SvHCI - HPE DL325 Gen11 Server Runbook

Steve LaPelle
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SvHCI / HPE ProLiant DL325 Gen11 Runbook

The following runbook was written for administrators wishing to deploy their new StorMagic SvHCI virtual infrastructure and create a highly available hyperconverged cluster using HPE ProLiant DL325 Gen11 hardware.

Product: SvHCI Hardware: HPE DL325 Gen11 Deployment Type: Hyperconverged Architecture: 2-Node + Witness
Note: All screenshots are clickable for enlarging or may be opened in a separate browser tab.

SvHCI deployment overview.

Deployment overview

Expected Server Configuration

Expected OEM server configuration.

Expected server configuration

With your purchase of SvHCI on HPE via OEM the servers will come with the SvHCI hypervisor preinstalled. The following runbook walks through the process of getting this setup and operational once the equipment has been received.

Prerequisites

  • SvHCI licenses available.
  • iLO license key available.
  • 3x IP addresses for StorMagic management:
    • SvHCI1
    • SvHCI2
    • Witness
  • Storage IP schema planned.
  • Witness device topology planned.
  • DNS A records recommended for hostname resolution.
Best Practice: Configure DNS A records before deployment to ensure proper hostname resolvability throughout the environment.
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HPE Hardware Delivery
  • Verify all components are present and undamaged.

HPE DL325 Gen11 server overview.

DL325 hardware overview

1.2 Installing Additional Hardware and Connecting Peripherals

  • Install RAM, SSDs/HDDs, and additional NICs if required.
  • Connect power cables.
  • Attach a monitor, keyboard, and mouse if not using iLO for the initial deployment.

Rear server connectivity.

Rear connectivity

Additional hardware connectivity.

Additional hardware connectivity

DL325 hardware layout.

Hardware layout

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StorMagic Networking Information

SvHCI presents synchronously mirrored block-based disk devices using Replication Factor 2 (RF2) storage mirroring.

SvHCI has three network traffic types:

  • Management traffic
  • iSCSI storage traffic
  • Mirror Preferred / Failover / Excluded synchronization traffic

Administrators can define which traffic types are allowed over each network interface and can additionally define preferred interfaces for mirror synchronization traffic.

The use of direct attach or DAC networking frees switch ports, enables load balancing, and can provide 10Gb performance without requiring dedicated 10Gb switching infrastructure.

Important: Back-to-back synchronization links should exist on separate logical vSwitches and separate IP subnets to prevent routing conflicts.
  • SvHCI fully supports direct attach cabling and this is the preferred design for the storage synchronization network.
  • Verify network cabling matches deployment best practices.
  • Power on the servers if not already powered on.

2.2 Recommended Network Adapters

  • Broadcom BCM5719 1Gb Quad Port Base-T NIC
  • Broadcom BCM57414 10Gb/25Gb SFP28 NIC

BCM57410 High-Performance 10GbE/25GbE/40GbE/50GbE Solutions 

Recommended networking topology.

Networking topology

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Configuring Initial iLO Access

Configure the iLO management interface to allow remote browser-based administration and remote ISO mounting.

  • Default iLO IP: 192.168.0.120
  • Default Username: Administrator
  • Password located on chassis label

Initial iLO access.

Initial iLO access

Dedicated iLO network configuration.

Dedicated iLO networking

3.2 Applying an iLO Advanced License

  • Navigate to Administrator → Licensing.
  • Apply the iLO Advanced license key.
  • Validate remote console functionality.

Applying iLO licensing.

Applying iLO licensing

3.3 Firmware and BIOS Updates

StorMagic recommends updating BIOS, firmware, drivers, and iLO using the latest HPE Service Pack for ProLiant (SPP) before production deployment.

  • Mount the HPE SPP ISO using iLO virtual media.
  • Boot the server from the mounted ISO.
  • Select Automatic Firmware Update.
  • Allow the system to reboot as required.

System utilities and firmware update access.

Firmware utilities

Important: Match BIOS and firmware revisions across both nodes before continuing with cluster deployment.
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First-Boot Configuration
  • Login to the SvHCI web interface.
  • Username: admin
  • Password: password

Initial SvHCI login.

Initial login

  • Accept the licensing agreement.

Accepting the licensing agreement.

License agreement

Initial setup wizard.

Setup wizard

4.2 Applying SvHCI Licensing

  • Apply the SvHCI license key.
  • Validate successful license activation.

Applying SvHCI licensing.

SvHCI licensing

Reviewing license information.

License information

4.3 Hostname and Password Configuration

  • Configure hostname and domain information.
  • Create a secure administrator password.
  • Re-login using the updated credentials.

Hostname and domain configuration.

Hostname configuration

Administrator password configuration.

Password configuration

Completed first login configuration.

Completed login

Note: Complete identical configuration steps on both nodes before proceeding with cluster creation.

4.4 SvHCI Networking

Initial networking dashboard.

Networking dashboard

Management networking configuration.

Management networking

  • Create a VM Port Group.
  • Apply VLAN tagging if required.
  • Create dedicated SAN vSwitches for synchronization traffic.

VM networking and VLAN configuration.

VM networking

Creating SAN networking.

SAN networking

Creating synchronization interfaces.

Synchronization interfaces

  • Disable DHCP.
  • Assign static IP addresses and subnet masks.
  • Configure VLAN tagging if required.
  • Enable iSCSI traffic.
  • Set mirror synchronization policy to Preferred.

Mirror synchronization interface configuration.

Mirror synchronization

Secondary SAN network configuration.

Secondary SAN

Secondary synchronization interface configuration.

Secondary synchronization

Completed networking configuration.

Completed networking

4.5 Storage Pool Configuration

  • Review the automatically created storage pools.
  • Rename the shared storage pool.
  • Validate local and shared storage visibility.

Initial storage pool configuration.

Storage pools

Renaming the shared storage pool.

Pool rename

Completed storage pool configuration.

Completed pools

4.6 SvHCI Witness Installation

To provide full data integrity in mirrored environments, StorMagic recommends deployment of a witness service.

The witness service acts as a third-party arbitration mechanism between mirrored nodes and should be deployed outside the HA cluster.

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SvHCI Cluster Creation

Once both nodes and the witness service are operational, create the SvHCI cluster using the Discovery tab.

  • Navigate to the Discovery tab.
  • Select Join.
  • Select the second SvHCI node.
  • Select the witness service.
  • Apply the cluster configuration.

Discovery tab and cluster view.

Discovery tab

Selecting nodes and witness service.

Witness selection

Cluster join process.

Cluster join

Completed SvHCI cluster.

Completed cluster

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Post Deployment Validation
  • Verify iLO accessibility.
  • Verify SvHCI management accessibility.
  • Validate VM networking connectivity.
  • Run ping and traceroute diagnostics.

Ping diagnostics.

Ping diagnostics

Traceroute diagnostics.

Traceroute diagnostics

6.2 Network Performance Validation

Network speed test server configuration.

Network speed test server

Network speed test client configuration.

Network speed test client

Network speed test results.

Network speed test results

Network IO path test configuration.

Network IO path test

Network IO path test results.

Network IO path test results

6.3 Storage and VM Validation

  • Upload ISO images.
  • Create Windows guest virtual machines.
  • Create Linux guest virtual machines.
  • Validate shared storage accessibility.
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Validating Built for Redundancy and Uptime

Following deployment, validate high availability functionality and ensure the environment operates correctly during failure scenarios.

  • Verify HA failover functionality.
  • Review synchronization status.
  • Validate witness service connectivity.
  • Review target statistics and performance.

Target statistics view.

Target statistics

Cluster health validation.

Cluster health

Firmware upgrade locations.

Firmware upgrades

SvHCI firmware management.

Firmware management

Important: Production firmware and SvHCI upgrades should be completed using the official StorMagic non-disruptive upgrade process.
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Additional Information
Important: Secure Boot is not currently supported by the SvHCI ISO and should remain disabled within the system BIOS.
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