I'm very new to azure stack hci now on trial and need some advice for OS drive installation best practice

Pakpoom Chatsuwan (ED) 20 Reputation points
2024-05-03T04:14:29.78+00:00

I'm just start to evaluate Azure Stack HCI and very new for this service because we are moving from Vmware vsphere. what i need for help is I just need to make sure that I'm in the good practice for setting up. My current setup is below

1 Node installation

CPU 20 Cores

RAM 256 GB

Disk: OS drive ssd 480 GB x 2

Data Disk SSD 4 TB x 4

The question for my team is that how can we setup the OS disk in software raid mode or it already redundant since we cannot use HW/Raid card for installation.

Azure Stack HCI
Azure Stack HCI
A hyperconverged infrastructure operating system delivered as an Azure service that provides security, performance, and feature updates.
300 questions
Azure
Azure
A cloud computing platform and infrastructure for building, deploying and managing applications and services through a worldwide network of Microsoft-managed datacenters.
1,056 questions
0 comments
Accepted answer
  1. Prrudram-MSFT 22,941 Reputation points
    2024-05-03T07:25:47.36+00:00

    Hello @Pakpoom Chatsuwan (ED)

    Welcome to the world of Azure Stack HCI! It's great that you're exploring this solution as an alternative to VMware vSphere. Let's ensure you're on the right track for setting up your environment.

    Setting Up Azure Stack HCI

    1. Download the Azure Stack HCI Operating System:
    2. Installation Process:
      • Start the Install Azure Stack HCI wizard on the system drive of the server where you want to install the operating system.
      • Choose the language to install or accept the default language settings.
      • Select "Install now" to proceed.
      • Review and accept the license terms.
      • On the installation type page, select Custom: Install the newer version of Azure Stack HCI only (advanced).
      • Confirm the drive on which the operating system will be installed.
      • The installation process will restart the operating system twice to complete the process.
      • Change the user's password before signing in to the operating system using the Server Configuration tool (SConfig).
    3. Resiliency Options:
    • Azure Stack HCI uses Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) for fault tolerance, implemented in software (similar to RAID).
    • There are two main options for resiliency: mirroring and parity. Mirroring:
    • Provides fault tolerance by keeping multiple copies of all data (similar to RAID-1).
    • Choose between two-way (50% storage efficiency) or three-way mirroring (33.3% storage efficiency).
    • Three-way mirroring can tolerate at least two hardware problems (drive or server) simultaneously. Parity (erasure coding):
    1. OS Disk Redundancy:
      • Since you cannot use hardware RAID cards, Azure Stack HCI relies on software-based redundancy.
      • Your OS disk is already redundant due to the underlying Storage Spaces Direct technology.
      • No additional setup is needed for OS disk redundancy; it's inherent in the Azure Stack HCI architecture.
    2. Best Practices:
      • Ensure that your local administrator password follows Azure password length and complexity requirements.
      • Use a password that is at least 12 characters long and contains a lowercase character, an uppercase character, a numeral, and a special character.
      • Regularly monitor your environment and follow Azure Stack HCI best practices for optimal performance and reliability.

    Remember, Azure Stack HCI provides a flexible and resilient platform for your workloads. If you have any further questions or need assistance, feel free to ask! 😊

    If I have answered your query, please click "Accept as answer" as a token of appreciation

    1 person found this answer helpful.

0 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest