Master VxRail physical components, deployment planning, configuration tools, hardware installation, cluster initialization, and lifecycle management including upgrades and node expansion.
Module 01
VxRail Physical Components
›VxRail node hardware families — E Series (all-flash, entry), P Series (performance), V Series (GPU-ready), S Series (storage-dense); use case selection guidance for each series
›Node anatomy — CPU sockets, DIMM slots, NIC ports (2x25GbE or 2x10GbE), PCIe expansion; front-end ports: USB, iDRAC dedicated LAN port; rear-end: data NICs, IPMI
›Storage tiers within a VxRail node — cache tier: NVMe or SAS SSD for vSAN write buffer; capacity tier: NVMe, SAS SSD, or NL-SAS HDD; disk group structure (1 cache + 1–7 capacity)
›VxRail chassis configurations — 1U, 2U form factors; dual-node chassis (DN2 series); rack unit density planning for cluster scaling; power supply and rail kit considerations
›iDRAC9 management — factory default iDRAC IP addressing scheme; iDRAC network configuration for out-of-band management; lifecycle controller usage for pre-deployment firmware check
Module 02
VxRail Deployment Planning
›Pre-deployment requirements — site power and cooling verification; rack space calculation (RU per node × node count + TOR switches); weight and power draw per node from sizing guide
›Network design for VxRail — required VLANs: management, vSAN, vMotion, VM data; port group configuration on VDS; NIC teaming policies (active/active LACP or active/standby); jumbo frames for vSAN (MTU 9000)
›VxRail Sizing Tool — input workload requirements (IOPS, capacity, compute); output recommended node model, count, and disk group configuration; verify against vSAN design limits
›VxRail First Run configuration prerequisites — DNS A/PTR records for all VxRail nodes, vCenter, and PSC; NTP server accessibility; static IP addresses for all management interfaces; vCenter FQDN resolution
›Supported deployment topologies — standard cluster (4+ nodes), stretched cluster (2 sites × 2+ nodes + witness), 3-node cluster for ROBO; cluster sizing maximum (64 nodes per vCenter cluster)
Module 03
VxRail Configuration Tools
›VxRail Manager overview — role as orchestration layer between VxRail cluster and vCenter; VxRail API for automation and monitoring; VxRail Manager appliance VM placement within the cluster
›VxRail First Run Wizard — web-based cluster initialization wizard; input: cluster name, vCenter mode (embedded/external), node IPs, DNS/NTP, vSAN disk group configuration; progress monitoring
›VxRail API — RESTful API endpoints: GET /cluster for cluster status; GET /hosts for node list; POST /lcm/upgrade to trigger LCM upgrade; Swagger UI location on VxRail Manager
›Customer supplied vCenter (external mode) — pre-deploy vCenter prerequisites: version compatibility matrix; datacenter and cluster object pre-creation; VxRail Manager registration to external vCenter post-init
›iDRAC9 and Lifecycle Controller — access via IPMI/dedicated NIC; run hardware inventory; configure virtual media for OS re-imaging if needed; review hardware RAID controller status
Module 04
VxRail Hardware Installation and Initialization
›Physical installation sequence — unbox and inspect nodes; install rail kits in rack; cable data NICs to TOR switches per cabling diagram; cable iDRAC dedicated port to OOB management switch; connect power cables
›Initial iDRAC configuration — connect to iDRAC web UI at factory default IP; configure static IP, gateway, DNS per IP plan; verify hardware health (green) on iDRAC system summary
›VxRail First Run Wizard execution — access wizard from bootstrap node IP; select installation mode (Standard); enter cluster configuration parameters; review/confirm disk group creation; monitor cluster bootstrap progress
›Bootstrap process internals — VxRail Manager VM auto-deploys on first node; vCenter (embedded) deploys next; remaining nodes join cluster automatically via VxRail discovery; vSAN datastore forms
›Post-initialization validation — verify cluster health in vCenter (green); vSAN health service checks; VxRail Manager cluster status; confirm all nodes visible in vCenter inventory; run vSAN performance diagnostic
Module 05
Deploying the VxRail Cluster
›VxRail cluster modes — Standard (embedded vCenter), Custom (external vCenter), Cloud Foundation (VCF integration); when to select each mode based on environment requirements
›Cluster initialization with external vCenter — pre-configure vCenter datacenter and cluster; register VxRail Manager to external vCenter via VxRail plugin; run First Run Wizard in Custom mode; post-init DNS and vCenter inventory validation
›vSAN policy configuration — create VM storage policies: FTT=1 (RAID-1 mirroring, minimum 3 nodes), FTT=2 (RAID-5 erasure coding, 4 nodes; RAID-6, 6 nodes); assign policies to VMs and templates
›VxRail cluster networking post-deploy — verify VDS distributed switch configuration; add port groups for additional VM VLANs; adjust NIC teaming policies if needed; validate vSAN VMkernel MTU 9000
›Knowledge transfer to customer — walkthrough VxRail Manager dashboard; explain LCM upgrade bundle process; demonstrate vSAN health checks; document IP addresses, credentials, topology diagram for handover
›LCM upgrade procedure — download LCM bundle from VxRail Customer Connect; upload to VxRail Manager; run pre-upgrade health check (connectivity, vSAN health, cluster state); execute rolling upgrade (one node at a time); monitor progress and resolve any failures
›VxRail node expansion — requirements: same node model or compatible model (check Compatibility Matrix); same disk configuration; network prerequisites (new node cables, iDRAC configured); run VxRail Manager node addition workflow
›Node addition process — VxRail Manager discovers new node; admin reviews hardware summary and approves; VxRail orchestrates ESXi imaging, cluster joining, vSAN disk group creation; expansion validation
›Cluster decommission and node removal — place node in maintenance mode with vSAN data evacuation; remove from vCenter cluster; factory reset node via iDRAC Lifecycle Controller; update topology documentation
Earn the D-VXR-DY-01 Dell Proven Professional certification and validate your expertise in VxRail hyperconverged infrastructure deployment, cluster initialization, LCM upgrades, and node expansion.