Reference Guide
Table Of Contents
- Dell EMC HCI Solutions for Microsoft Windows Server: Managing and Monitoring the Solution Infrastructure Life Cycle Operations Guide
- Introduction
- Day 0 Operations
- Introduction
- Azure onboarding for Azure Stack HCI OS
- Licensing for Azure Stack HCI for Windows Server 2016 and 2019
- Creating virtual disks
- Managing and Monitoring Azure Stack HCI Cluster using Windows Admin Center
- Installing Windows Admin Center
- Adding the HCI cluster connection
- Accessing the HCI cluster
- Viewing server details
- Viewing drive details
- Managing and monitoring volumes
- Enabling data deduplication on Storage Spaces Direct
- Monitoring and managing VMs
- Managing virtual switches
- Dell EMC OpenManage Integration with Windows Admin Center
- Firmware updates using Dell EMC OpenManage Integration for Microsoft System Center for System Center Virtual Machine Manager
- Firmware and driver updates using the manual method
- Expanding the Azure Stack HCI cluster
- Extending volumes
- Performing AX node recovery
- Operating system recovery
Azure Stack HCI node expansion
In an HCI cluster, adding server nodes increases the storage capacity, improves the overall storage performance of the cluster,
and provides more compute resources to add VMs. Before adding new server nodes to an HCI cluster, complete the following
requirements:
● Verify that the processor model, HBA, and NICs are of the same configuration as the current nodes on the cluster and PCIe
slots.
● Ensure that all disk types and the amount in each node are the same as the node in use. Do not combine two different disk
types in the same cluster or node. For example, you cannot combine SATA and SAS HDD/SSD drives in the same node or
cluster. The following table shows the supported options for expanding storage capacity of the cluster.
Table 2. Options to expand storage capacity of the cluster
Option 1 conditions Option 2 conditions
○ Drive is listed in the Support Matrix
○ Same drive manufacturer
○ Same capacity and endurance
○ Latest model
○ Latest firmware
○ Drive is listed in the Support Matrix
○ Different drive manufacturer
○ Same capacity and endurance
○ Different model
○ Different firmware
● Ensure that the BIOS, drivers, firmware, and chipset are as listed in the support matrix.
● Apply the BIOS configuration to the node and configure iDRAC. For more information about configuring the node, see the
Dell EMC HCI Solutions for Microsoft Windows Server Deployment Guide. Do not run the PowerShell commands in the
following sections of the deployment guide again because the cluster is already created, Storage Spaces Direct is already
enabled, and the management network is already excluded:
○ Creating the host cluster
○ Enabling Storage Spaces Direct
○ Configuring the host management network as a lower priority network for live migration
● Ensure that the following tasks are completed:
1. Pass cluster validation and SES device compliance tests.
2. Verify that the nodes are compliant with the firmware baseline.
3. Update the hardware timeout configuration for the Spaces port.
4. After the node configuration, update Microsoft Windows to bring the node to the same level as the cluster.
Adding server nodes manually
NOTE: The procedure is applicable only if the cluster and Storage Spaces Direct configuration is done manually.
To manually add server nodes to the cluster, see https://technet.microsoft.com/windows-server-docs/storage/storage-
spaces/add-nodes.
Storage Spaces Direct storage expansion
In an HCI cluster, expanding storage by adding drives on the available slots on the cluster nodes adds storage capacity to the
cluster and improves storage performance. Before the storage expansion, ensure that all disk types and the amount in each
node are the same and are equal to that of the node in use. Do not combine two different disk types in the same cluster or node.
For example, you cannot combine SATA and SAS HDD/SSD drives in the same node or cluster.
The following options for expanding the storage capacity of the cluster are supported:
● Option 1: Expand the storage with the same drive manufacturer, capacity, endurance, latest model, and latest firmware.
Determine if it is available on the AX node support matrix.
● Option 2: Expand the storage with a different drive manufacturer, model, firmware, and the same capacity and endurance.
Determine if it is available on the AX node support matrix.
When new disks are added to extend the overall storage capacity per node, the Azure Stack HCI cluster starts claiming the
physical disks into an existing storage pool.
After the drives are added, they are shown as available for pooling (CanPool set to True) in the output of the Get-
PhysicalDisk command.
Day 0 Operations
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