The Dell AX Solutions for Microsoft product family includes:

• Dell AX System for Azure Local (based on Azure Stack HCI operating system)
• Dell AX System for Windows Server (not described in this guide)

This deployment and operations guide provides an overview of Dell AX System for Azure Local with a single-node cluster configuration. The guide includes:

• Guidance on how to integrate solution components
• Instructions for preparing and deploying the solution infrastructure

The audience for this document includes systems engineers, field consultants, partner engineering team members, and customers with knowledge about deploying hyperconverged infrastructures (HCIs) with the Azure Stack HCI operating system, Hyper-V, and Storage Spaces Direct. Customers who do not have Volume License agreements with Microsoft can order AX nodes from Dell Technologies with a factory-installed operating system and OEM license or as a bare-metal installation.

An Azure Local instance can be deployed in the following ways:

• Dell Technologies Services-led—Certified deployment engineers ensure accuracy, speed, and reduced risk and downtime.
• Customer led—Customers who have the qualified level of technical expertise follow the instructions in this guide.

Dell AX System for Azure Local include various configurations of AX nodes from Dell Technologies. These nodes power the primary compute and storage cluster that is deployed as a hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI). The HCI uses a flexible solution architecture rather than a fixed component design.

Microsoft provides a feature to support a single-node cluster on an Azure Stack HCI operating system.

Single-node clusters are similar to standalone Storage Spaces nodes but are delivered as a Microsoft Azure service. Single‑node Azure Local instances support most Azure Local capabilities, except features requiring node‑level fault tolerance.

On a single-node cluster, there is no automatic provision of failover to another node. A hard drive is the fault domain in a single-node cluster, and only a single-tier configuration (All-Flash or All-NVMe) is supported.

Like a multi-node cluster with Azure Stack HCI OS, a single-node cluster is delivered as a Microsoft Azure service and has all the hybrid-cloud features. Because the disk is the fault domain for a single-node cluster, it does not have to replicate any data over the network.

Dell Technologies recommends that you include an RDMA NIC in the setup. The RDMA NIC can help in future expansions or be used in VM traffic.

You can also use 25 GbE or 100 GbE adapters with Hyper-V Replica for application replication or Shared-Nothing Live Migration to move VMs to other clusters.

You can deploy Dell AX System for Azure Local by manually installing the operating system on AX nodes from Dell Technologies.

Each deployment has its own prerequisites, including configuring network switches, as described in this guide.

Partner Admin Link (PAL) is a simple telemetry-based capability that is built into Microsoft Azure. PAL enables Microsoft to track partner involvement in Azure related technical engagements.

Adding a Dell Partner ID to the Service Principal does not provide Dell with additional access to the customer system and does not change any Azure Role-Based Account Controls (RBACs).

Dell Technologies employees can add a PAL using the user ID associated with either the subscription or Service Principal that is used for Arc or for Azure Local registrations. During a deployment, the customer creates the Service Principal for their system.

Dell Technologies recommends that you use the user ID associated with the Service Principal for the registration as described in Add a PAL through the Azure portal by using Azure PowerShell with Service Principal user ID.

Alternatively, you can follow the procedure that is described in Add a PAL through the Azure portal using the subscription user ID.

Microsoft Windows Admin Center is a browser-based management tool that enables you to monitor and manage Windows Servers, failover clusters, and hyperconverged clusters.

You can download the latest version of Windows Admin Center from Microsoft Windows Admin Center and install it on a supported operating system.

You can install Windows Admin Center directly on a managed node to manage itself. You can also install Windows Admin Center on a separate management station to manage the AX nodes remotely.

The Windows Admin Center installer wizard performs the configuration tasks that are required for Windows Admin Center functionality. These tasks include creating a self-signed certificate and configuring trusted hosts for remote node access. Optionally, you can supply the certificate thumbprint that is already present in the target node local certificate store. By default, Windows Admin Center listens on port 443, but you can change the port during the installation process.

For complete guidance on installing Windows Admin Center on supported operating systems, see the Microsoft article Install Windows Admin Center.

After the installation is complete, you can access Windows Admin Center at either https://ManagementStationName or https://ManagementStationName:<PortNumber>, as shown in the following figure.

Before deploying AX nodes, complete the required predeployment configuration tasks.

Complete the following predeployment configuration before deploying the Dell AX System for Azure Local solution.

AX nodes from Dell Technologies are factory-configured with optimized system BIOS and iDRAC settings.

The iDRAC in AX nodes can be configured to obtain an IP address from a DHCP server or can be assigned a static IP address. When the Out-of-band (OOB) network is not configured to obtain IP addresses from a DHCP server, you must manually set a static IPv4 address on each iDRAC network interface. You can use KVM or other means to access the physical server console and set the addresses.

The following instructions are for manual deployment of the Microsoft Azure Stack HCI OS version 24H2 on AX nodes from Dell Technologies. Unless otherwise specified, perform the steps on the physical machine in the infrastructure that is part of Azure Local.

To assign the required permissions for user roles, see Assign required permissions for Azure Local deployment.

Before registering the machine with Azure Arc:

• Ensure that the machine has the correct permissions assigned. To assign the relevant permissions, see Assign required permissions for deployment.
• If you have an Azure Arc gateway requirement in your environment, to understand the prerequisite requirements, see About Azure Arc gateway for Azure Local.
  Note: Azure Arc gateway is only available in Azure Local version 2506 or later.
  
  

You can use one of the following options to register the Azure Local machines with Azure Arc using PowerShell commands. For details, see:

• Register Azure Local with Azure Arc > With proxy
• Register Azure Local with Azure Arc > Without proxy
• Register Azure Local with Azure Arc using Arc Gateway > With proxy
• Register Azure Local with Azure Arc using Arc gateway > Without proxy

You must set up an Active Directory environment before deploying Azure Local instance. To prepare your Active Directory environment, see Prepare Active Directory for Azure Local deployment.

Before deploying AX nodes, complete the required predeployment configuration tasks.

Perform all machine preparation procedures described in Chapter 3: Solution Deployment, including:

• Host network configuration
• Hostname configuration
• Node preparation configuration

These procedures are identical for Active Directory and Local Identity deployments.

You can deploy an Azure Local instance in the following ways:

• Azure portal deployment without ARM templates, which only uses the UI in the Azure portal to deploy an Azure Local instance. For more information, see Deploy an Azure Local instance using the Azure portal.
• Manual ARM Template deployment, which allows you to manually create an ARM template (JSON file) and deploy it using Azure CLI, PowerShell, or REST APIs. For more information, see: Deploy Azure Local via Azure Resource Manager deployment template.
• Azure portal deployment with Quickstart Template (template deployment), which uses the UI in the Azure portal to deploy ARM templates. This method is not documented in this guide.

The Azure portal wizard guides you through steps to create an Azure Local instance.

You can use the wizard to define all instance‑level and machine‑level configuration settings. The wizard guides you through the following windows:

1. Basics
2. Configuration
3. Networking
4. Management
5. Security
6. Advanced
7. Tags (optional)
8. Validation
9. Review and create

To create an Azure Local instance:

1. To start the wizard from Home > Azure Local, select Deploy Azure Local.
2. Under Get Started, in Deploy Azure Local, select Create instance.
3. Specify the Subscription name, Resource group, and Instance name.

   Instance name = Cluster Name Object (CNO)

4. For Cluster options, select either Standard or Rack aware.
5. For Identity provider, select Local identity with Azure Key Vault.
6. Select the machines to be added to the Azure local Instance. Click Add machines.

   The required extensions are automatically installed during this step.

7. When the extensions are installed and the status shows as Ready, click Validate selected machines.
8. To create a new key vault, enter a Key vault name, and then click Create a new key vault.
   Note:

   • If a previously created key vault for a decommissioned instance with the same name exists, you must first delete and purge the old key vault before creating one.
   • Azure Local does not support deploying a cluster by using an existing Azure key vault that has private endpoints enabled.

   
   
   

   
   

   

   
   

9. To go to the next window, click Next: Configuration.
10. In the Configuration window, enter details about the instance.
11. To go to the next window, click Next: Networking, shown in the following figure.

    

12. In the Networking window, for Storage connectivity, choose whether you use a network switch for the storage network.
13. Under Group network traffic types by intent, based on your network topology, select the Networking pattern. For a single-machine instance, Dell Technologies recommends that you select Group Management and Compute (no storage).

    The following table shows the Quality of Service (QoS) flow priorities for each network type:

    Table 9. QoS priorities for network intents

    Traffic class	Purpose	QoS flow	ETS bandwidth allocation
    3	RDMA (SMB Direct)	Enabled	50 percent
    7	Cluster network	Disabled	10 GbE equals 2 percent Greater than 25 GbE equals 1 percent
    0-2, 4-6	0 - Best-effort traffic	Disabled	Remaining percentage distributed across the traffic classes

14. Under Provide intent details, for management-network-intent creation, select the network adapters.
15. Under Allocate IP addresses to the system and services, provide the required details as shown in the following figure.

    

16. Under Compute_Management, to update information such as network intent, data center bridging, and adapter properties including Jumbo Frame size and RDMA protocol, click Customize network settings.
    Note: For management network intents, RDMA must be disabled, as shown in the following figure.
    
    

    

    Note: Microsoft recommends that you set System Traffic Priority to 7 for new cluster deployments. A priority value of 5 is also supported and acceptable. Ensure that the QoS settings on the top‑of‑rack (ToR) switches match the QoS settings that are configured in the host operating system.
    
    

    For more information about this step, see Specify network settings.

17. Under Management shown in the following figure, to identify this system when creating resources, enter the Custom location name.

    

18. Continue to specify Local Administrator details. Use the same account that was created earlier. See Create a local user and add to the local Administrators group. Do not use the built-in Administrator account.
19. Click Next: Security.
20. Under Security shown in the following figure, Dell Technologies and Microsoft recommends that you choose Recommended security settings, which offers the highest level of security settings.

    

21. Click Next: Advanced.
22. Under Advanced, choose Create workload volumes and required infrastructure volumes.

    For more information, see Optionally change advanced settings and apply tags.

23. Click Next: Tags.
24. Under Tags, enter tag information (optional).
25. Click Next: Validation.
26. Under Validation, click Start validation, as shown in the following figure.

    
    

    

    
    

    For more information, see Validate the system.

    The system creates a resource object and its components for the instance. The validation process typically completes within 15 minutes for a single-server deployment, though it may take longer depending on system conditions or environmental factors. This process assesses the system readiness for cluster deployment.

27. Click Next: Review + create.
28. The Review + create window shows the configuration information that you entered or selected in the previous steps for creating the instance. To return to a previous step to change any settings, click Previous.
29. To start the instance creation process, review and confirm your settings, and then click Create .

    When the deployment is complete, all tasks display a status of Success.

    

30. To access your Azure Local instance remotely, enable Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).

    For more information about deploying an instance, see Deploy Azure Local using the Azure portal.

    For more information about enabling RDP, see Enable RDP.

Management tooling support varies across the Azure Local ecosystem for environments that use Azure Key Vault for identity management.

Download Connector is a component in the Solution Builder Extension (SBE) package that automates the download of new SBE bundles as they become available for your Azure Local instance.

When an SBE that includes the Download Connector is installed on your instance, manual downloading and importing of subsequent versions is no longer required. The update service automatically retrieves the next available SBE, similar to how solution updates are handled.

Download Connector is part of SBE version 4.1.2505.1501 and later. These versions also feature system and update health checks that proactively verify connectivity to the required remote resource before downloading the next SBE. System health checks run daily, while update health checks occur at the beginning of the update process.

The Solution Builder Extension (SBE) Download Connector requires outbound Internet access to retrieve update bundles and catalogs.

The SBE Download Connector that runs on the Azure Local instance must periodically connect to Internet resources to enable Download Connector to download SBE bundles for your instance. The following table lists the outbound connectivity that is required:

For more information about SBE packages with Download Connector capability and installation procedure, see Solution Builder Extensions for Azure Local - Integrated System AX Server Release Notes.

You can apply solution updates to your Azure Local instance using the Dell Solutions Builder Extensions (SBE) package. You can update your instance either by:

• Downloading offline solution updates
• Discovering online solution updates and then applying the updates

You must ensure that:

• You have a functioning Azure Local instance with Azure Stack HCI operating system, version 24H2. The instance is registered to Azure.
• You have access to the online solution update package or offline solution update package download.

You can do these updates either by:

• Using PowerShell
• Using Azure Update Manager service from the Azure portal

The process for updating the SBE package using PowerShell in offline mode can be used for both multi-machine or single-machine Azure Local instances.

To do an offline solution update, follow the steps that are described in Azure Local Dell Solution Builder Extensions Release Notes > Installation

You can install and configure GPUs on AX platforms. For a list of GPUs that are supported on AX nodes from Dell Technologies, see the Dell Solutions for Microsoft Azure > Azure Local Support Matrix.

For deployed Azure Local instance, or Windows Server 2025 (or later instance before performing any GPU hardware changes, place the target machine into maintenance mode (pause and drain).

Use Dell Support to follow the platform-specific GPU installation procedure for your server model.

For model-specific GPU slot or riser matrices and riser configuration options, see the applicable Dell installation and service manual sections for your platform, including:

• Expansion card riser specifications
• Expansion card installation guidelines
• GPU kit (if available)
• GPU specifications

For the most up-to-date list of supported GPUs for AX nodes, see the Dell Solutions for Microsoft Azure > Azure Local Support Matrix.

You can use Discrete Device Assignment (DDA) on supported GPUs so that the Azure Stack HCI and Windows Server 2025 and later operating system servers contain GPU-enabled clustered VMs.

For a list of supported GPUs, see the latest version of the Dell Technologies Solutions for Microsoft Azure Local > Support Matrix.

On the Azure Stack HCI or Windows Server 2025 or later operating-system servers, you can use GPU partitioning (GPU-P) for different workloads, such as artificial intelligence. To avoid mistakes and for a streamlined visual experience, Dell Technologies recommends that you use Windows Admin Center (WAC) for GPU-P.

For the latest supported GPU-P enabled GPUs, see Dell Technologies for Microsoft Azure Local > Support Matrix.

Dell Technologies servers do not come with a GPU-P driver. The GPU-P driver requires separate licensing from NVIDIA. For more information about licensing options and the benefits of GPU-P, see: NVIDIA Virtual GPUs.

Dell OpenManage Integration with Windows Admin Center (OMIMSWAC) enables IT administrators to manage the HCI that is created by using Dell AX System for Azure Local. OMIMSWAC simplifies the tasks of IT administrators by remotely managing the AX nodes and clusters throughout their life cycle.

For more information about the features, benefits, and installation of OMIMSWAC, see the Dell Technologies documentation at Dell OpenManage Integration with Microsoft Windows Admin Center.

Dell OpenManage Integration with Microsoft Windows Admin Center (OMIMSWAC) computes the compliance using different types of Dell HCI Configuration Profile policies that are mentioned and displays the report.

The following table provides information about each Dell policy:

The compliance summary is divided into several sections as described in the following table:

The table lists the Overall Compliance State options and provides a description of the relevant icon shape and color code for the compliant state options:

The following table describes each section of the Policy Summary and what it contains: