As of version 7.0.350, you no longer need a Secure Remote Service (SRS) or a Secure Connect Gateway Appliance (CG) to set up the Call Home functionality for your VxRail cluster. It is now possible to set it up directly via the VxRail Manager:
https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/de-de/000196945/dell-vxrail-next-generation-connectivity-with-vxrail-7-0-350-and-later?lang=en
There are a two things to consider when planning the upgrade to VxRail 7.0.350 or later:
1.) The direct connection cannot be shared by other devices or VxRail clusters.
That means every VxRail Manager has a dedicated connection to the Dell Technologies infrastructure and you cannot share this feature with other Dell solutions! For this you will still need a SRS/SCG.
2.) Each VxRail Manager connects directly to the Dell Technologies infrastructure using a connectivity agent running on the VxRail Manager.
That means you have to open one more firewall port (443 and 8443!) for each VxRail Manager! The external network communication and firewall port requirements are the same as for the SCG:
https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-us/secure-connect-gateway-ve/scg_5.00.07.00_ve_sm/network-requirements?guid=guid-03059beb-a359-41d8-ac6b-5f7ff9853401&lang=en-us
// configuration
You should create a Solve procedure but you can also follow my post to find out how it is configured.
After updating your VxRail Cluster to 7.0.350 or later you enable the Call Home just like before under VxRail Cluster / Configure / VxRail / Support / Connectivity:
The dialog (after accepting the legal notice and testing the network connection) now looks like this:
You now have to create the Access Key and the PIN for the preselected Serial Number (PSNT) in your Dell Support Account:
For this you open this page and log into your account:
https://www.dell.com/support/driver/de-de/connectivity/site/vxrail-software
Next you have to hit the “Generate Key” link, search for the preselected PSNT from the dialog, create a 4-digit PIN and then Dell will send you the one time Access Key to your Email adress. It should look similiar to this (except you will most probably see it in english):
After entering the correct PIN and Access Key you should configure the Primary Contact! If not you don’t need to cofnigure Call Home 😉
Then you can choose the amount of data which will get sent to Dell. I would recommend to at least choose “Medium” to later use performance data in your myVxRail or CloudIQ portal:
After it is configured and enabled you should test the connection. That process is the sames as before using the SRS/SCG. If the ‘MYSTICFFFE’ SR has been created (and directly closed) in your Dell account you are ready to go!
https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/de-de/000069298/vxrail-dial-home-event-code-mysticfffe-vxrfffe-srs-test-call-home?lang=de
I hope this post is helpful to you. Feel free to share if you like…
// footnotes
Date: 23.06.2022
Version: 1.0