Step 1

Locate and download the HX Data Platform Installer.vhdx zipped file ( for example, Cisco-HX-Data-Platform-Installer-v5.0.1a-33133-hyperv.vhdx.zip) from the Cisco Software Downloads site.

Step 2

Extract the zipped folder to your local computer and copy the .vhdx file to the Hyper-V host where you want to host the HX Data Platform Installer. For example, \\hyp-v-host01\....\HX-Installer\Cisco-HX-Data-Platform-Installer-v5.0.1a-33133-hyperv.vhdx

Step 3

In Hyper-V Manager, navigate to one of the Hyper-V servers.

Step 4

Select the Hyper-V server, and right click and select New > Create a virtual machine. The Hyper-V Manager New Virtual Machine Wizard displays.

Step 5

In the Before you Begin page, click Next.

Step 6

In the Specify Name and Location page, enter a name and location for the virtual machine where the virtual machine configuration files will be stored. Click Next.

Step 7

In the Specify Generation page, select Generation 1. Click Next. If you select Generation 2, the VM may not boot.

Step 8

In the Assign Memory page, set the start up memory value to 4096 MB. Click Next.

Step 9

In the Configure Networking page, select a network connection for the virtual machine to use from a list of existing virtual switches. Click Next.

Step 10

In the Connect Virtual Hard Disk page, select Use an existing virtual hard disk, and browse to the folder on your Hyper-V host that contains the .vhdx file. Click Next.

Step 11

In the Summary page, verify that the list of options displayed are correct. Click Finish.

Step 12

After the VM is created, power it ON, and launch the GUI.

1. Right-click on the VM and choose Connect.

2. Choose Action > Start (Ctrl+S).

3. When the VM is booted, make a note of the URL (IP address of the VM). You will need this information in the following steps in the installation.

4. Log in using the HX Installer default credentials Cisco123.

Step 1

Run the following command: ifdown eth0.

Step 2

Using your favorite editor, edit the /etc/network/eth0.interface file to match your environment. For example, add the following lines in the file:

auto eth0 # eth0 interface
iface eth0 inet static # configures static IP for the eth0 interface
metric 100
address XX.XX.XX.XX # Static IP address fr the installer VM
netmask 255.255.0.0 # netmask for the Static IP address
gateway XX.XX.X.X # gateway for the Static IP address
dns-nameservers XX.XX.X.XXX #DNS name servers used by the HX installer
dns-search <DNS_Search_Name>.local # DNS search domain name used by the installer

Step 3

Save the file so that the changes take effect.

Step 4

Run the following command: ifup eth0

Step 5

Reboot the installer VM.

Step 1

Launch HX Data Platform Installer and log in.

Step 2

In the Select a Workflow screen, click Cluster Creation with HyperFlex (FI), complete information for the UCS Manager, Domain Information and Hypervisor Credentials.

The HX Data Platform Installer now connects to UCS Manager and fetches the lists the relevant servers for the HX cluster. The HX Data Platform Installer now validates UCS Firmware.

Click Continue.

Step 3

On the Server Selection page, view all the associated and unassociated servers under the Associated and Unassociated tabs respectively.

Under the Unassociated tab, you can choose to add any nodes to the existing cluster.

Under the Associated tab, you can choose to unassociate servers from the existing cluster.

Use the following screenshot as a reference to complete the fields in this page.

Click Continue.

Step 4

On the UCSM Configuration page, use the guidance below to complete the VLAN Configuration, Mac Pool, Cisco IMC access management (Out-of-band or in band) sub-sections.

1. VLAN Configuration—A minimum of 4 VLANs are required, and each VLAN needs to be on a different IP subnet and extended from the fabric interconnects to the connecting uplink switches. This will ensure that traffic can flow from the Primary Fabric Interconnect (Fabric A) to the Subordinate Fabric Interconnect (Fabric B).

   Use the following table and illustration as reference for entering values in this screen.

   Example VLAN Name	Example VLAN ID	Usage
   hx-inband-mgmt	10	Hyper-V and HyperFlex VM Management.
   hx-storage-data	20	HyperFlex Storage traffic
   hx-livemigrate	30	Hyper-V Live Migration network
   vm-network	100,101	VM guest network

   

   Note	The use of VLAN 1 may cause issues with disjoint layer 2. The vm-network can be multiple VLANs added as a comma separated list.

2. MAC Pool— Use the following table and illustration to complete the remaining network configuration settings.

   Field	Description	Example Value
   MAC pool prefix	MAC address pool for the HX cluster, to be configured in UCS Manager by HX Installer. Ensure that the mac address pool is not used anywhere else in your layer 2 environment.	00:25:b5:xx
   IP blocks	The range of IP addresses that are used for Out-Of-Band management of the HyperFlex nodes.	10.193.211.124-127
   Subnet Mask	The subnet mask for the Out-Of-Band network.	255.255.0.0
   Gateway	The gateway address for the Out-Of-Band network.	10.193.0.1
   Cisco IMC access management	In-band or Out of band	Out of band

   

Step 5

If you want to add external storage, use the guidance below:

1. Configure iSCSI Storage by completing the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Enable iSCSI Storage check box	Select to configure iSCSI storage.
   VLAN A Name	Name of the VLAN associated with the iSCSI vNIC, on the primary Fabric Interconnect (FI-A).
   VLAN A ID	ID of the VLAN associated with the iSCSI vNIC, on the primary Fabric Interconnect (FI-A).
   VLAN B Name	Name of the VLAN associated with the iSCSI vNIC, on the subordinate Fabric Interconnect (FI-B).
   VLAN B ID	ID of the VLAN associated with the iSCSI vNIC, on the subordinate Fabric Interconnect (FI-A).

2. Configure FC Storage by completing the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Enable FC Storage check box	Select to enable FC Storage.
   WWxN Pool	A WWN pool that contains both WW node names and WW port names. For each Fabric Interconnect, a WWxN pool is created for WWPN and WWNN.
   VSAN A Name	The name of the VSAN for the primary Fabric Interconnect (FI-A). Default—hx-ext-storage-fc-a.
   VSAN A ID	The unique identifier assigned to the network for the primary Fabric Interconnect (FI-A). Caution   Do not enter VSAN IDs that are currently used on the UCS or HyperFlex system. If you enter an existing VSAN ID in the installer which utilizes UCS zoning, zoning will be disabled in your existing environment for that VSAN ID.
   VSAN B Name	The name of the VSAN for the subordinate Fabric Interconnect (FI-B). Default—hx-ext-storage-fc-b.
   VSAN B ID	The unique identifier assigned to the network for the subordinate Fabric Interconnect (FI-B). Caution   Do not enter VSAN IDs that are currently used on the UCS or HyperFlex system. If you enter an existing VSAN ID in the installer which utilizes UCS zoning, zoning will be disabled in your existing environment for that VSAN ID.

Step 6

On the Hypervisor Configuration page, complete the following fields.

Step 7

HX Data Platform Deployment

Step 8

On the IP Addresses page, use the table below to complete the fields in this page.

Field	Description	Example Value
Cisco HX Cluster
Cluster Name (SMB Access Point)	The cluster name to be used as the FQDN for the datastores.	HX-EAP-01
Replication Factor	Select the number of redundant data replicas across the HX storage cluster. Options are 2 or 3. This cannot be changed after the cluster is created. 3 is recommended for production workloads.	3 (Default Value)
Failover Cluster Name	The name used for the Windows Failover Cluster.
Controller VM
Create Admin Password
Confirm Administrator Password
System Services
DNS Servers	Comma separated lists of DNS Servers.	10.99.2.200, 10.99.2.201
NTP Servers	The controller VMs needs must be in sync with Windows Active Directory, therefore you must point to your AD domain controllers for time synchronization.	dc1.contoso.com, dc2.contoso.com
DNS Domain Name	The domain name for the Active Directory.	contoso.com
Timezone	The timezone that you want the HX controllers to report in.
Auto Support
Enable Connected Services	Auto Support to ship telemetry data of the HX cluster to Cisco Support.
Send Service ticket to	Email address or alias to receive a copy of the ticket sent to Cisco.	email_address
Advance Networking
Management VLAN tag	VLAN used for the Management Network. This must be the same as used earlier in the installation process for the management network.
Data VLAN tag	VLAN used for the Management network. This must be the same as used earlier in the installation process for the data network.
Advanced Configuration
Enable Jumbo Frames on Data network	Sets the MTU size for the storage data network on the host vSwitches and vNICs, and each storage controller VM. The default value is 9000. Ensure that jumbo frames run on the links connected to the storage VMs.
Disk Partitions	Removes all existing data and partitions from all nodes added to the storage cluster. You must backup any data that should be retained. Select this option to delete existing data and partitions. This is for manually prepared servers. Do not select this option for factory prepared systems. The disk partitions on factory prepared systems are properly configured.
VDI	Configures for VDI only environments. To change the VDI settings after the storage cluster is created, shutdown or move the resources, make changes, and restart the cluster.
Hypervisor Settings
Primary DNS suffix	Completed in earlier steps in the installation.
Additional DNS suffixes	Complete this field if you need more suffices appended on your Hyper-V hosts.

Refer to the illustration below as a sample entries for the various fields in this page.

Step 9

Click Start to begin the deployment. The Progress page displays the progress of the configuration tasks: Start, Deploy Validation, Deploy, Create Validation, Cluster Creation.