Networking Connectivity Architecture And Cabling Best Practice (R640, R740Xd Servers); Network Prerequisites - Dell EMC VxFlex Ready Node 14G Manual

Network Architecture and Physical Connectivity
Networking connectivity architecture and cabling best
practice (R640, R740XD servers)

Network prerequisites

Hardware Configuration and Operating System Installation Guide - ESXi Servers
36
This topic describes connectivity architecture, cabling best practice information, and
cable connection examples from typical VxFlex Ready Node configurations in order to
help you plan your network.
Note
If you are not familiar with VxFlex Ready Node system architecture, refer to the
"Architecture" chapter in the VxFlex Ready Node AMS User Guide or the VxFlex Ready
Node AMS Deployment Guide .
On ESXi servers, VLANs can be used as long as the broadcast domain is the same
between the AMS/Discovery Server and the ESXi management port. For all OS types,
the best way to use VLANs with VxFlex Ready Node is to configure the switch port to
Mode Access, and assign it to one VLAN. A management switch that has only one use
is recommended. Usually, this implies one IP subnet, but the switch can contain
several subnets on a single VLAN.
When using several VLANs on the same port, the port must to be configured as Trunk,
and you must assign a VLAN ID on each vSwitch on the ESXi. This configuration can
be performed on a VxFlex Ready Node server after deployment is complete by
updating the VM network and relevant VMKernel port to use the VLAN ID set by the
switch manager. This is similar to any other VLAN implementation, and it must be
performed after deployment because the AMS deployment flow creates and
configures the vSwitches and vmnics as part of the deployment flow.
Note
AMS uses APIPA IP addresses (169.254.x.x/16) for broadcast and unicast, and this
requires special configuration during deployment.
It is mandatory to set the management VLAN as either a Layer 2 VLAN without an IP
address, or as VLAN 0 (meaning, no VLAN). This facilitates a seamless onsite "Add
Node" operation.
Ensure that you have the following network resources and equipment available before
installing VxFlex Ready Node servers.
Note
In addition to the requirements below for connecting VxFlex Ready Node servers to
one or more switches, ensure that you have prepared the items described in
Prerequisites on page 14 earlier in this document.
Switches
One 10/25 GbE switch is required. Two or more 10/25 GbE switches may be used
for high availability and load balancing purposes. Separate (one or more) 1 GbE
switches or one 10G NIC may be used for the management network.