7 Dell EMC Configuration and Deployment Guide
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1.1 Objective
This guide is a supplement to the VMware Cloud Foundation on VxRail (VCF on VxRail) and VMware
Validated Design on VxRail 5.0 (VVD on VxRail 5.0) documentation. It aims to provide design guidance to
create a Layer 3 IP underlay with Layer 2 network overlays that enable the core services of the SDDC to
operate across separate subnets such as ESXi management, vMotion, and vSAN.
This example uses a typical leaf-spine topology with BGP EVPN as a control plane mechanism orchestrating
Virtual Extensible LANs (VXLANs) between the leaf switches. The individual switch configuration shows how
to set up an end-to-end IP underlay network using BGP with an end-to-end virtual network using BGP EVPN
L2 VXLAN configuration. The configuration provides a network virtual overlay (NVO) enabling east to west
traffic flows for the core services referenced.
Once the network components are in place, the initial components of a Standard SDDC are deployed using
VCF on VxRail. The deployment consists of a VVD management domain running on four Dell EMC VxRail E-
series nodes. These four nodes are equally distributed in two racks in Availability Zone 1 (AZ1) in the primary
data center (Region A). Using the network overlay for host discovery, both VxRail initialization tools and
VMware Cloud Builder are used to complete the installation of the software components of the SDDC.
To accommodate north and southbound traffic into the SDDC, a pair of Equal-cost multi-path (ECMP)-
enabled VMware NSX Edge Services Gateways (ESGs) are deployed. Using VM/host affinity rules, the ESGs
are restricted to a single rack, enabling it as the edge rack, and BGP is configured between these ESGs and
the leaf switches in the designated edge rack. In this example, WAN connectivity into the fabric is established
between the spine switches and the data center core.
To provide site resiliency, a second availability zone (AZ2) is created and has connectivity to AZ1 through a
Data Center Interconnection (DCI). The DCI is established between spine switches in both availability zones.
VMware vSAN stretched clusters are established with the vSAN witness appliance located in Region B and
are reachable through the DCI. Additional NSX components, including ESGs, are deployed in AZ2 and
connected in a similar manner to AZ1.
Note: For more information about VCF on VxRail, see Dell EMC VxRail Hyperconverged Infrastructure
.
1.2 VMware Software-Defined Data Center
The VMware vision of the modern data center starts with a foundation of software-defined infrastructure. The
foundation is based on the value that customers realize from a standardized architecture. It is a fully
integrated hardware and software stack that is simple to manage, monitor, and operate. The VMware
approach to the software-defined data center, or SDDC, delivers a unified platform that supports any
application and provides flexible control. The VMware architecture for the SDDC enables companies to run
private and hybrid clouds. The architecture uses unique capabilities to deliver key outcomes that enable
efficiency, agility, and security.
The fully virtualized data center is automated and managed by intelligent, policy-based data center
management software, vastly simplifying governance and operations. A unified management platform enables
centralized monitoring and administration of all applications across physical geographies, heterogeneous
infrastructure, and hybrid clouds. Workloads can be deployed and managed in physical, virtual, and cloud
environments with a unified management experience. IT becomes agile, elastic, and responsive to a degree
never before possible.