Reference Guide

vStart 100 and 200 VMware vSphere Reference Architecture
Dell Inc 10
4.2 Physical Separation of LAN and iSCSI SAN Traffic
Dedicated NICs and switches are provided for iSCSI storage traffic to isolate the storage traffic from
LAN traffic. This ensures minimal latency for storage I/O operations.
4.3 Logical Separation of multiple LAN traffic types
Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) are used to provide security and logical separation of various
traffic types required for virtualization.
4.4 Requirements for Integration into an Existing Data Center
A database, domain name services (DNS), network time protocol (NTP), and routing between VLANs are
requirements for the vStart solution. The architectures assume that a network core and routing are in
place, and that a database is configured for VMware vCenter Server. DNS and NTP support must also
be configured and running in the customer’s environment prior to deploying a vStart solution. A site
survey may be needed to gather additional information and confirm customer requirements. Table 2
below provides more details about the requirements. For more information about the site survey,
please contact your Dell Sales and Services representatives.
Customer Infrastructure and vStart Solution Table 2.
Infrastructure Requirement
Function
vStart Solution Requirements
Database
vCenter Server requires a
database to store details about
vCenter Server hosts, VMs, and
related attributes
Existing database that can be
reached by the vCenter Server
to be installed in vStart or
existing vCenter Server and
database
DNS
Provides name resolution for IP
address to hostnames
ESXi hosts, iDRAC, and the
Management Server require
access to DNS for name
resolution
NTP
Provides time synchronization
services for components in the
solution
ESXi hosts, PowerConnect
Switches, and EqualLogic
Storage Arrays require time
synchronization
Network Routing
Provides a network path in/out
of the vStart LAN switches to the
customer’s network
Existing network routing must
be in place before the vStart
solution can communicate with
database, DNS, NTP and other
services in the customers
environment
For details about the databases supported by vCenter Server, refer to the VMware Product
Interoperability Matrix. DNS provides name resolution services for various solution components, while
an NTP server is required to synchronize time across various components in the solution and to enable
VMware HA functionality.