Network ATC: Frequently Asked Questions

This article goes over some frequently asked questions users of Network ATC have asked over the past few months.

What does Network ATC Manage?

Stretch Clustering

Does Network ATC support stretch clustering?

Yes it does. From version 22H2, you can add -Stretch as a parameter when you adding an intent, and deploy stretch intents with Network ATC. For more information on how to deploy stretch intents, check out this page.

My override is not being applied correctly. How should I fix it?

One common mistake that occurs when deploying a siteOverride for stretch intents is- a mismatch between the siteName used in the cluster fault domain and the siteOverride. Make sure that the name outputted by Get-ClusterFaultDomain is the same as the name you are using in your site override, for the siteoverride.Name value.

Live Migrations

Does Network ATC manage live migrations?

From the version 22H2, Network ATC does indeed manage Live Migrations. Network ATC manages a whole range of properties for Live Migrations. Live Migration properties managed by Network ATC include live migration network selection, number of concurrent VM migrations, SMB bandwidth limit.

How do I pass an override to customize live migration settings?

To set and customize cluster and live migration settings, Network ATC uses GlobalOverrides. You first create a cluster override object, set its parameters to your desired values and then add it as a global intent. To pass a GlobalOverrides, run:

$clusterOverride = New-NetIntentGlobalClusterOverrides
Set-NetIntent -GlobalClusterOverrides $clusterOverride

Storage configurations with Network ATC

Does Network ATC support switchless configurations?

Yes, absolutely! Network ATC supports both switched and switchless configurations.

Does Automatic Storage IP Addressing work for switchless storage deployments?

Currently, Automatic Storage IP Addressing (Auto IP) is only supported for 2-node switchless and all switched configurations.

The default storage IPs conflict with the IP Addresses in my network. Is there any way I can change or manage the storage IP addresses by myself?

Yes, you can. If you want to use a custom storage VLAN for your storage intent, use the -StorageVlans parameter when adding your intent. If you want to manage the VLANS and the IP addresses, you can submit an override disabling Auto-IP as follows:

$storageOverride = new-NetIntentStorageOverrides
$storageOverride.EnableAutomaticIPGeneration = $false
Add-NetIntent -Name Storage_Compute -Storage -Compute -AdapterName 'pNIC01', 'pNIC02' -StorageOverrides $storageoverride

General FAQ

Disabling Cluster Network Naming is not changing the names of my vSwitches. How can I change the names of my vSwitches?

vSwitches created by Network ATC are named in accordance to the intent type being deployed. Naming vSwitches in correspondence with the intent helps in managing accurate and consistent configurations on vSwitches throughout the cluster. Hence, we do not allow you to make changes to the naming of vSwitches, even with an override.

Can I modify any node's configuration manually? For example, manually make changes using cmdlets like Set-VMHost, Set-NetadapterAdvancedProperty?

You can not make any manual changes to configurations when using Network ATC. If you wish to customize your configuration, you can do so using Network ATC overrides. Network ATC considers any manual changes as "drift" and drift correct them back to the intended goal state.

How do I keep the management IP already set on the NIC?

Whether deploying a management intent with or without another intent type, make sure to pass the NIC with the management IP as the first NIC in the list of AdapterNames you pass when adding an intent. Network ATC reads the pre-existing management IP on the NIC and uses the same IP address in its intent.