Deployment Guide

Table 2. Management services (continued)
Management service Purpose Required/optional
Domain Name System Name resolution Required
Windows Software Update Service (WSUS) Local source for Windows updates Optional
SQL Server Database back end for System Center Virtual
Machine Manager (VMM) and System
Center Operations Manager (SCOM)
Optional
Predeployment configuration
Before deploying AX nodes, complete the required predeployment configuration tasks.
Complete the following predeployment configuration before deploying the Azure Stack HCI solution.
NOTE: If the cluster has persistent memory devices, pre-operating-system deployment configuration as well as post-
operating-system deployment configuration is required. For more information, see Appendix: Persistent Memory for
Azure Stack HCI.
Configuring network switches
Based on the selected network topology, configure the top-of-rack (ToR) network switches to enable storage and VM/management
traffic.
NOTE:
The switchless storage networking deployment model requires configuration of switches that are deployed for
host management and OOB traffic only. Storage traffic uses full mesh connectivity between the nodes.
NOTE: Management network redundancy is a combination of either iDRAC or operating system DNS/IP resolution. Dell
recommends that you deploy a network topology that supports a dual control plane while sharing a single data plane.
Virtual Link Trunking (VLT) is Dell Technologies proprietary technology that provides network resiliency for data I/O.
Configuring switch VLT redundancy with Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) provides a virtual floating IP address that any node
can reference as a gateway. If a switch fails, the virtual IP is transferred to a peer switch. VRRP is an active/standby first-hop redundancy
protocol (FHRP). When used with VLT peers, VRRP becomes an active/active protocol. The VRRP virtual MAC address is the local
destination address in the FIB table of both the VLT peers. Using this method, the backup VRRP router forwards intercepted frames
whose destination MAC address matches the VRRP virtual MAC address.
A standard Storage Spaces Direct deployment requires three basic types of networks—out-of-band (OOB) management, host
management, and storage. The number of network ports (two or four) that are used within the storage configuration determines whether
you have two or four fault domains.
For sample switch configurations, see https://infohub.delltechnologies.com/t/sample-network-switch-configuration-files-2/.
For configuration choices and instructions about different network topologies and host network configuration, see https://
infohub.delltechnologies.com/section-assets/network-integration-and-host-network-configuration-options.
Configuring iDRAC and BIOS
The AX nodes are factory-configured with optimized system BIOS and integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) settings. This
preconfiguration eliminates the need for you to manually configure the settings to a recommended baseline.
The iDRAC in AX nodes can be configured to obtain an IP address from DHCP or can be assigned a static IP address. When the OOB
network in the environment does not provide DHCP IP addresses, you must manually set a static IPv4 address on each iDRAC network
interface. You can access the physical server console to set the addresses by using KVM or other means.
Configuring BIOS settings including the IPv4 address for iDRAC
Perform these steps to configure the IPv4 address for iDRAC. You can also follow these steps to configure any additional BIOS settings.
Steps
1. During the system boot, press F12.
Solution Deployment
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