33 | Network Planning Guide
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Confirm your data center environment:
1. Confirm that you cannot ping any IP address reserved for VxRail management components
2. Confirm that your DNS server(s) are reachable from the VxRail external management network
3. Confirm the forward and reverse DNS entries for the VxRail management components
4. Confirm that your management gateway IP address is accessible
5. If you have configured NTP servers, or a third-party syslog server, confirm that you can reach them from your configured VxRail external
management network
6. If you plan to use a Customer-Supplied vCenter, confirm it is accessible from the VxRail external management network
7. If you deployed a witness at a remote site to monitor vSAN, confirm it is accessible to the VxRail external management network and
VxRail vSAN network
Configuring a Workstation/Laptop for VxRail Initialization
A workstation/laptop with a web browser for the VxRail user interface is required to perform the initialization process. It must be
either plugged into the top-of-rack switch, or able to logically reach the VxRail external management VLAN from elsewhere on your
network; for example, a jump server (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_server). If you are planning to enable Dell-EMC
SmartFabric services, and extend VxRail automation to the switch layer, then the jump host must be able to also reach the VxRail
Cluster Build Network VLAN as well as the VxRail external management VLAN. Once the VxRail initialization process is complete,
the switch port or jump host is no longer required to manage VxRail.
Don’t try to plug your workstation/laptop directly into a VxRail server node to connect to the VxRail management
interface for initialization. It must be plugged into your network or switch, and the workstation/laptop must be logically
configured to reach the necessary networks.
A supported web browser is required to access VxRail management interface. The latest versions of Firefox, Chrome, and Internet
Explorer 10+ are all supported. If you are using Internet Explorer 10+ and an administrator has set your browser to “compatibility
mode” for all internal websites (local web addresses), you will get a warning message from VxRail. Contact your administrator to
whitelist URLs mapping to the VxRail user interface.
To access the VxRail management interface to perform initialization, you must use the temporary, pre-configured VxRail initial IP
address: 192.168.10.200/24. This IP address will automatically change during VxRail initialization to your desired permanent
address, and assigned to VxRail Manager during cluster formation.
Your workstation/laptop will need to be able to reach both the temporary VxRail initial IP address and the permanent VxRail
ManagerIP address (Row 26 from VxRail Network Configuration Table). VxRail initialization will remind you that you may need to
reconfigure your workstation/laptop network settings to access the new IP address.
It is best practice to give your workstation/laptop or your jump server two IP addresses on the same network port, which allows
for a smoother experience. Depending on your workstation/laptop, this can be implemented in several ways (such as dual-homing
or multi-homing). Otherwise, change the IP address on your workstation/laptop when instructed to and then return to VxRail
Manager to continue with the initialization process.
If you cannot reach the VxRail initial IP address, Dell EMC support team can configure a custom IP address, subnet mask, and
gateway on VxRail Manager before initialization.
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