You can expand an existing workload domain by adding a VxRail cluster using the SDDC Manager UI.

Prerequisites

  • Image the workload domain nodes. For information on imaging the nodes, refer to Dell EMC VxRail documentation.
  • The IP addresses and Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) for the ESXi hosts, VxRail Manager, and NSX Manager instances must be resolvable by DNS.
  • If you are using DHCP for the NSX Host Overlay Network, a DHCP server must be configured on the NSX Host Overlay VLAN of the management domain. When VMware NSX creates TEPs for the VI workload domain, they are assigned IP addresses from the DHCP server.
  • Change the VxRail Manager IP Address
  • Update the VxRail Manager Certificate

Procedure

  1. In the navigation pane, click Inventory > Workload Domains. The Workload Domains page displays information for all workload domains.
  2. In the workload domains table, hover your mouse in the VxRail workload domain row.
    A set of three dots appears on the left of the workload domain name.
  3. Click these three dots. Click Add VxRail Cluster.
  4. Make sure the prerequisites are met. To continue, click Get Started.
  5. Select the type of storage to use for this workload domain. Click Select.
    For vSAN storage, you can enable vSAN ESA if the workload domain is using vSphere Lifecycle Manager images.
  6. Provide the following information to Add VxRail Cluster to VI-VxRail.
    Option Description
    VxRail Manager
    • VxRail Manager Hostname (must be an FQDN)

      Click Connect and confirm the SSL fingerprint of the VxRail Manager.

    • VxRail Manager Admin Credentials
      • Admin Username
      • Admin Password
      • Confirm Admin Password
    • VxRail Manager Root Credentials
      • Root Username
      • Root Password
      • Confirm Root Password
    Host Selection Add ESXi hosts with similar or identical configurations across all cluster members, including similar or identical storage configurations. A minimum of 3 hosts are required.
    Note: The Primary node is selected by default
    1. Select the ESXi hosts to add and click Provide Host Details.
    2. Enter the FQDNs and passwords for the hosts.
    3. Click Resolve Hosts IP address.
    4. Click Next.
    Cluster Enter a name for the first cluster that will be created in this new workload domain.

    The name must be unique and contain between 3 and 80 characters. The cluster name can include letters, numbers, and hyphens, and it can include spaces.
    Switch Configuration Provide the distributed switch configuration to be applied to the hosts in the VxRail cluster. Select a predefined vSphere distributed switch (VDS) configuration profile or create a custom switch confirguration.
    For custom switch configuration, specify:
    • VDS name
    • MTU
    • Number of uplinks
    • Uplink to vmnic mapping
    Click Configure Network Traffic to configure the following networks:
    • Management
    • vMotion
    • vSAN
    • Host Discovery
    • System VM
    For each network, specify:
    • Distributed port group name
    • MTU
    • Load balancing policy
    • Active and standby links
    For the NSX network, specify:
    • Operational mode
    • Transport zone type
    • NSX-Overlay Transport Zone Name
    • For NSX Overlay, enter a VLAN ID and select the IP assignment type for the Host Overlay Network TEPs.
      Note: For DHCP, a DHCP server must be configured on the NSX host overlay (Host TEP) VLAN. When NSX creates TEPs for the VI workload domain, they are assigned IP addresses from the DHCP server.

      For static IP Pool, you can re-use an existing IP pool or create a new one. Make sure the IP range includes enough IP addresses for the number of hosts that will use the static IP Pool. The number of IP addresses required depends on the number of pNICs on the ESXi hosts that are used for the vSphere Distributed Switch that handles host overlay networking. For example, a host with four pNICs that uses two pNICs for host overlay traffic requires two IP addresses in the static IP pool.

    • Teaming policy uplink mapping
    • NSX Uplink Profile Name
    • Teaming policy
    • Active and standby links
    Note: VDS configuration requires homogeneous host network adapters across all hosts. Only adapters of same enumeration across all hosts can be used for configuring VDS.
    Host Networks Configure the Host network details.
    • Management Network: VLAN ID, CIDR, and Gateway
    • vSAN: VLAN ID, CIDR, Gateway, and IP Range
    • vMotion Network: VLAN ID, CIDR, Gateway, and IP Range
    • VM Network: Select Same as Host Management to use the host Management network information to create a new port group for VM Management traffic or enter a VLAN ID, CIDR, and Gateway for the new port group.
    Licenses Select License Now or License Later.
    Review Review and confirm the Workload Domain settings.
    Validation Validates the configuration
  7. On the Validation page, wait until all of the inputs have been successfully validated.
    If validation is unsuccessful, you cannot proceed. Use the Back button to modify your settings and try again.
  8. Click Finish.
    The add VxRail cluster task is triggered.