Dell EMC VxRail™ 7.0.

x
Administration Guide
Version 7.0.x

December 2021
Rev. 10
Notes, cautions, and warnings

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid
the problem.

WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.

© 2020 – 2021 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries.
Other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners.
 Contents
Revision history..........................................................................................................................................................................4

Chapter 1: Introduction................................................................................................................. 5
Register for a Dell Technologies Support account......................................................................................................5
Use SolVe Online for VxRail procedures........................................................................................................................ 5
Locate your VxRail serial number.................................................................................................................................... 6
Locate your VxRail serial number in VxRail Manager............................................................................................ 6
Locate your physical VxRail serial number...............................................................................................................6
Access VxRail content using the QRL............................................................................................................................ 7

Chapter 2: VxRail features and components.................................................................................. 8

Features................................................................................................................................................................................. 8
VxRail cluster expansion.................................................................................................................................................... 9
VxRail deployment options for VMware vCenter Server......................................................................................... 10

Chapter 3: VxRail Manager Overview............................................................................................ 11

VxRail Manager administrative tasks............................................................................................................................. 11
Configure VxRail clusters..................................................................................................................................................11
Configure VxRail satellite nodes..................................................................................................................................... 12
Configure iDRAC.......................................................................................................................................................... 13
Monitor VxRail.................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Shut down a VxRail cluster..............................................................................................................................................13
Adding a VxRail host to a cluster................................................................................................................................... 14
Remove a VxRail host from a cluster............................................................................................................................ 14

Chapter 4: License VxRail............................................................................................................ 15

Chapter 5: Manage VxRail account passwords............................................................................. 16

Chapter 6: Other administrative tasks......................................................................................... 17

VxRail administration tasks.............................................................................................................................................. 17

Chapter 7: Replace VxRail hardware............................................................................................ 20

Chapter 8: Set up external NFS and VMFS over iSCSI and FC datastores..................................... 21
Set up external NFS storage........................................................................................................................................... 21
Set up external VMFS over iSCSI storage...................................................................................................................21
Set up external VMFS over FC storage.......................................................................................................................22

Chapter 9: VMware components..................................................................................................23

Contents 3
 Revision history
Date Revision Description of change
December 1, 2021 10 Editorial updates.
November 4, 2021 09 Updated for VxRail 7.0.300.
September 21, 2021 08 Updated for VxRail 7.0.240 with VMware vLCM.
September 10, 2021 07 Updated for VxRail self-deployment support.
September 8, 2021 06 Updated for VxRail 7.0.240.
July 13, 2021 05 Updated for VxRail 7.0.210.
May 5, 2021 04 Updated for VxRail 7.0.200.
October 30, 2020 03 Updated for VxRail 7.0.100.
July 30, 2020 02 Updated for VxRail 7.0.010.
April 28, 2020 01 Initial release to support VxRail 7.0.000.

4 Revision history
 1
Introduction
This document provides administrative tasks for VxRail.
The target audience for this document includes customers, field personnel, and partners who want to manage and operate
VxRail clusters.
This document is designed for people familiar with:
● Dell Technologies systems and software
● VMware virtualization products
● Data center appliances and infrastructure
● SolVe Online for VxRail
Create a Support account to access resources for your VxRail. Link your Support account with VxRail Manager to access
resources without a separate login. If you already have an account, register your VxRail to access the available resources.
See the VxRail Documentation Quick Reference List for a complete list of VxRail documentation.

Register for a Dell Technologies Support account

Create a Support account to access support resources.

About this task

After you register, you can:
● Obtain product license files and software updates.
● Download VxRail product documentation.
● Access SolVe Online for VxRail, or download the SolVe Desktop application for hardware replacement and upgrade
procedures.
● Browse the VxRail community and support information.
● Link your support account for access to resources from within VxRail Manager.
For Secure Remote Services, link your Support account to VxRail Manager under the same party ID. Verify that your VxRail is in
an installed state in the Install Base.

CAUTION: For Secure Remote Services, the deployment fails if the same party ID is not used.

Steps
1. Go to Dell Technologies Support.
2. Click Sign In and select Create an account.
3. Enter your first name, last name, email address, and preferred password.
4. Select whether you would like to subscribe to email updates.
5. Click Create an Account.
Wait for a confirmation email within 48 hours.

Use SolVe Online for VxRail procedures

Step-by-step instructions for procedures such as replacing hardware or performing system administrative tasks are available
through SolVe Online.
You must have an online support account to use SolVe Online. Go to SolVe Online for VxRail to access SolVe. For more
information about SolVe for VxRail, see KB 000022572.

Introduction 5
To avoid potential data loss, see the VxRail procedures in SolVe Online or the SolVe Desktop application before performing any
hardware replacement or upgrade activity.
CAUTION: Potential data loss may occur if SolVe Online is not used to perform hardware replacements or
upgrades.

Locate your VxRail serial number

If you need to contact Dell Technologies Support about your VxRail, you must provide the VxRail serial number (also called the
"PSNT").
You can look up a serial number in VxRail Manager or locate the serial number printed on the physical appliance.

Locate your VxRail serial number in VxRail Manager

The PSNT represents the VxRail serial number in VxRail Manager.

Steps
1. On the VMware vSphere Client, click Hosts and Clusters.
2. Select your VxRail cluster.
3. Select the Monitor tab.
4. Select VxRail > Appliances from the inner left navigation bar.
5. Click Open physical view for this cluster.
The VxRail serial number displays in the Appliance PSNT field.

Locate your physical VxRail serial number

Locate your VxRail serial number for D, E, G, P, S, and V models based on PowerEdge servers.

About this task

The following figure shows the product serial number tag (PSNT) location on VxRail models:

Steps
1. At the front of the VxRail, in the upper right corner of the chassis, locate the luggage tag.
2. Pull out the blue-tabbed luggage tag.
3. Locate the serial number label on the pull-out tag.
The PSTN is the 14-digit number that is on front edge of the luggage tag.

6 Introduction
Access VxRail content using the QRL
Use the service tag or QRL code on the Dell QRL site to access VxRail information for 660 and 670 models.

About this task

For VxRail 660 and 670 models, a QRL was added to the luggage tag that can be used to obtain factory configuration and
warranty information. You can also enter the service tag to access information.

Steps
1. On the VxRail luggage tag, locate the QRL or service tag.

2. Using the camera on your phone or laptop, use QRL code on the service tag to access information specific to your VxRail.
You can also go qrl.dell.com, to enter the service tag information.

Introduction 7
 2
VxRail features and components
VxRail delivers virtualization, compute, and storage in a scalable, easy to manage system. VxRail provides centralized
management, orchestration, and life cycle management.
VxRail includes the VxRail Manager Plugin for VMware vCenter Server, known throughout this document as VxRail Manager.
The VxRail minimum cluster configuration consists of three nodes with a maximum of 64 nodes. VMware two-node models hold
one to two nodes in a rack mount chassis.
The following table provides an overview of VxRail resources:

Resource Component
Management ● Provides a software stack for SDDC building blocks that include compute, network, storage,
and management.
● Monitor system health with deep hardware intelligence and a UI.
● View software versions and updates and upgrade system software.
● Access Support, e-Services, the user forum and Knowledge Base.
● Access qualified software products with VxRail Market.
● Replace hardware, add drives, and cycle power to the cluster or nodes.
● Add and remove nodes in the cluster.
VxRail SaaS multicluster management provides centralized data collection and analytics to
streamline monitoring VxRail clusters and improve serviceability. Use this information to manage
the performance and capacity of your pre-engineered HCI.
Storage ● VMware vSAN
● Virtualization infrastructure administrators manage storage on a per-VM basis. Storage
policies are defined at VM level for provisioning and load balancing.
Virtualization ● VMware vSphere, including VMware ESXi
● VMware vCenter Server
● VMware Loudmouth autodiscovery
VMs RecoverPoint for VMs, among other applications.

Features
VxRail offers advanced features including automatic deployment, automatic scale-out, fault tolerance, and diagnostic logging.

Automatic deployment
The VxRail Manager fully automates the installation and configuration of all nodes into a cluster after you input the network
settings and complete configuration settings.

Automatic scale-out
VxRail provides automated scale-out functionality by detecting a VxRail node at power-on. VxRail automatically performs
scale-out by adding the node to the cluster.
With multi-node expansion, you can add up to six VxRail nodes into the same cluster in parallel, reducing the time that is
required to expand your cluster. VxRail Manager can also use VMware Loudmouth autodiscovery capabilities that are based on
the RFC-recognized Zero Network Configuration (ZNC) protocol. Loudmouth runs on each VMware ESXi host and on the VxRail
Manager VM. With VMware Loudmouth, you can automatically discover and configure VxRail on your network. Loudmouth

8 VxRail features and components

enables VxRail Manager to discover all the nodes and automate the configuration. Loudmouth requires IPv6 multicast which is
limited to the management VLAN that the nodes use for communication.

Node failure tolerance

VxRail tolerates node failures when using VMware vSAN, as defined by the VMware vSAN policy. VxRail implements the
following standard VMware vSAN policy of one failure by default:
● An entire node can fail and the system continues to function.
● Disk failure cannot affect more than one node.
● One cache disk can affect as many as six capacity disks (HDD/SSD).
● One network port on any node can fail without affecting the node.
VxRail Manager configures network failover through the virtual switch configuration in VMware ESXi during initial setup.

Logging and log bundles

VxRail Manager provides logging and log bundles that provide operation and event information about your VxRail cluster.

Scale-out
For scale-out, VxRail Manager can use VMware Loudmouth autodiscovery capabilities, if enabled, that are based on the
RFC-recognized Zero Network Configuration protocol. Loudmouth runs on each VMware ESXi host and on the VxRail Manager
VM. With VMware Loudmouth, you can automatically discover and configure VxRail on your network. Loudmouth enables VxRail
Manager to discover all the nodes and automate the configuration. Loudmouth requires IPv6 multicast which is limited to the
management VLAN that the nodes use for communication.

VxRail cluster expansion

The VxRail automated installation and scale-out features make it easy to expand your cluster from a minimum of three nodes.
With the VxRail multinode expansion, you can perform cluster expansion with up to six nodes in parallel, reducing the time that is
required to achieve greater compute and storage capacity.
The VxRail minimum cluster configuration consists of three nodes with a maximum of 64 nodes. VMware two-node models hold
one to two nodes in a rack mount chassis.

Guidelines to deploy a mixed cluster

You can mix different VxRail models in the same cluster. Use the following guidelines to deploy a mixed cluster:
● The first three nodes in a cluster must be of the same type and configuration. The VxRail G560 requires three nodes.
● All VxRail systems in the cluster must be running VxRail 7.0.000 or higher.
● VxRail does not support Quanta hardware.
● You cannot use one GbE networking in clusters with 10 GbE or 25 GbE networking. You cannot use 10 GbE networking in
clusters with 25 GbE networking.
● You can only add VxRail Intel-based nodes into a cluster with other Intel-based nodes. You can only add VxRail AMD-based
nodes into a cluster with other AMD-based nodes.
● You cannot use hybrid nodes in clusters with all-flash or all-NVMe nodes.

Considerations to expand a cluster

Before adding nodes to your cluster, evaluate all cluster modifications after deployment.
The following changes may cause an issue with a node addition:
● Adding a VIB to the cluster, such as RecoverPoint for VMs, VMware NSX-V or NSX-T, NVIDIA GPU, or other third-party
VIBs.

VxRail features and components 9

● Configuring jumbo frames on the cluster.
● Enabling vSAN encryption.
● Installing external storage targets in the cluster, such as iSCSI, NFS, or FC.
● Installing an additional VMware VDS.
● Configuring a stretched cluster.
● Performing security hardening on the cluster.
If any of these changes were made after the cluster was deployed, ensure that the new node is placed in maintenance mode and
matching adjustments are applied before taking the node out of maintenance mode.

VxRail deployment options for VMware vCenter

Server
A VxRail cluster can join an existing external VMware vCenter Server during initial configuration. With a remote VMware
vCenter Server, you can manage multiple VxRail clusters from a single pane-of-glass.
An external VMware vCenter server can be installed as internal or external to the VxRail cluster.
Depending on the VMware vCenter Server location and source, the scope of VxRail management may differ. The following table
as describes the types of management:

VMware Cluster type Deployed internal to Deployed external to VxRail scope of

vCenter VxRail cluster VxRail cluster management
Server source
Internal Regular Default and preferred Not supported Multiple clusters
Stretched Supported Not supported Multiple clusters
vSAN 2-node Not supported Not supported Multiple clusters
External Regular Supported Supported Multiple clusters
Stretched Supported Supported and Multiple clusters
preferred
vSAN 2-node Not supported Default Multiple clusters

The external VMware vCenter Server can be:

● Physical or virtual
● Windows or VMware vCSA
● Embedded or non-embedded deployed with an Embedded VMware PSC
To join an existing, external VMware vCenter Server, provide an existing data center and a non-conflicting cluster name during
the initial configuration. The VxRail joins the data center as a VMware vSAN cluster with the specified cluster name.
Consider the following when using your VxRail with an external VMware vCenter Server:
● Ensure that the external VMware vCenter Server version is listed in the KB 520355.
● Provide a VMware vCenter Server license.

10 VxRail features and components

 3
VxRail Manager Overview
VxRail Manager is a plug-in for the VMware vCenter Server that allows you to administer your VxRail clusters without leaving
the HTML5 VMware vSphere Client.
The VxRail Manager is installed in your VMware vCenter Server during the installation or upgrade of VxRail software.
For versions of VxRail Manager earlier than 4.7.100, the following changes apply:
● VxRail Manager replaces the VxRail Manager web interface.
● If you try to log in to the VxRail Manager web user interface, you are redirected to the VMware HTML5 vSphere Client
interface.
● The plug-in does not replace the VxRail Manager VM on each VxRail cluster.
The location and presentation of the functionality provides an integrated experience within the VMware vSphere Client.

VxRail Manager administrative tasks

VxRail Manager combined with procedures obtained through SolVe Online for VxRail can be used to manage your VxRail.
You can configure, add or remove hosts, or shut down VxRail clusters with VxRail Manager. In addition you can configure
satellite noes, including iDRAC and view Secure Remote Services and system health information.

Configure VxRail clusters

You can view and configure VxRail cluster parameters in the VMware vSphere Client. Procedures to perform cluster
configurations using the VMware vSphere Client are provided in VxRail Manager.
Go the VMware Docs for more information about using the VMware vSphere Client.
Cluster parameters include:
● System: Display the version of VxRail Manager software running and allows VxRail update.
● Updates: Perform cluster-level VxRail system upgrades and view compliance reports.
● Certificate: Update the VxRail certificate.
● Market: Access qualified applications to install and run on your VxRail cluster.
● Hosts: View or modify the hosts within the VxRail cluster, also add hosts to the VxRail cluster
● Support: Display the linked Support account and link or change to a new account. Also allows you to edit the Secure
Remote Services configuration.
● Networking: Display the proxy status, configure proxy settings for Internet connections, and configure traffic throttling.
● Health Monitoring: Enable health monitoring or disable system health monitoring for maintenance purposes.
● Troubleshooting: Display the last several collected logs and generate a customized log bundle using types and nodes.

Secure Remote Services

Secure Remote Services provides secure, automated access between Support and your VxRail. Install and activate an integrated
Secure Remote Services or register to an External Secure Remote Services gateway to enable some features in VxRail Manager.
You must have a support account before you enable Secure Remote Services. To set up Secure Remote Services, link your
Online Support account to VxRail Manager under the same party ID.
Using the VMware vSphere Client, you can enable integrated and external Secure Remote Services for VxRail.
An optional part of using Secure Remote Services is providing usage data to the Dell customer experience improvement
program. You decide the level of data about your VxRail environment that is collected. The types of data that is collected include
environmental usage, performance, capacity, and configuration information. Dell uses this information to improve VxRail and
your experience.

VxRail Manager Overview 11

SaaS multi-cluster management features
The MyVxRail web portal provides access to SaaS multi-cluster management and analytics of your VxRail systems.
For each cluster, perform the following:
● Enable your Dell Technologies Support account.
● Configure Secure Remote Services.
● Opt into the Customer Improvement Program.
You can access the MyVxRail web portal from VxRail Manager.

Convert an internal VMware vCenter Server to an external VMware

vCenter Server
This is a one-way conversion from internal VMware vCenter Server to an external VMware vCenter. You cannot convert
an external-managed VMware vCenter Server to a VxRail-managed VMware vCenter Server. After converting to an external-
managed VMware vCenter server, the server and PSC life cycle are not managed by VxRail Manager.

Enable VMware vLCM (optional)

Use the VMware vSphere Client to enable VMware vSphere Lifecycle manager (vLCM). You cannot reverse VMware vLCM
once enabled. With VMware vLCM, the VxRail native LCM backend is not used for host upgrades in that cluster. If VMware
vLCM is enabled on VxRail clusters, you must manually upgrade the VMware vSAN disk format after the hosts are upgraded.

Update system software

Use SolVe Online for VxRail to generate the specific procedure to follow when updating your VxRail system software. You
can also install and use the SolVe Desktop application on your Windows system. Dell Technologies continually updates the
information in SolVe to ensure that the latest versions, procedures, and notes are available. Whenever you plan to perform
service of any kind on your VxRail environment, generate the SolVe procedure first to ensure that you have the latest content.
To upgrade from a release lower than 7.0.240, do not use VMware vLCM or VMware VUM to update components managed
by VxRail Manager. You may not be able to update your system software if your cluster is in an unhealthy state or has critical
health alarms. Open a service request, or contact your sales representative or reseller to arrange help in updating your system.

Configure VxRail satellite nodes

The VxRail Manager allows you to configure certain parameters that apply to the hosts in your VxRail cluster.
VxRail uses satellite nodes to provide simplicity, agility, and automation. Satellite nodes are used to address more edge use cases
with single node deployments. Satellite nodes extend VxRail operational model and efficiencies to edge sites while automating
day-to-day operations, health monitoring, and lifecycle management. This service is provided from a centralized location without
the need for local technical or specialized resources.
The satellite nodes are managed by a VxRail cluster with VMware vSAN that has been upgraded to 7.0.300, or later. Only
a VxRail cluster with an external VMware vCenter can manage satellite nodes. The VxRail Manager VM that is deployed can
control all satellite nodes from a centralized host management location in the VMware vCenter. Using VxRail Manager, you can
add, remove, and update satellite nodes from one access point.
The host folder is used to logically group the VxRail satellite nodes together.
From the VMware vSphere Client, you can perform the following:
● Configure iDRAC
● Add, edit, or remove a host folder
● Add a node to a folder
● Upgrade the folder
● Remove a host
Go to VxRail Manager for configuration steps that use the VMware vSphere Client. Go the VMware Docs for more information
about using the VMware vSphere Client.

12 VxRail Manager Overview

Configure iDRAC
Configure iDRAC for the VxRail host.

Steps
1. From the VMware vSphere Client, click Hosts and Clusters.
2. Select the VxRail host in the left navigation bar and then click the Configure tab.
3. Select VxRail > iDRAC Configuration from the inner left navigation bar.
4. Click Edit next to IPv4 Settings, modify the settings, and click Apply.
5. Click Edit next to VLAN Settings, modify the settings, and click Apply.
6. To add an iDRAC user, click Add next to the Users section, enter the user information, and click Apply.

Monitor VxRail
Monitor the health of your VxRail by viewing the health of components in the VMware vSphere Client.

Secure Remote Services

You can verify your VxRail Secure Remote Services "heartbeat" (the last time your system that is communicated with the
remote support service). You can also review the configuration data that was sent to Secure Remote Services.
Your VxRail can use Secure Remote Services either integrated on the cluster, or through an external Secure Remote Services
gateway. Use VxRail Manager for steps to install and enable Secure Remote Services on your VxRail using the VMware vSphere
Client.

Physical system health

VxRail Manager provides steps you can use to monitor the physical health of the VxRail. Procedures are conducted using the
VMware vSphere Client. In VxRail Manager, procedures are provided to monitor the following VxRail components:
● Health, status, and event information
● Disk information and manage the disk locator LED
● Nodes
● Power supply
● NIC status
Go the VMware Docs for more information about using the VMware vSphere Client.

Shut down a VxRail cluster

Shut down your VxRail cluster from VxRail Manager.

About this task

See SolVe Online for VxRail to generate a VxRail procedure. When you shut down a cluster, VxRail Manager automatically does
the following:
● Shuts down related VMs and services
● Performs system health diagnostics and maintenance mode diagnostics
● Indicates any errors or conditions that prevent shutting down

Steps
1. From the VMware vSphere Client, click Hosts and Clusters and select the VxRail cluster that you want.
2. Select the Actions menu next to the cluster name, and select VxRail > Shut Down.
3. Click Next to continue shutting down.

VxRail Manager Overview 13

 VxRail Manager begins a precheck of the system and displays the progress on the Validate page.
4. If the shutdown precheck process fails, VxRail Manager lists error messages. Resolve any issues and retry by clicking Back
and then Next.
5. On the Confirm Operation page, click Next to initiate the shutdown.
6. Click Close to exit.
Wait for all the LEDs to turn off.

Results
When the shutdown process is complete, VxRail Manager indicates that shutdown is successful.
If the process does not complete successfully, follow the on-screen prompts to correct any errors.

Adding a VxRail host to a cluster

Follow these steps to add a new VxRail host to an existing cluster.

Steps
1. From the main page of the vSphere Client select Hosts and Clusters from the left navigation bar.
2. Click the cluster to which you want to add a VxRail host.
3. Select the Configure tab, click VxRail > Hosts from the inner left navigation panel, and then click ADD.
The Add VxRail Hosts window is displayed, listing any discovered hosts.
4. Do one of the following:
a. To add a host within the same rack space select the host and click Add Host. This is level 2 from a network
configuration perspective.
b. To add a host from another rack space that is set up to use a TOR switch and spine switch for connectivity, click Add
Proxy and specify a proxy node from that target rack space and begin the VxRail host addition procedure. This is level 3
from a network configuration perspective.
Level 2 and level 3 models are not compatible. VxRail does not support converting from one to the other. Clicking Add Host
launches the level 2 procedure. Clicking Add Proxy triggers a wizard to identify the proxy node on another rack to start the
level 3 procedure.

Remove a VxRail host from a cluster

Remove a VxRail host from a cluster.

About this task

See SolVe Online for VxRail to generate a VxRail procedure. After a node has been removed from a cluster, you must re-image
the node before it can be re-added or re-purposed. The node is not usable until it is imaged.

Steps
1. From the main page of the vSphere Client select Hosts and Clusters from the left navigation bar.
2. Click the VxRail host that you want to remove from its cluster.
3. Click the Actions menu next to the cluster name and select VxRail > Remove VxRail Host.
The Remove Host window is displayed.
4. Enter the appropriate credentials and click Verify Credentials.
5. When the verification succeeds, click Apply to start the host removal process.
You can monitor the progress of the process in the vCenter Recent Tasks list.

14 VxRail Manager Overview

 4
License VxRail
VxRail contains pre-installed, temporary VMware vSphere and VMware vSAN evaluation licenses. These licenses must be
replaced with new licenses or existing ones to continue use VMware vSphere or VMware vSAN.
You can leverage existing VMware vSphere or VMware vSAN licenses (for example, from existing ELAs) or obtain a license
from:
● Dell Technologies direct OEM
● Dell Technologies brokerage services
● VMware direct
● Partner (resellers only)
NOTE: You do not need a VMware vSAN license to use dynamic node clusters or satellite nodes.

Work with your sales representative to ensure that you have the correct type and quantity of VMware licenses for your
environment. Go to VxRail Manager for instructions on how to set up your licenses using the My VMware portal.
Once you have your license, you can use the VMware vSphere client to assign the license to your hosts or clusters.

License VxRail 15
 5
Manage VxRail account passwords
VxRail Manager detects password changes in the VMware vCenter Server and prompts you to update the password in VxRail
Manager.
For a summary of rules for setting up accounts and passwords that are implemented by VxRail, see KB 000158231.
When a management account changes or expires, VxRail Manager mutes health monitoring and displays alerts on the Physical
View and Market pages. Go to VxRail Manager to update the following passwords:
● Internal VMware vCenter Server
● External VMware vCenter Server, with and without Embedded PSCs
● VMware ESXi management host
After VxRail Manager passwords are updated, the system returns to normal and health monitoring is unmuted.

16 Manage VxRail account passwords

 6
Other administrative tasks
You can perform various administrative tasks outside of VxRail Manager. Not every task is supported on every version of VxRail
system software.
Instructions for how to perform these tasks are found in either SolVe Online for VxRail or in the VMware vSphere
documentation.
For more information about SolVe for VxRail, refer to KB 525271.
The following sections list the administrative tasks you can perform, and where to find the instructions.

VxRail administration tasks

Administrative tasks you can perform with VxRail are provided.
For step-by-step instructions, see SolVe Online for VxRail or VMware Docs.
After Secure Remote Services is installed and activated on your VxRail, you cannot change any parameters.
The following table lists the general management tasks that you can perform with your VxRail:

General management tasks Notes

Perform AD Authentication in the external VMware vCenter Server See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Join an AD domain See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Change the DRS setting Go to VMware Docs and search for Disable DRS.
Change the VxRail cluster EVC Mode See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Change the HA setting Go to VMware Docs and search for vCenter High
Availability.
Rename the VxRail cluster See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Rename the VxRail data center (external VMware vCenter) See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Rename the VxRail data center (internal VMware vCenter) See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Rename the VxRail datastore See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Change the VxRail cluster DNS IP address (external VMware vCenter) See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Change the VxRail Cluster DNS IP Address (internal VMware vCenter) See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Change the ESXI host name and IP Address See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Change the VxRail External Management User Password See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Change the VxRail ESXi Root Password See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Configure the Syslog on ESXi hosts Go to VMware Docs. Do not store system logs or
scratch locations on the vSAN datastore.
Point to an external log server IP address See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Point to an NTP server IP address See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Rename the VM folder See SolVe Online for VxRail.

The following table lists the VMware vCSA tasks that you can perform with your VxRail:

Other administrative tasks 17

VMware vCSA Notes
Change the VxRail vSphere Components SSL Certificates for Internal See SolVe Online for VxRail.
vCSA
Change the internal VMware vCSA IP address For VxRail version 7.0.200 and later, see SolVe
Online for VxRail.
For earlier versions, contact Support

Rename the internal VMware vCSA host Applies for VxRail version 7.0.240 and later.
Rename the internal VMware vCSA VM See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Change the Internal vCSA Administrator Password See SolVe Online for VxRail.
(administrator@vsphere.local)
Change the VxRail External Management User Password See SolVe Online for VxRail.
(management@localos)
Change the password of the internal VMware vCSA root user See SolVe Online for VxRail.
(root@vCSA)
Enable Enhanced Link Mode Applies for VxRail version 7.0.200 and later.
Rename the vCSA host Applies for VxRail version 7.0.240 and later.
Rename the vCSA VM Go to VMware Docs and search for Changing a
Virtual Machine Name.
Change the password for external VMware administrator@vsphere.local Go to VMware Docs and search for Change your
vCenter Server Single Sign-on Password.
Change the VxRail External Management User Password See SolVe Online for VxRail.
(management@localos)
Change the password of the external VMware vCSA root user Go to VMware Docs and search for Change the
(root@vCSA) Password of the Root User.

The following table lists the VMware VDS tasks that you can perform with your VxRail:

VMware VDS task Notes

Add a port group on default VMware VDS Go to VMware Docs and search for Add a
Distributed Port Group.
Add a port group on a VMware VDS (Dell Node) Go to VMware Docs and search for Add a
Distributed Port Group.
Add a VMware VDS (Dell Node) Go to VMware Docs and search for Create a
vSphere Distributed Switch.
Change default VMware VDS NIOC configuration Go to VMware Docs and search for vSphere
Network I/O Control.
Change IP of vMotion network Contact Support.
Change IP of vSAN Network (internal VMware vCenter) Contact Support.
Change IP of vSAN Network (external VMware vCenter) Contact Support.
Change Physical NIC Ports of VM Network Traffic See SolVe Online for VxRail
Change VLAN ID of Management, vCenter Server, and VxRail Management Go to VMware Docs.
Network (internal VMware vCenter)
Change VLAN ID of VM networks Go to VMware Docs.
Change VLAN ID of vMotion Go to VMware Docs.
Change VLAN ID of vSAN Network Go to VMware Docs.
Enable jumbo frames See SolVe Online for VxRail.

18 Other administrative tasks

VMware VDS task Notes
Rename default port groups Go to VMware Docs.
Rename the default VMware VDS Go to VMware Docs.
Share network traffic with vSAN See SolVe Online for VxRail
Add a VMware vSphere Standard Switch (Dell Node) Go to VMware Docs.

The following table lists the iDRAC tasks that you can perform with your VxRail:

iDRAC task Notes

Change iDRAC account See Configure iDRAC or SolVe Online for VxRail.
Change iDRAC VLAN configuration See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Create a new iDRAC account See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Configure iDRAC IPv4 networking See SolVe Online for VxRail.

The following table lists the storage tasks that you can perform with your VxRail:

Storage task Notes

Connect to an iSCSI server See External storage overview.
Connect to an NFS server See External storage overview.
Enable vSAN RDMA in a VxRail cluster Applies for VxRail version 7.0.200 and later.

VxRail Manager tasks Notes

Replace the VxRail Manager SSL Certificate. See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Change the VxRail Manager VM Hostname and IP address For earlier versions earlier than 7.0.200, contact
Support.

Change the VxRail VM name See SolVe Online for VxRail.

Change the VxRail Mystic account password See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Change the VxRail root account password See SolVe Online for VxRail.
Backup and restore key VxRail Manager files for recovery purposes See SolVe Online for VxRail.

Other administrative tasks 19

 7
Replace VxRail hardware
Qualified personnel should use Solve Online for VxRail to add or replace hard components and disks or solid state drives (SSDs)
to VxRail.
Go to SolVe Online for VxRail to generate replacement and upgrade procedures. After you have procedures, go the VxRail
Manager for steps to replace or add disks to VxRail.
To avoid potential data loss, always use procedures in SolVe Online before performing any hardware replacement or upgrade
procedures.
For more information about VxRail procedures, see KB 525271. Some hardware components may require assistance from Dell
Technologies. Contact Dell Technologies Support to arrange for repair or replacement.

20 Replace VxRail hardware

 8
Set up external NFS and VMFS over iSCSI
and FC datastores
You can use external storage along with VxRails on-board storage resources. VxRail supports NFS datastores and VMFS
datastores over iSCSI and FC. External storage has no impact on VxRail features such as upgrades, reset, and cluster shutdown.
You can scale VxRail compute resources separately from storage capacity to improve overall hardware usage levels. Use an
external storage array such as Dell EMC Unity, VNX, Isilon, or Windows/Linux storage services to provide additional storage for
your VxRail cluster.
Manage external storage arrays separately. You cannot use the automated workflows in VxRail Manager for VMware vSphere
storage configuration and management with external datastores. Using the VMware vSphere Client, you can perform the
following:
● Configure NFS, iSCSI, and FC on the VMware ESXi hosts in the VxRail cluster.
● Create NFS datastores and VMFS datastores over iSCSI or FC on external arrays in the VMware vCenter Server Appliance
instance in the VxRail cluster.
● Provision VMs on these external datastores in VMware vCenter Server.

Set up external NFS storage

Many storage products provide external NFS storage services, including Dell EMC Unity, VNX, Isilon, and Windows or Linux NFS
services. Install and provision your VxRail cluster and external NFS storage server before you set up external NFS storage.

Prerequisites
Go to VMware Docs and search NFS Storage Guidelines and Requirements for information about NFS storage with ESXi.
See Understanding Network File System Datastores for more information.

About this task

VMware vCenter Server creates the NFS datastore on your VxRail cluster using a VLAN and VMware VDS.
After the NFS datastore is created, you can:
● Provision VMs to the NFS datastore using the vSphere Web Client.
● Perform standard operations such as open the console, power on, shut down the VM, suspend the VM, and clone the VM.
● Migrate VMs between VxRail datastores and NFS datastores.
In maintenance mode, VMs automatically move to another node on the same NFS datastore. The rebooted node automatically
connects to the NFS datastore.

Set up external VMFS over iSCSI storage

Set up your VxRail for use with a VMFS datastore over iSCSI using the VMware vSphere Client.
For more information, see Using ESXi with iSCSI SAN. Go to VMware Docs and search VMware vSphere Documentation to set
up external iSCSI storage.
1. Set up the iSCSI network port group.
2. Set up an active software iSCSI adapter.
3. Configure a multipath policy for the iSCSI storage device.
4. Create a VMFS datastore over iSCSI.
A software iSCSI adapter uses a VLAN and VMware VDS to allow standard NICs to connect VMware ESXi hosts to a remote
iSCSI target on the IP network.

Set up external NFS and VMFS over iSCSI and FC datastores 21

Set up external VMFS over FC storage
Set up VxRail to use a VMFS datastore over FC using the VMware vSphere Client.
Go to VMware Docs and search Using ESXi with Fibre Channel SAN and Fibre Channel SAN Concepts to set up external FC
storage.
1. Configure appropriate adapters on your VxRail host.
2. Follow VMware guidelines to configure network switches and network interface controllers.
3. Set up networking for software FCoE
4. Create a VMFS datastore over FC.
A software FC adapter uses a VLAN and VMware VDS to allow standard NICs to connect VMware ESXi hosts to a remote FC
target on the IP network.

22 Set up external NFS and VMFS over iSCSI and FC datastores

 9
VMware components
VMware products can be ordered with VxRail or purchased separately.
The following table provides links to VMware documentation:

VMware product Documentation

VMware Horizon ● VMware Horizon Documentation
● VMware Horizon Release Notes
VMware vSphere Remote Office and Back ● VMware Validated Design Documentation
Office (ROBO) ● SDDC Architectures
● Overview of ROBO SDDC
VMware Cloud Foundation ● VMware Cloud Foundation Documentation
● VMware Cloud Foundation Release Notes

VMware components 23