretched Cluster Overview
VMware vSAN stretched cluster deployments provide synchronous

replication between active data sites that are in separate geographical
locations. Stretched clusters are implemented in environments where
disaster avoidance and minimal downtime are key requirements.
vSAN stretched cluster configuration showing RAID 1 protection across sites and RAID 6
protection at each site
Stretched cluster characteristics:

 Consists of three fault domains
 Primary (preferred) data site
 Secondary data site
 Witness host site
 One or more ESXi hosts per data site
 Mirroring across data sites for VM objects
 Optional local RAID protection per site

 High bandwidth/low latency links between data sites

 Data resiliency for single link failures between sites
VxRail vSAN Stretched Cluster Deployment

Requirements
Relevant planning guides:

Dell VxRail vSAN Stretched Clusters Planning Guide
vSAN 2-Node Cluster on VxRail Planning Guide
Dell VxRail vCenter Server Planning Guide
Dell or authorized Dell partners deploy VxRail vSAN stretched clusters.

Work with Dell or Dell partners to plan and implement the solution.
The minimum-supported configuration for a stretched cluster is 1+1+1

(one node per data site + witness)1. The maximum supported
configuration is 20+20+1 (20 nodes per data site + witness).
An identical number of VxRail nodes are recommended at each data site.

However, an unbalanced configuration is supported with the use of VM-
Host Affinity rules. vSAN storage policy rules govern site mirroring and
local protection for VM objects on a stretched cluster.
To learn about the vCenter Server, witness host, and network

requirements for configuring a VxRail vSAN stretched cluster, select each
tab.
vCenter Server
VxRail vSAN stretched clusters support either a VxRail-managed vCenter

Server or a customer-supplied vCenter Server. However, the customer-
supplied vCenter Server is recommended.
Customer-supplied vCenter Server requirements:

 Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the vCenter Server

 Customer provided vCenter Server Standard license

 Single Sign on (SSO) Domain to use (vsphere.local)
 Datacenter for the VxRail cluster to join
 Unique cluster name
 Hostname resolution before deployment
 VxRail management username and password for the VxRail cluster
 No permissions assigned
 No roles assigned
Witness Host
The witness host must:

 Reside at a third site.
 Have connectivity to all hosts in the cluster.
 Have one VMkernel adapter for vSAN traffic.
 Have one VMkernel adapter for management traffic.
 Be dedicated to the stretched cluster2.
 Be licensed.
 An appliance includes licensing.

 A physical host must be licensed separately.
Witness Traffic Separation is a configurable option.
2
Sharing a witness host is allowed for vSAN 2-Node cluster
configurations. The ability to use the same witness host for multiple 2-
Node clusters is cost-efficient in terms of physical resources,
manageability, design, and operations.
Network Latency and Bandwidth
Latency and Round Trip Time (RTT) requirements:

 Data site to data site RTT should be less than 5 milliseconds.
 Data site to witness site RTT:

 Should be less than or equal to 200 milliseconds for configurations

up to 10+10+1.
 Should be less than or equal to 100 milliseconds for larger
configurations.
Network bandwidth requirements:
 Data site to data site should be 10 Gbps or greater.
 Data site to witness site should be 2 Mbps for every 1000 components
on vSAN as a minimal standard.
1
The 1+1+1 configuration is the vSAN 2-Node cluster configuration.
VxRail vSAN Stretched Cluster Example
In the example, the VxRail vSAN stretched cluster has four nodes in each
data site (fault domain). The node names starting with vcluster730 are in
the Preferred fault domain, the node names starting with vcluster530 are
in the Secondary fault domain. The witness host is witness1.edu.local.
VxRail vSAN stretched cluster showing fault domains

vSAN Storage Policy Rules for Stretched Clusters
In a vSAN stretched cluster configuration, the Site disaster tolerance and

Failures to tolerate settings that are defined in the storage policy, govern
VM object placement.
Create VM Storage Policy wizard - vSAN Availability page showing the Site disaster
tolerance options for a stretched cluster
The Site disaster tolerance setting determines if the data is mirrored

across sites. The stretched cluster options are:
 Site mirroring - stretched cluster - RAID 1 data protection across
sites
 None - keep data on Preferred (stretched cluster) - Data on primary
site (no cross-site protection)
 None - keep data on Secondary (stretched cluster) - Data on
secondary site (no cross-site protection)
The Failures to tolerate setting determines the data protection within a

site. The behavior is the same as a standard cluster.

Caution: Do not use the None - stretched cluster option

for Site disaster tolerance. The components of a VM
object can be spread across both data sites. Review
VMware KB 88358 for details.
Stretched Cluster Storage Policy Example - Site

Mirroring and RAID 5 at Each Site
In this example, a storage policy with site mirroring and RAID 5 protection
at each site is applied to a VM. To learn about the policy rules, VM
compliance status, and VM object placement, select each tab.
Policy Rules
In this policy, Site disaster tolerance is set to Site mirroring - stretched

cluster, and Failures to tolerate is set to 1 failure - RAID-5 (Erasure
Coding).
Storage policy rules page showing the Site disaster tolerance and Failures to tolerate
settings

VM Compliance Status
Storage policy RAID5 Local + Site Mirroring has been applied to VM1,
all the VM objects are compliant.
VM Policies page showing VM objects, storage policy, and compliance status
VM Object Placement
Hard disk 1 has RAID 1 protection across the data sites, and RAID 5
protection in each of the data sites (Preferred and Secondary). The
witness components for the RAID 1 protection across the data sites are
stored on the witness host witness1.edu.local.

Hard disk 1
Stretched Cluster Storage Policy Example - RAID 5 at

Preferred Site Only
In this example, a storage policy with RAID 5 protection only at the

preferred site is applied to a VM. To learn about the policy rules, VM
compliance status, and VM object placement, select each tab.
Policy Rules
In this policy, Site disaster tolerance is set to None - keep data on

Preferred (stretched cluster), and Failures to tolerate is set to 1 failure
- RAID-5 (Erasure Coding).

Storage policy rules page showing the Site disaster tolerance and Failures to tolerate
settings
VM Compliance Status
Storage policy RAID5-LocalOnly-PreferredSite has been applied to

VM2, all the VM objects are compliant.
VM Policies page showing VM objects, storage policy, and compliance status
VM Object Placement
Hard disk 1 has RAID 5 protection only at the Preferred site. There is no
site mirroring.

Hard disk 1
VM-Host Affinity Rules for vSAN Stretched Clusters
Relevant VMware documentation:

VM-Host Affinity Rules
vSAN Stretched Cluster Guide - VM-Host Groups and Rules
Dell Technologies and VMware recommend using vSphere Distributed

Resource Scheduler (DRS) and VM-Host affinity rules in vSAN stretched
cluster deployments. The vSphere Enterprise Plus or higher license is
required for vSphere DRS.
vSphere DRS manages the initial placement and on-going load balancing
of VMs. DRS is unaware of vSAN stretched cluster sites and without the
use of VM-Host affinity rules could vMotion a VM to any host in the cluster.

Depending on the storage policy, some VMs may be mirrored across

sites, while other VMs may only have local protection at one of the data
sites.
Consider a VM which only has local protection at the Preferred site. DRS
may vMotion the VM to the Secondary site. In this case, the VM uses the
CPU and memory resources at the Secondary site while its storage is still
at the Preferred site.
Using VM-Affinity rules along with the VM storage policy ensures that VMs
run on the appropriate site.
A VM-Host affinity rule specifies if members of a VM DRS group should or

must run on members of a host DRS group.
Should run on hosts in group – Under normal operating conditions the

group of VMs run on the hosts in the host group. If all the hosts in the host
group fail, vSphere HA attempts to restart the group of VMs on any
available host.
Must run on hosts in group – Under normal operating conditions the

group of VMs run on the hosts in the host group. If all the hosts in the host
group fail, vSphere HA does not attempt to restart the VMs.
Example of a VM-Host affinity rule
In the example, VMs in group Preferred Site VMs should run on hosts in
group Preferred Site Hosts.

Recommended VM-Host Affinity Rules for vSAN

Stretched Clusters
The table shows the recommended VM-Host affinity rules for vSAN
stretched clusters.
VM Group Host Group Rule behavior Site Failure
VMs with site Preferred site Should run on If the Preferred

mirroring that hosts hosts in site fails, VMs
should run at the group can restart at the
Preferred site Secondary site.
VMs with site Secondary site Should run on If the Secondary

mirroring that hosts hosts in site fails, VMs
should run at the group can restart at the
Secondary site Preferred site.
VMs with no Preferred site Must run on VMs are pinned

remote protection hosts hosts in to the Preferred
and storage at group site. If the site
Preferred site fails, VMs are not
restarted.
VMs with no Secondary site Must run on VMs are pinned

remote protection hosts hosts in to the Secondary
and storage at group site. If the site
Secondary site fails, VMs are not
restarted.
Manage DRS Groups
In a VxRail vSAN stretched cluster deployment, the Dell or Dell partner

implementation team creates two host groups, one for each data site. VM
groups and VM-Host affinity rules are also created.

To manage DRS groups in the vSphere Client, select the cluster, and then
go to Configure > VM/Host Groups. To create a VM or host group, click
ADD, the Create VM/Host Group dialog opens.
To learn about creating a VM group, select each tab.
Name and Type
Enter a name and select the group type. For a new VM group, set the type
to VM Group. To add VMs, click ADD, the Add Group Member dialog
opens.

Create VM/Host Group dialog showing the group type selection
Group Members
Select the required VMs and click OK, the dialog closes. Click OK again to
close the VM/Host Group dialog.

Create VM/Host Group - Add Group Member dialog showing one selected VM
Group Created
The group has been created. To manage a group, select the group.
Members can be added or removed as necessary. The last member of a
group cannot be removed. Groups can be deleted. A warning is displayed
when trying to delete a group that is in use.

Groups page showing the members of a selected VM group
Manage VM-Host Affinity Rules
To manage VM-Host affinity rules in the vSphere Client, select the cluster,
and then go to Configure > VM/Host Rules. To create a VM-Host affinity
rule, click Add, the Create VM/Host Rule dialog opens.
To learn about creating a VM-Host affinity rule, select each tab.
Name and Type
Enter a name and select the rule type. For a VM-Host affinity rule, set the
type to Virtual Machines to Hosts.

Create VM/Host Rule dialog showing the rule type selection
Groups and Rule
Select the VM group, the appropriate rule, the host group, and then click
OK.
For VM groups with site mirroring, set the rule to Should run on hosts in
group. In this example, the VMs in the group Preferred Site VMs, should
run on the hosts in group Preferred Site Hosts. If there is a site failure at
the Preferred site, vSphere HA attempts to restart the VMs at the
Secondary site.

Create VM/Host Rule dialog showing the rule selections
Rule Created
The affinity rule has been created. To manage a rule, select the rule.
Rules can be edited or deleted. Members can be added or removed from
either the VM or the host group. The last member of a group cannot be
removed.

Rules page showing the details of a selected rule
Interaction: Manage Storage Policies and Affinity Rules

in a vSAN Stretched Cluster

Perform VxRail Troubleshooting
VxRail Knowledge Base Articles
SolVe procedures, VxRail Manager, and the Dell Support site contain links
to VxRail KB articles.
To learn how to access VxRail KB articles from the Dell Support site,
select each tab.
VxRail Support Page
Log in to VxRail Support page and then select the Documentation tab.
Select VxRail Appliance Series and model if the issue is specific to the
model.
VxRail Support home page

KB Articles List
Select KNOWLEDGE BASE ARTICLES from the left panel, or scroll

down the page to view the Knowledgebase Articles section. Click See
All to view additional KB article links.
The list of articles depends upon the user access level.
List of Knowledge Base Articles
Searching the Knowledge Base
To search for a KB article from the VxRail Support page, select the
Documentation tab to get a Search VxRail Appliance Series Support
Information box. In the Search VxRail Appliance Series Support
Information box, type the error message or the Article ID and click enter.
Select the related KB article.

Searching a Knowledge Base for a particular error message
VxRail Advisories
Dell issues advisories for Dell products in order to notify about critical
issues and potential impacts on the VxRail environment. Dell Security
Advisories (DSAs) and Dell Technical Advisories (DTAs) are two types of
advisories.
A DSA is a Dell document to address security vulnerabilities in its

products. A DSA contains information about the affected products,
important security information, and recommendations to address the
issue.
A DTA is a Dell proactive notification for different issues that may affect IT
operations. Issues such as data loss, data unavailability, loss of system
functionality, or anything that could result in a significant safety risk. A
DTA provides the steps to eliminate or minimize the impact of such issues.
To learn how to access the advisories, select each tab.
VxRail Support Login
Log in to the VxRail Support page by clicking Sign In.

VxRail Series and Model
Select the VxRail Appliance Series and then select the node model for
the selected VxRail Appliance Series.
VxRail Support home page - Select VxRail Appliance Series and Node Model

Advisories
On selecting Advisories, the below page with Security Advisories is

displayed. To view the Technical Advisories, select Technical.
Below is the display of Security Advisories. To view the Technical

Advisories, select Technical.
VxRail Support page for VxRail E560F Security Advisories
VxRail Advisories Sign Up
Set up automated email notifications whenever a Dell security or technical

advisory is issued for a specific product.
To learn how to set up automated email notifications, select each tab.
VxRail Support Login
Log in to the VxRail Support page. Hover over the account icon and click
Preferences.

Preferences
Select Show user settings & preferences.
Dell Support Preferences setting page
Notification Settings
Click the Notifications & Alerts tab and click the Product
Advisories tab. Update the Email and make the selection for types of

advisories needed: All Technical Advisories (DTA) or All Security

Advisories (DSA) or both. Click Add Alert.
User Settings and Preferences for receiving advisories as notification
Choose a Product for Advisory notification. To limit the volume of alerts,

select a specific product.
VxRail advisory notification - Select a product
The Advisory notification is set for VxRail E Series Nodes.

Advisory notification setting for VxRail E Series Nodes
VxRail Log Collection
On a VxRail system, logging is enabled on the Dell and VMware software

stacks. The VxRail Plugin provides a simple process to collect and
download all the required log bundles. CLI scripts for log collection are
available on the VxRail Manager. The VxRail API provides ways to
automate and schedule the process of generating and downloading the
log bundles.
The VxRail SolVe Procedure - How to Collect Log Bundle, details the log
collection steps with the VxRail Plugin and with the VxRail Manager VM
CLI scripts.

VxRail SolVe procedure - How to Collect Log Bundle
VxRail Manager - Log Collection CLI
VxRail provides scripts on the VxRail Manager VM for log collection. To

run the log collection scripts, open a console or a SSH session to the
VxRail Manager VM. The scripts can be found in the /mystic folder.

Script for collecting VxRail logs - Syntax.
The generateLogBundle.py script is used to collect the log bundles for

specific components. Below are the script options:
 VxRail Manager: -v, --vxm
 vCenter Server: -c, --vcenter
 Node-specific bundles: --nodes option to pick specific nodes
 ESXi: -e, --esxi
 iDRAC hardware logs: -i, --idrac
 Platform: -p --platform
 Witness in a 2-Node VxRail cluster: -w, --witness
Short option names can be stacked, for example: "-vc" compared to long
names for example: "--vxm --vcenter". Both of these examples collect
VxRail Manager and vCenter logs. Both short and long options exist for
flexibility.
For downloading the full log Bundle, run the script without options. The
witness log bundle is not in the full log bundle collection option. The
witness log bundle collection must be performed separately.
The generated log bundles are located under /tmp/mystic/dc.

VxRail Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for

Gathering Logs
Custom scripts and applications can be built with the VxRail API to
automatically generate and download the required logs. The VxRail API
base URL is: https://<VxRail Manager IP Address or
FQDN>/rest/vxm/.
The table lists the relevant VxRail APIs for gathering and downloading
logs.
Task Example Endpoint Body Method Successful

Path Response
Request to v1/support/logs Types - POST 200

generate a vxm, Accepted
new log vcenter, with Request
bundle esxi, ID
iDrac
Nodes -
List of
serial
numbers
Autoclean
- true/false
Monitor v1/requests/{Request GET State of

request Id} request –
Monitor until
complete.
Completed
state returns
Log ID,
name, and
location of
log bundle.

Detailed v1/support/logs/{Log GET Detail log

information Id} bundle
about log information -
bundle Log ID,
location,
name, size....
Download v1/support/logs/{Log GET Binary

log bundle Id}/download stream of log
bundle
Each cmdlet from the VxRail API PowerShell Modules maps to a VxRail
API which is used in the background by the cmdlets. The VxRail API
PowerShell Modules complement VMware PowerCLI.
Perform Log Collection for vCenter Server and ESXi

Using the vSphere Client
Dell Support or VMware Support may request logs that are related to the
vCenter Server or the ESXi hosts to diagnose issues. The vSphere Client
can be used to export the logs for the ESXi hosts, vCenter Server, and
vSphere UI Client. Performance data from the ESXi hosts can be
optionally included.
vSAN logs are in a support bundle. As vSAN is distributed across multiple

ESXi hosts, it is best practice to gather logs from all hosts in a cluster.
To learn how to perform log collection using the vSphere Client, select
each tab.
Select vCenter
To export system logs from the vSphere Client, right-click the vCenter
server in the inventory list and select Export System Logs.

vSphere Client Export System Logs
Select Components
In the Export System Logs dialog, select the relevant ESXi hosts.
Optionally, select the Include vCenter Server and vSphere UI Client
logs box. Click NEXT.
Export System Logs - Select hosts
Select Logs
In the Select logs page, select the specific system logs. Typically, the
support representative specifies the logs that are required. To generate
and download the log bundle, click EXPORT LOGS.

Export System Logs - Select logs
VxRail Log File Locations
For VxRail, operations are broken into categories. Day 1 operations are
cluster initialization tasks. Day 2 operations are tasks that are performed
after initialization, like expansion and upgrades.
The table lists VxRail Manager VM log files that are useful when
troubleshooting both categories. These files are in the log bundles
collected using the VxRail Plugin or the VxRail Manager VM log collection
script.
Log Files Description Location on the VxRail

Manager VM
dayone.log Consolidate /var/log/microservice_log

d first run
(Day 1)
configuratio
n messages
and
information

short.term.log Micro /var/log/microservice_log

long.term.log service
information
(Day 1)
lcm-web.log VxRail /var/log/mystic

lcm-migration.log upgrades
lcm-do.log information
(Day 2)
loudmouth.log Node /var/log/vmware/loudmouth

discovery
information
(Day 1 and
2)
localhost_access_log.t HTTP /var/log/vmware/marvin/tomcat/lo

xt request gs
information
(Day 1 and
2)
marvin.log Scale out /var/log/vmware/marvin/tomcat/lo

and node gs
replacement
(Day 2)
messages
and
information
Interaction: Perform Log Collection

vSAN Troubleshooting Resources
Resources for vSAN troubleshooting in a VxRail environment include:

 vSphere Client - Preferred starting point if the vCenter Server is
available.
 All Issues View
 vSAN Skyline Health
 vSAN Proactive Tests
 esxcli vsan commands - Useful if the vCenter Server is
unavailable.
 Documentation
 vSAN Monitoring and Troubleshooting
 Dell VxRail Event Code Reference
 Dell and VMware knowledge base
 Dell Support - VxRail Knowledge Base

 VMware Knowledge Base
Caution: The VMware knowledge base is a general

reference and is not specific to VxRail.
VxRail Cluster - All Issues
The All Issues page in the vSphere Client is a good place to start the
troubleshooting process for a VxRail vSAN Cluster. This page shows all
triggered alarms relevant to the cluster. vSAN alarm definitions contain the
term "vSAN'' in the alarm name and VxRail alarm definitions contain the
term "VXR" in the alarm name.

All Issues page with VxRail and vSAN alarms
Investigate vSAN Alarms in Skyline Health
Skyline Health page can be used to monitor and remediate some of the
vSAN health issues. Each Skyline Health test has an Info tab with details
of the test and the link to the relevant VMware knowledge base article.
To learn about a few examples of vSAN issues, select each hotspot.
Skyline Health page with errors and warnings

1: vSAN Cluster Partition
Review the Info tab in the graphic below:
vSAN cluster partition - Info page
In the Partition list below, observe that the last host is in partition 2, while
the other hosts are in partition 1. This cluster is partitioned and must be
investigated further.

vSAN cluster partition - Partition list
2: vSAN Basic (unicast) Connectivity Check
Review the Info tab in the graphic below:
vSAN Basic (unicast) Connectivity Check - Info tab
In the failed ping tests below, observe that the esx04 host appears in each
of the rows. In all probability, there are network issues specific to this host.

vSAN Basic (unicast) Connectivity Check - Failed pings
3: vSAN Object Health
Observe that the network connectivity issues in this vSAN Cluster have
resulted in vSAN objects with reduced availability.
vSAN object health - Overview tab
Investigate VXR Event Codes
It is the VxRail alert code that begins with "VXR" which is in the Issue. See
the Dell VxRail Event Code Reference document for more details.

All Issues page with VxRail alarms
VXR event codes are documented in the VxRail Event Code Reference
and in the Alarm Definitions within vCenter Server. To learn more about
VXR alarms, select each tab.
VxRail Event Code Reference Example
The VxRail Event Code Reference lists all the VXR alarms, severity level,
message, and a link to the related Dell KB article.
This example from the VxRail Event Code Reference shows the
information for the VXR014020 event:
Event code reference example
VXR Alarm Definition in vCenter Server Example
VXR Alarm Definitions are shown on the Alarm Definitions page at the
VxRail cluster level in the vSphere Client. To view VXR alarm definitions,
filter the Alarm Name column by VXR or vxr as the filter is case
insensitive.
The example shows the information for the VXR014040 alarm.

Filtered VXR Alarm Definitions example
Tip: The VxRail related alarms use a specific naming

convention. The reason VxRail Alert Code Ids are grouped
into ranges is so that they may be easily parsed. Example,
maybe a different customer team handles iDRAC than
VxRail Manager, vCenter, or the Secure Connect Gateway.
View the VxRail Event Code Reference for the complete
listing of events.
vSAN Proactive Tests
vSAN includes two proactive tests for troubleshooting the cluster: the VM
Creation Test, and the Network Performance Test. The vSAN proactive
tests are available under the Monitor tab of the VxRail cluster. To learn
more about vSAN Proactive Tests, select each tab.
VM Creation Test
The VM Creation Test creates a VM on every host and then deletes it.
This active test only takes a few seconds to run and can find issues that
cannot be found with passive tests. The test can be used to diagnose
node isolation, cluster segmentation, and other configuration issues.

Go to the Monitor tab of the VxRail cluster. Select Proactive Tests > VM
Creation Test > RUN TEST > RUN.
Run VM Creations Test
VM Creation Test Results
If the creation and deletion tasks succeed, it can be concluded that many
aspects of vSAN are operational.
Example of a successful VM Creation Test
Network Performance Test
The Network Performance Test is designed to assess the network

connectivity and bandwidth of the hosts. The test is performed in a ring

structure; every host sends packets to its next host while receiving from
the previous host. The test examines the network bandwidth that can be
achieved between hosts and reports warnings when the bandwidth is less
than 850 Mbps. Low network bandwidth can negatively impact vSAN
performance.
Go to the Monitor tab of the VxRail cluster. Select Proactive Tests >
Network Performance Test > RUN TEST > RUN. After the network
performance test is complete, be sure to disable network diagnostic mode.
Run Network Performance Test - Network diagnostic mode enabled
Network Performance Test Results
The test is successful, and the network bandwidth is achieved between

the hosts.

Example of a successful Network Performance Test
Troubleshoot vSAN Using ESXCLI
ESXCLI commands can be used to troubleshoot vSAN issues. Use

ESXCLI commands to troubleshoot vSAN issues when the vCenter Server
is unavailable. The commands are documented in the VMware vSAN
Monitoring and Troubleshooting guide. The ESXi shell must be enabled
for accessing the ESXCLI.
To view command examples, select each tab.
Overall vSAN Health
esxcli vsan health cluster list
This command lists out the status of each of the health test names for the
vSAN cluster. The below output shows the vSAN object health and Stats
DB object status as red means that the object does not exist.

Overall vSAN Health - status red
Cluster Partition Health
esxcli vsan health cluster get -t clusterpartition
This command checks vSAN hosts communication. The below output with
Partition is unknown means that the host in the VSAN cluster cannot
communicate with each other.
Review VMware KB 2108011 for more information about vSAN Cluster

Partition Health check.

Cluster partition health - status red
vSAN Object Health
esxcli vsan debug object health summary get
This command provides a cluster-wide overview by summarizing all

objects in the cluster. The below output with reduced-availability-with-
no-rebuild-delay-timer means that the object has suffered a failure, but
vSAN could tolerate it. However, vSAN is not yet working on reprotecting
the object. vSAN waits for 60 minute (default) delay timer to expire before
issuing the reprotection.
Review VMware KB 2108319 for more information about vSAN Object

Health error states.
vSAN Object Health - reduced-availability-with-no-rebuild-delay-timer

Remove a VxRail Node from a Cluster
A cluster has been expanded with new-generation VxRail nodes. As the

administrator, you would be removing the old node.
Consider the below prerequisites for removing a node from the VxRail
Cluster:
 VxRail Cluster must be in a healthy state.
 VxRail Cluster must have enough nodes remaining after the node
removal to support the current Failures to Tolerate (FTT).
High-level steps for removing the node:
Removing the node from the VxRail Cluster - Node vcluster730-esx04.edu.local is in

maintenance mode
 Verify Cluster Health.

 Verify Capacity, CPU, and Memory Requirements.
 Put the node in Maintenance Mode using the Full data migration
option.

 Right-click the node to be removed and select VxRail > Remove

VxRail Host.
 vCenter administrator account information is required to remove the
host from the cluster.
For detailed information about the node removal procedure, generate and
download the SolVe Procedure.
Interaction: Remove a VxRail Node from a Cluster

Perform Power Control Operations on a VxRail Cluster
Perform Power Control Operations on a VxRail

Cluster
Shut Down a VxRail Cluster
An administrator wants to shut down a VxRail cluster, the possible use

cases are:
 Maintenance
 Planned power outage
Use SolVe to generate the Power Down a Running VxRail Cluster

Procedure.
Excerpt of a customer facing SolVe procedure showing the selections to Power Down a
Running VxRail Cluster
Important: All the client VMs must be shut down gracefully

before performing the VxRail cluster shutdown procedure.
Steps to Shut Down a VxRail Cluster
To shut down a VxRail cluster, go to Hosts and Clusters view and select
the VxRail cluster. Click Actions in the right pane and select VxRail >
Shut Down.
To learn more about shutting down the VxRail cluster, select each tab.

Welcome
On the Welcome page, click NEXT to validate the cluster shutdown.
Shut down cluster Welcome page
Validate
On the Validate page, ensure that the validation is successful and click
NEXT. The validation process shows an error if the client VMs are
powered on.
If any of the validation checks fail, the shutdown script cannot be

completed. The administrator must address the issues.

Validate page with successful cluster validation
Confirm Operation
On the Confirm Operation page, click NEXT to confirm the cluster

shutdown.
Shut down cluster confirmation page

Shut Down Cluster
On the Shut Down Cluster page, ensure that the shutdown operation is
initiated successfully and click FINISH.
After the successful cluster shutdown, all the nodes go into a powered off
state.
Successfully initiated cluster shut down page
Power up a VxRail Cluster After a Scheduled Shut

Down
Use SolVe to generate the Power Up a VxRail Cluster after a scheduled

Power Down procedure.

Excerpt of a customer facing SolVe procedure showing the selections for Power-up a
VxRail cluster after a scheduled shutdown.
If either vCenter or DNS is external to the cluster, ensure that they are
running before powering on the cluster.
Follow the procedure to Power Up a VxRail cluster after a scheduled

power off. High-level steps:
1. Ensure that the ToR switches are fully powered on.

2. Power on each host manually.
3. Wait several minutes for all service VMs to be powered on
automatically.
4. Power on the client VMs.
If the VxRail cluster is using internal DNS, perform the following steps:
1. Restart the vCenter VM on ESXi.

2. Restart the vmware-marvin and runjars service on the VxRail
Manager VM.
Tip: If service VMs are not available in 10 minutes, log in to

host 1 using the vSphere client to check the status of the
VMs.

Interaction: Shut Down a VxRail Cluster

Manage TLS Certificates
VxRail Manager Certificate Overview
The VxRail solution:
 Uses a Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificate to secure network

connections.1
 Uses a self-signed TLS certificate for VxRail Manager that is created
during cluster deployment.
 Requires configuring browser and API clients to trust the self-signed
certificate.
Administrators must replace the self-signed certificate for the following

reasons:
 The certificate is about to expire.

 Organization or external policies require certificates that are signed
with a trusted certificate authority (CA).
Benefits of using a trusted third-party or organization CA include:
 Minimal client configuration for trust relationships

 Policy adherence
1
TLS certificates are also called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates in
the documentation.
Creating the Key File and Certificates
Before replacing the original TLS certificate in VxRail manager, perform

the following steps:
 Create a private key for VxRail Manager.

 Create a certificate signing request (CSR) based on the private key.
 Submit the CSR to the trusted CA.

 Obtain the signed certificate from the trusted CA.

 Obtain the trusted CA root certificate.
When creating the keys and certificates, consider the following:
 KB article 000194174 contains additional information about the

certificate requirements.
 The VxRail Manager VM has OpenSSL installed for creating a private
key and CSR, but other tools can be used.
 External third-party and internal enterprise CAs can be used to sign the
certificate.
 The choice of tools and CAs depends on administrator experience and
organization policies.
The Create the VxRail Manager Key and Certificate Files video shows an
example of the above steps.
Steps for Replacing a VxRail Certificate
To learn about replacing the certificate, select each tab.
Certificate Management Page
Open the vSphere Client, select the Configure tab for the cluster, and
select VxRail > Certificate.

Certificate Management page on the Configure tab of a VxRail cluster
Launch Update Wizard
Click UPDATE CERTIFICATE.
Closeup of Certificate Management page
Enter Content
Paste the contents of the certificate file, private key file, and certificate
chain into the wizard.

Certificate Update wizard with certificate, key, and chain fields entered
Enter Password
Enter the password and click UPDATE.
The VxRail Manger private key and certificates are updated, and trusts are
configured with other VMware components. The password is used to
secure the VxRail Manager key file.

Certificate Update wizard with password fields entered
Interaction: Replace VxRail Manager Self-Signed TLS

Certificate with a Trusted CA-Signed Certificate
Configure Automatic Renewal of Trusted CA-Signed

VxRail Manager TLS Certificate.
Once the VxRail Manager certificate is replaced with a trusted, CA-signed

certificate, the certificate can be renewed automatically. Automatic
renewal reduces administrator intervention and avoids downtime.

During automatic certificate renewal, the VxRail Manager connects to a

CA server which supports Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP).
To configure certificate renewal, launch the Edit Automated Renewal

wizard from the VxRail Certificate Management page.
The wizard contains the following:

 Certificate Authority Server URL - Link used by VxRail Manager to
request a new certificate.
 Challenge Password - Not implemented in this version.
 Certificate Validation Frequency - Number of hours that VxRail waits
between checks of certificate validity.
 Renew Certificate Before Expiration - Number of days before
expiration that a certificate is automatically renewed.
VxRail Edit Automated Renewal wizard

Interaction: Configure Automatic Renewal of Trusted

CA-Signed VxRail Manager TLS Certificate
Import New VMware vSphere Certificates to VxRail

Manager
Many organizations require that certificates be signed with a trusted CA.

When certificates are updated on ESXi hosts and vCenter, VxRail
Manager must be configured to trust these new certificates.
After replacing the vCenter certificate, use the VxRail: How to manually
import vCenter SSL certificate on VxRail Manager KB to address
certificate issues.
The high-levels steps are:

 Download the cert_util.py script in the KB article.
 Upload the script to VxRail Manager.
 Log in to VxRail Manager using SSH.
 Run the cert_util.py python script.
After replacing the ESXi host certificates, use the Solve procedure to
Import ESXi Host Certificates to VxRail Manager.
The high-level steps are:

 Log in to VxRail Manager using SSH.
 Run the certificate_replacement.py python script.

Manage Passwords
Manage Passwords
Change the VxRail Manager User Account Passwords
During implementation, a VxRail management user account and root user

password are created. The VxRail Manager "root" and "mystic" accounts
are local accounts. An administrator manages VxRail Manager passwords
for the following reasons:
 Enterprise security procedures require periodic password changes.
 Accounts become locked.
To learn more about managing VxRail Manager passwords, select each

tab.
Change mystic or root account password
The VxRail mystic and root accounts should have different passwords as
described when using the first run wizard to deploy a VxRail. Use the
following steps to change passwords using the CLI:
1. SSH to the VxRail Manager system or launch the Web Console from
the vSphere Client for the VxRail Manager VM. If an SSH session is
opened, root login is disabled as default. Log in with the mystic
account and then SU to root.
2. Log in with the user account requiring the password change.
3. Type passwd. This is the standard command that is found in UNIX
and UNIX like operating systems such as Linux.
4. Enter and verify the new password.
Locked out mystic account with root access
The mystic user account can become locked if it expires or if mistyped

three times. By default, the mystic user account is set to never expire. The
account can be unlocked by using the CLI.
Use the following steps to change the mystic password using the CLI:

Manage Passwords
1. Launch the web console of the VxRail Manager through the vSphere
Client.
2. Log in to the interface with the root user credentials.
3. Type pam_tally2 --user=mystic --reset
Once the account is unlocked, change the password by using the passwd
command.
Note: If the root account is locked, use Dell VxRail: VxRail Manager root
password is lost knowledge base article to reset the password.
Important: This procedure does not apply to VCF on VxRail

instances which instead use SDDC Manager for VxRail
password updates and rotation.
Interaction: Reset mystic User Account
The CLI Simulator has limited capabilities.

 Enter the commands in the order described in the instruction panel.
 The simulator does not hide passwords, nor does it support tab
completion of commands.
 The simulator supports copying and pasting, and using the up arrow to
retrieve previous commands.
Update the VxRail Management Account Password
For additional guidance on changing the password for the VxRail

management account, follow the SolVe Procedure.

Manage Passwords
When choosing a new password, ensure that the password

requirements are followed. To learn more about the password
requirements, use KB 000158231.
To learn more about changing the VxRail management account password,

select each tab.
Change Password Customer-supplied vCenter Server
In the following example, a customer supplied vCenter Server manages

the VxRail cluster. The management account is not a local account but a
domain account that is attached to the predefined domain, vsphere.local.
vSphere Client password change wizard

Manage Passwords
If a VxRail management account password change is required on a

customer-supplied vCenter Server, complete the following steps using
vSphere Client:
 Log in to the vSphere Client.
 Open Menu > Administration > Single Sign-On > Users and
Groups.
 Ensure that the Domain is selected, not localos.
 Select and EDIT the VxRail Management account.
 Enter and Confirm the new password.
 Click SAVE.
Change Password VxRail-managed vCenter Server
For cases with a VxRail-managed vCenter Server, the VxRail

management account is a local account that is managed by vCenter. The
customer selects the username during the initial deployment.
VxRail-managed vCenter Server Enable BASH Shell menu

Manage Passwords
If a VxRail Management user password change is required on a VxRail-

managed vCenter Server, complete the following steps using vSphere
Client:
 Log in to vCenter Server using HTML5 Client (default) or vSphere Web
Client with administrative privileges.
 Go to Shortcuts > VMs and Templates > VMware vCenter Server
Appliance.
 Click the console and log in as root.
 Select Troubleshooting Mode Options.
 Press ENTER to have the BASH Shell enabled.
 Press ALT+F1 to access the login shell and log in as root.
 Type the command: passwd <management user>
 Enter and verify a new password.
Change ESXi Management Password
If a VxRail Management user password change is required on an ESXi

host, complete the following steps using vSphere Client:
 Open the Host Client – browse https://<FQDN -or-IP-Address-of-
ESXi-Host>/ui.
 Log in as root.
 Go to Host > Manage > Security & users > Users.
 Select the VxRail management user, click Edit user.
 Enter and confirm the new password.
 Click Save.

Manage Passwords
Edit the management user on the ESXi Host
Sync Password with VxRail Manager
VxRail Manager password page for vCenter Server management accounts
When the VxRail Management account password is changed, a health

monitoring warning message is displayed. To resolve this warning, the
password must be resynced with VxRail Manager.
To sync the password change with VxRail Manager:

 Log in to the vCenter UI.
 Go to Menu > VxRail.
 Click Update Passwords link.
 Enter the updated password and click Submit.

Manage Passwords
Interaction: Change the VxRail Management Account

Password in a Customer-Supplied vCenter
Interaction: Change the VxRail Management Account

on a VMware Host Client

VxRail 7.0.XXX Administration On-Demand Lab
A stand-alone lab is available to practice the administration tasks that

were presented within this course. Key focus areas include management
interfaces, managing cluster configurations, resource provisioning and
expansion, monitoring, managing availability, and basic troubleshooting.
The objectives of the lab are to:

 Explore the Management Functionality of the VxRail Plugin.
 Manage a VxRail cluster using vCenter and the VxRail Manager Plugin
for vCenter.
 Configure and provision resources on a VxRail cluster.
 Monitor system status, health, and performance.
 Maintain the system and troubleshoot basic system issues.
Lab Activities: Complete the VxRail Administration lab activities

with the applicable link:
Partner/Customer
Internal

You Have Completed This Content
Click the Save Progress and Exit button in the course menu or
below to record this content as complete.
Go to the next learning or assessment, if applicable.

Appendix
Licensing Options for VxRail

Listed below are licensing options and considerations for VxRail:
VxRail included software licenses.
 VxRail includes 60-day evaluation licenses for vSphere ESXi and

vSAN however, permanent licenses must be purchased separately.
 Customers can bring their own vSphere and vSAN licenses or licenses
can be purchased from Dell, VMware channel partners, or directly from
VMware.
 VxRail supports several vSphere licenses including Standard,
Enterprise Plus, and Remote Office Branch Office (ROBO).
 VxRail supports flexible vSAN licensing options including Standard,
Advanced, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus.
 The vCenter Server license in VxRail is for the included VxRail-
managed vCenter Server and is not transferable to a customer-
supplied vCenter Server.

Appendix
 VxRail includes a standard license for VMware vRealize Log Insight

which is used with a VxRail-managed vCenter Server.
 VxRail includes 15 RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines licenses per G
series chassis and five licenses for all other node types.
 A vSAN license is not required for Dynamic nodes.
VMware vSphere and vSAN Editions VxRail Feature

Comparison
To learn about vSphere and vSAN editions VxRail feature comparisons,
select each tab below.
vSphere Editions VxRail Feature Comparison
VxRail features with vSphere VxRail features with vSphere

Enterprise Plus edition Standard edition
Automated workload rebalancing Manual workload balancing (no

(Distributed Resource Scheduler) Distributed Resource Scheduler)
and affinity rules
Automated maintenance mode Manual maintenance mode (no

(Distributed Resource Scheduler) Distributed Resource Scheduler)
Automated, one-click software Automated, one-click software

updates updates
Dynamic nodes support No dynamic nodes support
vGPU support No vGPU support
For more information about VMware vSphere licensing, see the VMware
vSphere Compute Virtualization - Licensing, pricing and packaging guide

Appendix
vSAN Editions VxRail Feature Comparison
Feature vSAN vSAN vSAN vSAN

Standard Advanced Enterprise Enterprise
Edition Edition Edition Plus Edition
Deduplication
and
Compression
RAID 5/6
Erasure
Coding
vRealize
Operations
within
vCenter
Data-at-Rest
Encryption
Stretched
Cluster with
Local Failure
File Services
VMware HCI
Mesh
vROPS 8
Advanced
Services

Appendix
For more information about VMware vSAN licensing, see the VMware
vSAN - licensing, pricing, and packaging guide.
vSphere Encryption and vSAN Data-At-Rest Encryption

Differences
The table presents the key differences between vSphere encryption and
vSAN Data-At-Rest encryption.
vSphere Encryption
vSphere Encryption
 Applied on a VM basis
 Supported with vSAN deduplication and compression (minimal space
savings for encrypted VMs)
vSAN Data-At-Rest Encryption

Appendix
vSAN Data-At-Rest Encryption
 Applied to entire datastore

 Supported with vSAN deduplication and compression
vSAN Capacity Page

Monitor > vSAN > Capacity > RESERVATIONS AND ALERTS

Appendix
Access Reservation and Alerts dialog through vSAN Capacity page
vSAN Services Page

Configure > vSAN > Services > Reservation and Alerts
Access Reservation and Alerts dialog through vSAN Services page

Appendix
Minimum Number of Fault Domains

The tables show the minimum number of fault domains that are required
to support various Failures to tolerate settings.
Number of failures to Mirror copies Minimum number of

tolerate fault domains
1 2 3
2 3 5
3 4 7
Number of Failures to Erasure Coding Minimum Number of

1 RAID 5 4
2 RAID 6 6

The table shows the vSAN Advanced Policy Rules.
Number of disk stripes per Minimum number of capacity drives

object across which each replica of a virtual
machine object is striped. Default is one
(recommended). Maximum value is 12.
IOPs limit for object IOPs is calculated as the number of I/O

operations using a weighted size. If the
system uses the default base size of 32
KB, a 64 KB I/O represents two I/O
operations.

Appendix
Object space reservation The percentage of the logical size of the

virtual machine object that must be
reserved when deploying a virtual
machine. Default is Thin Provisioning.
Flash read cache reservation Flash capacity reserved as read cache

(%) for the virtual machine object. The value
is specified as a percentage of the
logical size of the virtual machine disk
object. Other objects cannot use the
reserved flash capacity. Unreserved
flash is shared among all objects. Flash
read cache reservation (%) is only
applicable for hybrid configurations and
should only be changed with input from
support
Disable object checksum The setting is disabled by default; the

object calculates checksum information
to ensure the integrity of its data. If
enabled, the object does not calculate
checksum information.
Force Provisioning The setting is disabled by default. If

enabled, the object is provisioned even if
the datastore is incompatible with the
storage policy.

Appendix
Edit VM Storage Policies - Policy Assigned on a Per

Object Basis
Edit VM Storage Policies - Policy assigned on a per object basis.

Appendix
Mount Remote vSAN Datastore - Unsuccessful

Compatibility Check
Mount Remote Datastore wizard - Unsuccessful compatibility check due to cluster

connectivity issues
Planning Considerations for Scalability

 A cluster can have between 2-64 nodes13.
 All nodes in a cluster must run the same version of VxRail software.
 All-flash, all-NVMe, and Hybrid nodes cannot be mixed in the same
cluster. However, mixing of all-flash and all-NVMe nodes in a cluster is
allowed.
13
Clusters running at 1 GbE base network speed are limited to a maximum of eight
nodes. 1 GbE base network speed is only supported with hybrid single processor nodes.

Appendix
 AMD-based nodes and Intel-based nodes cannot be mixed in the

same cluster.
 All G Series nodes in a chassis must be identical. A G series chassis
can be partially populated.
 All nodes in the cluster must run the same base network speed (25
GbE, 10 GbE, or 1 GbE).
VxRail Node Discovery Methods

Automatic Discovery
VMware Loudmouth is a service that runs on VxRail nodes and the VxRail
Manager VM. The service enables automatic discovery of nodes. The
service is used during Initial cluster configuration, cluster expansion, and
failed node replacement. Loudmouth is an implementation of Zero
Configuration Networking which enables networking without having to
configure a DHCP, DNS, and static network settings. Loudmouth uses
IPv6 multicast network protocol
When powered on, VxRail Manager uses IPv6 multicast network protocols
to discover VxRail nodes. The IPv6 multicast traffic is sent over an internal
management network that is used for discovery only. The default VLAN ID
assigned to the internal management network is 3939 and can be
changed.
VxRail Automatic Discovery Architecture

Appendix
IP Address (Manual) Discovery
The IP address discovery option is a manual method for detecting cluster

nodes. Each VxRail node management IP address is manually set in the
ESXi shell on the node. On the primary node, the VxRail Manager VM is
manually configured with an IP address. The external management
network is used for IP address discovery.
The IP address discovery option is used when the customer has concerns
about using either IPv6 or multicast network protocols. Since nodes are
available over the external management network, the default ESXi root
password can be changed to address security concerns.
Examples of Disk Slot Placement for VxRail Models

The disk slot placements for cache and capacity disks are VxRail model
dependent.
Example 1 - VxRail P570
The disk slots are numbered 0 through 23 starting from left to right. Slots 0
through 19 are capacity disk slots. Slots 20 through 23 are cache disk
slots. In the example slots 4, 9, 13 through 19, and 23 are available for
expansion.
VxRail P570 front view - Disk slot placement
Example 2 - VxRail E660F
The disk slots are numbered 0 through 9 starting from upper left to bottom
right. Slots 0 through 7 are capacity disk slots. Slots 8 and 9 are cache
disk slots. In the example, slots 3 and 7 are available for expansion.

Appendix
VxRail E660F front view- Disk slot placement
VxVerify
VxVerify is a tool for checking the health of the nodes and the service
VMs. It is designed to detect issues that could cause complications or
failures during VxRail LCM upgrades. VxVerify is run from the VxRail
Manager. It automatically uploads and runs scripts against each ESXi
node and system VM and then analyzes the collected data. Since the tool
is updated regularly, ensure you have the latest version before using it.
Acquire the latest version of the tool before using it. Follow KB 21527 for
instructions on how to run VxVerify.
In the below example, VxVerify is copied over to the VxRail Manager

virtual machine. An Administrator with root credentials runs the python
script. Any issues that the script identifies must be resolved before
performing an LCM upgrade.

Appendix
Output of VxVerify python script

Appendix
VxRail Node with Unused NIC Ports
VxRail node - Physical adapters view showing unused NIC ports

Glossary
Component
vSAN breaks the objects into smaller chunks of data and ensure that the
copies of data are placed on different hosts across a cluster. Components
represent a chunk of data that are contained within an object.
Failures to Tolerate (FTT)

The number of failures to tolerate, decide how many copies of the object
are required. For example: FTT=1 is 2 copies, FTT=2 is 3 copies, and
FTT=3 is 4 copies. This count includes the original object itself but not the
witness.
Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)

Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) is an IEEE standards-based
protocol for dynamic link aggregation. Support for LACP, the selection of
load-balancing algorithms and the formation of link aggregation on the
physical switches depends on the switch. Switch vendors brand the
feature using names such as ‘Ether-Channel’, ‘Ethernet trunk’, or
‘MultiLink Trunking’.
Link Aggregation Group (LAG)

A LAG is an instance of link aggregation. LAGs configured on a vSphere
Distributed Switch and adjacent physical switches are peered to enable
load-balancing and failure protection.
Maximum Transmission Unit

Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) is the largest packet or frame size that
can be sent in a packet- or frame-based network.
Multi-chassis Link Aggregation (MLAG)

Multichassis link aggregation support is required for load balancing across
switches. Switch vendors brand this feature with different names. For
example, Cisco Virtual Port Channel, or Dell VLT Port Channel.
NIC Port Aliases

On a VxRail node physical NIC, ports start at number zero and go up to
four, depending on the port count on the NIC. ESXi assigns aliases to
these ports. The aliases are assigned first to the integrated NIC and then
the PCI NICs in order of location on the PCI bus. The aliases start with
"vmnic" and count from "vmnic0" to "vmnicX" where X is the total number
of ports across all NICs.
Primary (Preferred) Data Site

The Primary (preferred) data site is where the virtual machines run during
normal operations. However, in an active/active configuration, the virtual
machines can run on either data site. When network connectivity between
the data sites is lost and both sites have connectivity to the Witness, the
Witness chooses the Primary site to remain active.
Proxy Node
A Proxy node is a VxRail node with a manually assigned static ESXi
management IP address on the new Layer 3 network segment. It is used
to discover the other VxRail nodes in that network segment.
RAID 1 Mirroring
Mirroring can accommodate an FTT setting of 1, 2, or 3. If FTM is set to
mirroring, for the N number of failures that are tolerated, N+1 copies of the
object are created. Mirroring requires witness components. The number of
witnesses is equal to the FTT setting. RAID 1 with FTT setting of 1
requires a minimum of 3 hosts. RAID 1 with FTT setting of 2 requires a
minimum of 5 hosts and, RAID 1 with FTT setting of 3 requires a minimum
of 7 hosts.
RAID 5 Erasure Coding

Erasure coding can only accommodate FTT=1 (RAID 5) or FTT=2 (RAID
6). Erasure coding does not require a witness disk stripe per object.
Objects are objects on disk like snapshots, VMDK files, and witnesses.
VMware recommends leaving the default value of one. Force provisioning
can be used to override select variables. RAID 5 (Erasure coding) with
FTT setting of 1 requires a minimum of 4 hosts.
RAID 6 Erasure Coding

RAID 6 (Erasure Coding) with FTT setting of 2 requires a minimum of 6
hosts.

Round Trip Time (RTT)
RRT is a measure of the network latency between two sites. It is the time
that it takes to receive a response after initiating a network request.
Secondary Data Site

If the primary (preferred) data site is unavailable, VMware HA restarts
VMs on the secondary data site.
VM-Host Affinity rule

A VM-Host affinity rule specifies if members of a VM DRS group should or
must run on members of a host DRS group.
VxRail-managed vCenter
A vCenter that is deployed during an initial VxRail cluster build and is
upgraded using VxRail Manager.
Witness
The witness host is an appliance or a physical ESXi host which does not
store VM data. However, it does store the witness components for each
VM object.
Witness Traffic Separation (WTS)

Witness Traffic Separation (WTS) allows an alternate VMkernel interface
to be designated to carry Witness traffic. This feature supports more
flexible network configurations by allowing separate networks for node-to-
node and node-to-witness traffic.


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ESCPXD05344 ~ VXRAIL

© Copyright 2023 Dell Inc Page 2

VxRail Administration 7.0.XXX 11

VxRail Cluster Architecture and Deployment Options 12

License VxRail Using the vSphere Client 34

Manage VxRail Using the VxRail Plugin for vCenter Server 43

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© Copyright 2023 Dell Inc Page 3

Explain the vSAN Configuration of a VxRail Cluster 69

Monitor the vSAN Health, Capacity, and Performance of a VxRail Cluster 78

Configure vSAN Services 89

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Manage and Use vSAN Storage Policies 107

Manage vSAN HCI Mesh 122

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Generate VxRail Procedures with SolVe 153

Perform Cluster Expansion (Add Nodes) 171

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Perform VxRail Manager File-Based Backup 192

Perform VxRail Software Upgrade 200

Manage VxRail Networking 213

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© Copyright 2023 Dell Inc Page 7

Manage a Stretched Cluster 229

Perform VxRail Troubleshooting 248

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Perform Power Control Operations on a VxRail Cluster 277

Manage TLS Certificates 283

Manage Passwords 290

VxRail 7.0.XXX Administration On-Demand Lab 297

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VxRail Administration 7.0.XXX

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VxRail Cluster Architecture and Deployment

VxRail Architecture Overview - Hardware Components

In a VxRail environment, the cluster is the primary unit of deployment.

An Example of a Standard VxRail Cluster Hardware Architecture

A standard VxRail cluster is made up of the following hardware

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VxRail Architecture Overview - Software Components

To learn about the VxRail software components, select each tab.

VMware Technologies Components Architecture of a VxRail Cluster

 ESXi - A customized hypervisor that is installed locally onto VxRail

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VxRail Manager Architecture

VxRail Manager - A virtual machine that provides the discrete UI for

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