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NetApp Solutions

Deploy and configure the Virtualization Environment on Azure

Contributors kevin-hoke
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As with on-premises, planning Azure VMware Solution is critical for a successful production-ready environment for creating VMs and migration.

This section describes how to set up and manage Azure VMware Solution and use it in combination with the available options for connecting NetApp storage.

The setup process can be broken down into the following steps:

Register the resource provider and create a private cloud

To use Azure VMware Solution, first register the resource provider within the identified subscription:

  1. Sign in to the Azure portal.

  2. On the Azure portal menu, select All Services.

  3. In the All Services dialog box, enter the subscription and then select Subscriptions.

  4. To view, select the subscription from the subscription list.

  5. Select Resource Providers and enter Microsoft.AVS into the search.

  6. If the resource provider is not registered, select Register.

    avs register create pc 1

    avs register create pc 2

  7. After the resource provider is registered, create an Azure VMware Solution private cloud by using the Azure portal.

  8. Sign in to the Azure portal.

  9. Select Create a New Resource.

  10. In the Search the Marketplace text box, enter Azure VMware Solution and select it from the results.

  11. On the Azure VMware Solution page, select Create.

  12. From the Basics tab, enter the values in the fields and select Review + Create.

Notes:

  • For a quick start, gather the required information during the planning phase.

  • Select an existing resource group or create a new resource group for the private cloud. A resource group is a logical container in which the Azure resources are deployed and managed.

  • Make sure the CIDR address is unique and does not overlap with other Azure Virtual Networks or on-premises networks. The CIDR represents the private cloud management network and is used for the cluster management services, such as vCenter Server and NSX-T Manager. NetApp recommends using a /22 address space. In this example, 10.21.0.0/22 is used.

avs register create pc 3

The provisioning process takes approximately 4–5 hours. After the process is complete, verify that the deployment was successful by accessing the private cloud from the Azure portal. A status of Succeeded is displayed when the deployment is complete.

An Azure VMware Solution private cloud requires an Azure Virtual Network. Because Azure VMware Solution doesn't support on-premises vCenter, additional steps are required to integrate with an existing on-premises environment. Setting up an ExpressRoute circuit and a virtual network gateway is also required. While waiting for the cluster provisioning to complete, create a new virtual network or use an existing one to connect to Azure VMware Solution.

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Connect to a new or existing ExpressRoute virtual network gateway

To create a new Azure Virtual Network (VNet), select the Azure VNet Connect tab. Alternatively, you can create one manually from the Azure portal by using the Create Virtual Network wizard:

  1. Go to Azure VMware Solution private cloud and access Connectivity under the Manage option.

  2. Select Azure VNet Connect.

  3. To create a new VNet, select the Create New option.

    This feature allows a VNet to be connected to the Azure VMware Solution private cloud. The VNet enables communication between workloads in this virtual network by automatically creating required components (for example, jump box, shared services such as Azure NetApp Files, and Cloud Volume ONTAP) to the private cloud created in Azure VMware Solution over ExpressRoute.

    Note: The VNet address space should not overlap with the private cloud CIDR.

    azure connect gateway 1

  4. Provide or update the information for the new VNet and select OK.

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The VNet with the provided address range and gateway subnet is created in the designated subscription and resource group.

Note If you create a VNet manually, create a virtual network gateway with the appropriate SKU and ExpressRoute as the gateway type. After the deployment is complete, connect the ExpressRoute connection to the virtual network gateway containing Azure VMware Solution private cloud using the authorization key. For more information, see Configure networking for your VMware private cloud in Azure.
Validate the network connect and access to Azure VMware Solution private cloud

Azure VMware Solution does not allow you to manage a private cloud with on-premises VMware vCenter. Instead, jump host is required to connect to the Azure VMware Solution vCenter instance. Create a jump host in the designated resource group and sign in to the Azure VMware Solution vCenter. This jump host should be a Windows VM on the same virtual network that was created for connectivity and should provide access to both vCenter and the NSX Manager.

azure validate network 1

After the virtual machine is provisioned, use the Connect option to access RDP.

azure validate network 2

Sign in to vCenter from this newly created jump host virtual machine by using the cloud admin user . To access the credentials, go to the Azure portal and navigate to Identity (under the Manage option within the private cloud). The URLs and user credentials for the private cloud vCenter and NSX-T Manager can be copied from here.

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In the Windows virtual machine, open a browser and navigate to the vCenter web client URL ("https://10.21.0.2/") and use the admin user name as cloudadmin@vsphere.local and paste the copied password. Similarly, NSX-T manager can also be accessed using the web client URL ("https://10.21.0.3/") and use the admin user name and paste the copied password to create new segments or modify the existing tier gateways.

Note The web client URLs are different for each SDDC provisioned.

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The Azure VMware Solution SDDC is now deployed and configured. Leverage ExpressRoute Global Reach to connect the on-premises environment to Azure VMware Solution private cloud. For more information, see Peer on-premises environments to Azure VMware Solution.