Deployment Guide
Table Of Contents
- Microsoft HCI Solutions from Dell Technologies Deployment Guide
- Contents
- Introduction
- Solution Overview
- Solution Deployment
- Introduction to solution deployment
- Deployment prerequisites
- Predeployment configuration
- Operating system deployment
- Installing roles and features
- Verifying firmware and software compliance with the support matrix
- Updating out-of-box drivers
- Changing the hostname
- Configuring host networking
- Joining cluster nodes to an Active Directory domain
- Deploying and configuring a host cluster
- Best practices and recommendations
- Recommended next steps
- Deployment services
- References
- Appendix A: Persistent Memory for Windows Server HCI
Solution Overview
Topics:
• Solution introduction
•
Deployment models
• Solution integration and network connectivity
Solution introduction
Microsoft HCI Solutions from Dell Technologies include various configurations of AX nodes. These AX nodes power the primary
compute cluster that is deployed as a HCI. The HCI uses a flexible solution architecture rather than a fixed component design.
For information about supported AX nodes and operating system support for each of the AX nodes, see the Support Matrix for
Microsoft HCI Solutions.
The solutions are available in both hybrid and all-flash configurations. For more information about available configurations, see
the AX nodes specification sheet.
Deployment models
Microsoft HCI Solutions from Dell Technologies offer the following types of cluster infrastructure deployments:
● Switchless storage networking
● Scalable infrastructure
● Stretched cluster infrastructure
NOTE:
This guide does not provide deployment instructions for stretched cluster infrastructure. For information about
this infrastructure, see the Dell EMC Integrated System for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI: Stretched Cluster Deployment
Reference Architecture Guide.
Switchless storage networking
This Microsoft HCI Solutions from Dell Technologies infrastructure type offers two to four nodes in a switchless configuration
for storage traffic. This infrastructure can be implemented using any of the validated and supported AX nodes. However,
the number of nodes in a cluster varies between the AX node models and the number of network adapters that each model
supports.
Switchless storage networking offers two full-mesh configurations:
● Single-link
● Dual-link
For more information about these configurations, see Network Integration and Host Configuration Options.
NOTE: For the two-node cluster deployment, configure a cluster witness. For details, see Configuring a cluster witness.
NOTE: The switchless storage configuration has been validated with back-to-back connections for storage connectivity.
The following figure shows the switchless storage networking infrastructure:
2
Solution Overview 7