The announcement of VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 on Dell VxRail 8.0.200 Release introduces the ability for Management and VI Workload domains (WLD) to be lifecycle managed using a cluster image instead of legacy LCM methods. This new release introduces many new features which can be explored here and here.
To understand more about vLCM when using VxRail please take a look at the VxRail: Enabling vLCM Using VxRail UI. There is a previous post where I explain some of the backstory and provide links to other resources around vLCM within a VxRail environment.
This post will primarily be focused on the vLCM feature of the workflow. The create WLD user interface has been slightly modified to include new flexible network configuration options as well. However, this post will not cover those other features.
Create vLCM VI Workload Domain
As mentioned previously, the steps used for the create WLD workflow are the same as prior versions of VCF 5.x, with a few small exceptions. Make sure that all create WLD prerequisites have been completed prior to launching the wizard.
Getting Started
Login to SDDC Manager using the administrator account. Navigate to the Workload Domain left-pane tab under Inventory, and then select +Workload Domain > VI – VxRail Virtual Infrastructure Setup at the top-right of the screen. The wizard will launch and start to collect all the user input.
When selecting the primary storage type for the new WLD, ensure the desired primary storage is supported to be used with a vLCM WLD (see below). All listed support is based off of VCF 5.1 on Dell VxRail 8.0.200 GA.
Once the primary storage type has been selected, continue to confirm VxRail Manager’s SSL fingerprint.
| Primary Storage Type | vLCM Support | WFO UI | WFO Script |
|---|---|---|---|
| vSAN OSA | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| vSAN OSA Stretched Cluster | ✓ | X | ✓ |
| vSAN ESA | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| vSAN ESA Stretched Cluster | X | X | X |
| Remote vSAN OSA Datastore Compute Only | ✓ | X | ✓ |
| Remote vSAN ESA Datastore Compute Only | ✓ | X | ✓ |
| VMFS on FC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Note – VCF 5.1 on Dell VxRail 8.0.200 requires vLCM when using vSAN ESA
The vLCM Part
On the General Info page step 2, the usual information is required like Virtual Infrastructure Name (WLD Name), Datacenter Name, and whether to join the new WLD domain to the Management WLD or create a new isolated SSO domain. By default, the vLCM checkbox is already selected, however if traditional VxRail LCM clusters are required simply deselect the checkbox. After enabling vLCM on a WLD, all future clusters will require vLCM as well.
One of the user interfaces references choosing to use baselines or not, which does not apply to VCF on VxRail. Baselines is term used with respect to VMware Update Manager (VUM) and VxRail does not use VUM for its automated lifecycle management. One important thing to remember about vLCM within a VxRail environment. VxRail LCM has designed and implemented vLCM in such a way that it will continue to deliver on its Continuously Validated State. Whether the VxRail cluster is running vLCM or traditional VxRail LCM the user experience to VxRail customers remains the same. The two primary drivers behind switching to vLCM are:
- Certain hardware configurations and LCM API operations now require vLCM.
- VMware’s deprecation notice for non-vLCM.
Skipping ahead to the Cluster page in step 4. The only input on this screen is for the cluster name. All other detail is read only and simply displays the components within the image.
Picking back up from the vLCM tangent to continue onto the Host Selection page step 3. The discovered hosts will be displayed and the host that VxRail Manager runs on will be listed as Primary Host. Select all the Host IDs (PSNTs) that are intended to be deployed and select Provide Host Details. Now input the FQDNs and root passwords for each host and map them to their PSNT, then select Resolve Hosts IP Adress. Here the Cluster page that was discussed in the vLCM section requires input for the Cluster Name and displays all vLCM details. For the Compute step 5 and Networking step 6 pages – simply input the vCenter and NSX appliance details.
The Switch Configuration page step 7 is brand new starting in VCF 5.1 and is very flexible. As mentioned previously, this post will not dive into this feature but there are hopes for future posts. This configuration is using a 2-NIC predefined profile so that is what was selected. The virtual switch configuration is populated based on the 2-NIC predefined profile. After the switch information in populated, a warning is displayed to ensure that the overlay VLAN ID is provided. Once the overlay VLAN ID has been provided, Save Changes. Now click Acknowledge in order to move forward with the next couple of pages.
The Host Networks page step 8 should be pretty familiar if experienced with VCF. Provide all the environments network details for Management, vMotion, and vSAN where vSAN is being used as primary storage. There’s a bit of an easter egg feature here as well. VCF 5.1 introduces the capability to have ESXi vmks on the same (default) or different subnets from Management VMs. This post will not dive into this feature but stay tuned for more about it.
Lastly, Licenses page step 9 select the correct license from each dropdown menu, Review the to be created WLD details and submit for Validation.
Finishing Up
Now that validation was successful, all status of the WLD deployment will be displayed in SDDC Manger. Notice the new WLD and it’s Configuration Status is set to ACTIVATING. Once completed the status will change to ACTIVE.
It’s easy to verify that vLCM has been enabled on the cluster by navigating to the cluster in vCenter > Configure > Desired State > Image. This is just one of many ways check that vLCM is enabled from within vCenter. It’s also possible to query the VxRail API to determine if vLCM is enabled.
Helpful Links
- VMware Cloud Foundation 5.x on Dell VxRail 8.0.x Release Notes
- Learning About the Latest VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 on Dell VxRail 8.0.200 Release
- VCF 5.1 on VxRail 8.0.200 Release Blog Post
- VxRail: Enabling vLCM Using VxRail UI
- VxRail: Enabling vLCM Using VxRail API
- Exploring the customer experience with lifecycle management for vSAN Ready Nodes and VxRail clusters
- VMware Update Manager Deprecation KB 89519
Leave a Reply