In the digital economy, most applications need to provide a 24*7 Service-Level Agreement (SLA) for every customer. The IT service department provider often faces the problems of how to make applications available at any time, how to handle Life Cycle Management (LCM), how the system infrastructure can automatically scale up and out, and so on. Most traditional infrastructure architecture has some hardware and software limitations; it cannot fulfill these requirements. You may need to integrate third-party hardware and software to fulfill these requirements. However, this will increase the cost of the total solution. When new software packages or patches are released, they need to upgrade or apply the patch to the existing traditional infrastructure architecture. At this moment, some compatibility problems between the hardware and software may exist, which is why traditional infrastructure architecture is not a good solution.
With the Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) platforms available on the market, most technical limitations of traditional infrastructure architecture can be resolved. The HCI platform can simplify most day-one deployment and day-two management activities. Dell VxRail Appliance is an HCI platform developed by Dell EMC and VMware. VxRail Appliance can provide different features, for example, hardware scaling, software package upgrade, centralized management, and LCM. In this chapter, we will discuss the VxRail system; you will get an overview of the VxRail Appliance 7.x platform.
This chapter includes the following main topics:
VxRail Appliance (as seen in Figure 1.1) is developed and powered by Dell EMC and VMware. It is an HCI appliance that is exclusively integrated and preconfigured with VMware vSphere and Virtual SAN (vSAN). VxRail platforms are fully integrated with VMware vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) and use a VxRail Manager plugin for vCenter. The VxRail platform provides user-friendly and centralized management; system administrators can perform day-to-day activities using the VxRail Manager plugin for vCenter in a Hypertext Markup Language revision 5 (HTML5) interface:
Figure 1.1 – VxRail system on the Dell 15th-generation PowerEdge server
The VxRail platform is powered by Dell EMC PowerEdge servers with Intel Scalable or AMD EPYC processors. VxRail Appliance can be configured with different hardware options, for example, CPU processors with different cores, different sizes of memory, the network connectivity interface, a Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (HBA), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), Hybrid mode, and All-Flash mode of disks. VxRail Appliance is fully integrated with VMware solutions including VMware Tanzu, VMware NSX, VMware vRealize Suite, and VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM), and private clouds such as VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). You can check out the VMware website (https://www.vmware.com) if you want to learn about these VMware products in more detail.
VxRail Appliance models are available in different form factors, and they come as one unit per node, two units per node, and four nodes in a two-unit chassis. The VxRail Appliance architecture is designed so the customer can buy and scale out based on their infrastructure requirements. Dell solution architects use VxRail Sizing Tool (https://vxrailsizing.emc.com) for VxRail design. VxRail Sizing Tool is an online platform that analyzes workloads and hardware requirements, then provides a VxRail hardware configuration that meets customer requirements. The Dell EMC VxRail family offers six types of platforms, that is, E (entry-level) Series, P (performance-optimized) Series, V (VDI-optimized) Series, D (durable-platform) Series, S (storage-dense) Series, and G (general-purpose) Series.
Now, we will introduce each model of Dell EMC VxRail Appliance.
VxRail E Series has three options, Hybrid, All-Flash, and NVMe. You can choose the All-Flash or NVMe model if you want high performance. For general purposes, you can choose the Hybrid model. Each node is a one-unit form factor system that is used for most scenarios. It is based on Dell EMC PowerEdge R650/R6515 server technology. VxRail E Series includes two models, VxRail E660 and E665. VxRail 660 runs on the Dell EMC PowerEdge R650 server, which supports 10 GB, 25 GB, and 100 GB network interfaces, and VxRail 665 runs on the Dell EMC PowerEdge R6515 server, which supports only 10 GB and 25 GB network interfaces.
Figure 1.2 – VxRail E Series on the Dell 15th-generation PowerEdge server
VxRail P Series only has two options, All-Flash or NVMe. Each node is a two-unit form factor system that is used for high-performance and data-intensive application scenarios. It is based on Dell EMC PowerEdge R750/R7515/R840 server technology; VxRail P Series includes three models, VxRail P670, P675, and P580N. It also supports 10 GB, 25 GB, and 100 GB network interfaces. VxRail P670 (All-Flash mode only) runs on the Dell EMC PowerEdge R750 server, which supports 10 GB, 25 GB, and 100 GB network interfaces. VxRail P675 (All-Flash and NVMe mode) runs on the Dell EMC PowerEdge R7515 server, which supports 10 GB, 25 GB, and 100 GB network interfaces. VxRail P840N (NVMe mode only) runs on the Dell EMC PowerEdge R580N server, which supports 10 GB, 25 GB, and 100 GB network interfaces.
Figure 1.3 – VxRail P Series on the Dell 15th-generation PowerEdge server
VxRail V Series only has All-Flash mode. Each node is a two-unit form factor system that is used for VDI optimized for specialized scenarios. It is based on Dell EMC PowerEdge R750 server technology; VxRail V Series includes only one model, VxRail V670. VxRail V670 (All-Flash mode only) supports 10 GB, 25 GB, and 100 GB network interfaces. Only V Series can support GPU cards.
Figure 1.4 – VxRail V Series on the Dell 15th-generation PowerEdge server
VxRail D Series only has two options, Hybrid or All-Flash. Each node is a one-unit form factor system that is designed to withstand extreme conditions, for example, intense heat, cold, or humidity. It is based on Dell EMC PowerEdge XR2 server technology; VxRail D Series includes only one model, VxRail D560. VxRail D560 only supports 10 GB and 25 GB network interfaces. VxRail D560 is available in MIL-STD and DNV-GL Maritime-certified configurations.
Figure 1.5 – VxRail D Series on the Dell 15th-generation PowerEdge server
VxRail S Series only has a Hybrid option. Each node is a two-unit form factor system that is used for demanding applications, for example, big data, Microsoft Exchange, and archive data. It is based on Dell EMC PowerEdge R750 server technology; VxRail S Series includes only one model, VxRail S670. VxRail S670 supports 10 GB, 25 GB, and 100 GB network interfaces.
Figure 1.6 – VxRail S Series on the Dell 15th-generation PowerEdge server
VxRail G Series has two options, Hybrid or All-Flash. Each node is a two-unit form factor system that is used for general-purpose virtualized workloads. It is based on Dell EMC PowerEdge C6420 server technology; VxRail G Series includes only one model, VxRail G560. VxRail G560 supports 10 GB, 25 GB, and 100 GB network interfaces. The VxRail G Series chassis can install four nodes.
Figure 1.7 – VxRail G Series on the Dell 15th-generation PowerEdge server
Important Note
In the initial deployment, the first three VxRail nodes in a cluster must be identical models. VxRail Hybrid and All-Flash nodes cannot mix in a VxRail cluster.
The following table shows a summary of hardware configurations on each VxRail Series:
Table 1.1 – A summary of hardware configurations on each VxRail Series
The VxRail Appliance 7.x platform supports three types of VxRail nodes, including a VxRail node with vSAN, a VxRail dynamic node, and a VxRail satellite node. We will discuss the details in Chapter 2, Benefits of Hyper-Converged Infrastructure.
VxRail Appliance is a black-box solution developed by Dell EMC and VMware. VMware vSphere is preinstalled and configured on each VxRail Appliance before shipping to customers. In VxRail Appliance, there are three key elements:
This table shows a summary of the software inside VxRail Appliance:
Table 1.2 – A summary of the software inside VxRail Appliance
With the preceding table, we know what components make up each key element. Now we will discuss each piece of software.
The following is a list of SDDC technologies:
Important Note
In VxRail 4.7 or above, the VMware vSAN license is not embedded in each VxRail node. The vSAN license is enabled in the evaluation mode on each node when the customer powers it on for the first time. They need to add the vSAN license manually to each node.
Important Note
The embedded vCenter instance license is bundled on VxRail Appliance. If you deployed the external vCenter Server for VxRail management, the optional vCenter Server instance license is required.
Important Note
VMware vSphere licenses are not included in VxRail Appliance. The customer can reuse existing vSphere licenses or order new licenses for each VxRail node.
Important Note
VMware Tanzu and VCF are optional features on VxRail; both features are not included in VxRail Appliance.
The following is a list of VxRail HCI system software:
Dell EMC RecoverPoint for VMs (RP4VM) is a Continuous Data Protection (CDP) solution from Dell EMC. It can provide protection of the virtual machine with its point-in-time synchronization or asynchronization in a local VxRail cluster or across VxRail clusters between two different locations. You can manage RP4VM directly via VCSA.
Important Note
The RP4VM license includes 5 virtual machine licenses per node (E, P, V, D, and S Series) and 15 virtual machine licenses per chassis for the G Series.
VMware vSphere Replication (VR) is a disaster recovery solution at the hypervisor level; it can deliver data protection of the virtual machine with a 5-minute Recovery Point Objective (RPO) in a local VxRail cluster or across VxRail clusters between two different locations. You can manage VR directly via VCSA, and it also can work with SRM to deliver the automated failover and failback recovery plan.
Important Note
VMware SRM is the optional license for enabling disaster recovery on VxRail Appliance.You need an SRM license with at least 25 virtual machines per site.
Now that we understand which software components are bundled with VxRail Appliance, let’s look at the licensing options.
VxRail Appliance is a turnkey solution that is bundled with some software licenses on each VxRail node. It includes the following bundled VMware and Dell EMC software licenses:
Dell EMC software includes the following:
VxRail Appliance also follows a Bring-Your-Own (BYO) vSphere license model. You can purchase VxRail Appliance with a new vSphere license or reuse any existing qualified vSphere licenses. The VxRail system supports several VMware vSphere license editions; it includes Enterprise Plus, Standard, and ROBO (Remote Office Branch Office) editions.
This table shows the difference between the preceding-supported vSphere licenses:
Table 1.3 – The difference between the preceding supported vSphere licenses
Important Note
VMware vSphere Essentials and Essentials Plus are not supported with VxRail.
VxRail software 4.7 or above also supports a flexible vSAN license model. You can purchase VxRail Appliance with different editions of the vSAN license. This table shows an edition comparison:
Table 1.4 – VMware vSAN editions feature comparison
This table shows an edition comparison for vRealize Operations Advanced:
Table 1.5 – VMware vRealize Operations Advanced edition feature comparison
A VMware vCenter Server Standard instance license is bundled with the VxRail cluster. VxRail Manager applies this license to the embedded VCSA during VxRail initialization.
Important Note
Transferring an embedded VCSA license to any vCenter Server is not supported. You need to prepare a new vCenter Server license for the external VCSA if you choose external VCSA during VxRail initialization.
The preceding tables help you choose the different types of VMware vSphere and vSAN licenses for VxRail Appliance based on your required functions and features.
Now that we understand VxRail Appliance and the different components and technologies used in it, let’s move on and learn about its architecture next.
The VxRail system is a turnkey solution that has been tested and validated by Dell EMC. Each VxRail node is built on a Dell PowerEdge server, and it includes the following hardware components:
Important Note
Each VxRail Series can support different maximum software and hardware configuration, for example, the number of vSAN disk groups, the number of additional network adapters, or the total number of memory and CPU cores.
Now, we will look at a diagram for the VxRail 7.0.xxx platform:
Figure 1.8 – A diagram of the VxRail 7.0.xxx platform
Figure 1.8 shows the following hardware components in this environment:
Important Note
The minimum initial configuration of a VxRail cluster is three nodes; these three nodes must be the same model.
Now, we will discuss the logical diagram for the VxRail 7.0.xxx platform. Figure 1.9 shows the following software and hardware components in this environment:
Figure 1.9 – The logical diagram for the VxRail 7.0.xxx platform
Important Note
In VxRail 7.0 or later, there is no VMware vCenter Platform Service Controller (PSC), and vRealize Log Insight deploys automatically into the VxRail cluster during initialization.
In Figure 1.9, there are four nodes with the same model (VxRail P670) connecting to the VxRail network during VxRail initialization; then it can automatically build the VxRail cluster, and vSAN features are enabled on the VxRail cluster. By default, there are two VxRail system virtual machines that will be deployed into the VxRail cluster; they are VxRail Manage and VCSA. You can easily build the VxRail cluster in Dell EMC VxRail Deployment Wizard when every requirement is ready. You can refer to Figure 1.10 for the VxRail initialization:
Figure 1.10 – Welcome page of VxRail 7.0
Important Note
Please note that you can choose the VxRail software edition when you purchase VxRail Appliance: VxRail 4.7 or 7.0. VxRail 4.7 is shipped with VMware vSAN 6.7. VxRail 7.0 is shipped with VMware vSAN 7.0.
In this section, we understood the architecture of the VxRail system and the VxRail system’s virtual machines. Next, let’s look at its features.
The VxRail system can deliver different features; it includes automatic deployment, flexible scale-up and scale-out, Storage Policy-Based Management (SPBM), LCM, a single management dashboard, CDP, and a single-vendor, end-to-end ongoing support service. In day-one deployment, you can select the cluster type and then deploy the VxRail cluster and configure the SDS automatically. Compared to the traditional server storage architecture, it can minimize the deployment and configuration time. In Figure 1.11, you can see how you can select the type of the VxRail cluster in Dell EMC VxRail Deployment Wizard.
Figure 1.11 – Specifying the type of the VxRail cluster in Dell EMC VxRail Deployment Wizard
You can perform all operation tasks via VMware vCenter Server with the VxRail Manager plugin after the VxRail deployment is completed. In the VxRail Manager plugin, you can see all functions, such as Updates, Certificate, Market, and Add VxRail Hosts.
Figure 1.12 – VxRail System information
Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM) is a core feature in the VxRail cluster; the system administrator can define the availability, storage rules, and advanced policy rules. In the Availability tab, you can choose No data redundancy, 1 failure - RAID-1 (Mirroring), and 1 failure - RAID-5 (Erasure Coding). You can refer to Chapter 4, Design of vSAN Storage Policies, for more details.
Figure 1.13 – Defining the storage rules of the virtual machine storage policy
VxRail’s architecture supports flexible scale-up and scale-out. The compute and storage resources can be increased and rebalanced when adding a new node to the existing VxRail cluster (Figure 1.14). You can refer to Chapter 5, Design of Cluster Expansion, for more details:
Figure 1.14 – The Add VxRail Hosts dashboard
When a system has been live for a few years, operating system and system patch upgrades are required. In a traditional server storage environment, the system administrator may spend a lot of time on the preparation and compatibility verification before the system upgrade.
LCM is one of the key features of VxRail Appliance; VxRail’s one-click upgrade feature can easily handle LCM. The system administrator can easily upgrade the VxRail system with a single image that is prevalidated with Dell EMC and VMware. They can perform a one-click upgrade in vCenter Server with the VxRail Manager plugin (Figure 1.15). The single image includes VxRail Manager, VCSA, Dell PTAgent, VxRail Manager VIB, and VMware ESXi:
Figure 1.15 – The VxRail software update dashboard
Dell EMC RP4VM can provide data protection of the virtual machine with its point-in-time snapshots in a local VxRail cluster or across VxRail clusters between two different data centers. You can refer to Chapter 9, Design of RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines on VxRail, for more details.
VxRail’s support service can deliver single-vendor support from Dell’s support team. When the customer issues a request to Dell’s support team, they can handle and resolve the Dell and VMware technical problems. This support service works with Support Connect Gateway (SCG); it includes three types of service support-level agreements, Basic, ProSupport, and ProSupport Plus. You can refer to Figure 1.16 for details:
Note
SRS is replaced with SCG in VxRail 7.0.350 and above; it can deliver a single connectivity technology for Dell EMC products, such as server, data storage, and hyper-converged solutions. It can proactively monitor system health and create a case automatically over a secure connection.
Figure 1.16 – A comparison of Dell support services; this information is copyright of Dell Technologies (https://www.delltechnologies.com/asset/cs-cz/services/support/briefs-summaries/prosupport_enterprise_suite_brochure.pdf)
The customer can choose from the different types of support services to support their VxRail system based on their requirements.
VxRail Manager is a core management virtual machine that is fully integrated with VMware vCenter Server via the VxRail Manager plugin for vCenter, as shown in Figure 1.17. The system administrator can perform all deployment and configuration activities from the vCenter HTML client:
Figure 1.17 – VxRail Manager plugin for vCenter
VxRail automates more than 200 configuration tasks and workflows, including initializing, configuring, building, and finishing. The following is a summary of each core configuration task:
Compared to traditional infrastructure architecture, the preceding configuration tasks are executed manually. Now VxRail installation is an automated deployment.
VxRail LCM can deliver internet and local software updates. The LCM upgrade will provide an estimated time to complete the upgrade, warnings and recommended actions, and some components that will be updated (Figure 1.18):
Figure 1.18 – VxRail LCM update dashboard
When the VxRail administrator executes the maintenance tasks on the VxRail system, for example, scale-out, hardware placement, or software package upgrades, they can perform these tasks via the VxRail Manager plugin for vCenter.
In this last section, we will discuss where you can access the VxRail documentation and resources, which include the Dell Technologies support website, Dell Technologies SolVe Online, and VMware documentation.
As you can see in Figure 1.19, you can access the VxRail software, knowledge base, and documentation on the Dell Technologies support website if you are a Dell partner or employee. The access link is at https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/vxrail-appliance-series/overview:
Figure 1.19 – Dell Technologies support site
Important Note
Please note that some VxRail software and documentation can only be accessed by Dell Technologies employees.
Dell Technologies SolVe Online is a web-based tool (Figure 1.20) used by Dell Technologies employees, partners, and customers. This tool is used to generate detailed installation and configuration procedures for all Dell hardware and software products, for example, VxRail Appliance and RP4VM.
Figure 1.20 – Dell Technologies SolVe Online
You can access SolVe Online with this link: https://solve.dell.com/solve/home.
Important Note
Please note that some installation procedures are only accessed by Dell Technologies employees and certified partners. Dell Technologies SolVe also has an interactive edition, SolVe Desktop.
Since VxRail Appliance is fully integrated with VMware products, the VMware documentation is also valid for the VxRail environment. In Figure 1.21, you can see the documentation of VMware vSphere and vSAN at https://docs.vmware.com/:
Figure 1.21 – VMware documentation website
If you are looking for any technical or knowledge support about VxRail Appliance, you can find the relevant information by using the preceding documentation and resources.
In this chapter, you learned about the different series of the VxRail Appliance 7.x system, architecture, and management for VxRail. Compared to the traditional architecture of server and storage, you learned how VxRail helps and how you can offload the operation and configuration on VxRail.
You will learn about the benefits of VxRail Appliance in the next chapter, including VxRail on the 15th-generation PowerEdge portfolio and the different types of VxRail nodes.
The following are a short list of review questions to help reinforce your learning and help you identify areas which require some improvement.