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
Introduction
Topics:
• Document scope
•
Audience and assumptions
• Known issues
• Dell EMC HCI Solutions for Microsoft Windows Server overview
• Deployment guidance
Document scope
This operations guide focuses on operational aspects of a hyperconverged infrastructure solution on Azure Stack HCI with
Hyper-V and Storage Spaces Direct.
This guide includes an overview of Dell EMC HCI Solutions for Microsoft Windows Server, guidance to monitor and manage bare
metal, and instructions for performing operations on an Azure Stack HCI cluster and updating the cluster-aware system. This
guide is applicable only to infrastructure that is built by using the validated and certified Dell EMC HCI Solutions for Microsoft
Windows Server.
Instructions in this guide are applicable only to the generally available operating system build of Windows Server 2016, Windows
Server 2019, and Azure Stack HCI operating system with the latest applicable updates. These instructions are not validated
with Windows Server version 1709. Dell EMC HCI Solutions for Microsoft Windows Server do not support the Windows Server
Semi-Annual Channel release. Dell Technologies recommends updating the host operating system with the latest cumulative
updates from Microsoft before starting the cluster creation and configuration tasks.
Audience and assumptions
The audience for this operations guide includes systems administrators, systems engineers, field consultants, partner
engineering team members, and customers with a fair amount of knowledge in deploying hyperconverged infrastructures with
Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, the Azure Stack HCI operating system, Hyper-V, and Storage Spaces Direct.
We assume that deployment personnel have prerequisite knowledge, including knowledge of:
● Dell EMC HCI Solutions for Microsoft Windows Server, and deployment and configuration of BIOS and integrated Dell
Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) settings on AX nodes from Dell Technologies
● Deploying and configuring Windows Server core operating system Hyper-V infrastructure
Known issues
Before starting the cluster deployment, review the known issues and workarounds.
For information about known issues and workarounds, see https://www.dell.com/support/article/sln313305.
Dell EMC HCI Solutions for Microsoft Windows Server
overview
Dell EMC HCI Solutions for Microsoft Windows Server encompass various configurations of AX nodes from Dell Technologies
to power the primary compute cluster that is deployed as a hyperconverged infrastructure. This hyperconverged infrastructure
that is built by using these AX nodes uses a flexible solution architecture rather than a fixed component design. The following
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4 Introduction