Dell Private Cloud Deploying Nutanix
How can you simplify Nutanix operations while keeping more control over infrastructure and licensing? The solution brief shows how Dell Automation Platform, validated blueprints, intelligent lifecycle management, and disaggregated infrastructure streamline deployment and day-to-day management. Download the solution brief to explore the approach.
What is Dell Private Cloud deploying Nutanix?
Dell Private Cloud deploying Nutanix is a software subscription that connects your Dell infrastructure with Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure, coordinated by the Dell Automation Platform.
It brings together three main elements:
- Storage: Use your existing Dell storage (such as PowerStore or PowerFlex) or deploy new systems. You can choose:
- Platform-integrated storage with automation and lifecycle workflows (deployment, updates)
- Platform-compatible storage that’s validated for Dell Private Cloud but managed independently, using standard storage licensing
- Compute: Run on Dell PowerEdge servers (new or existing). Supported platforms include 16th and 17th generation PowerEdge systems with Intel or AMD processors, with options like BOSS-N1 for RAID 1 boot, redundant power, iDRAC Enterprise or Datacenter licensing, and OCP 3.0/PCIe GPU support.
- Dell Automation Platform: A no-cost control plane and orchestrator that automates deployment and management of both hardware and software. It provides a centralized inventory, logging, and a catalog of validated blueprints for cluster deployment, expansion, and updates.
The solution integrates tightly with Nutanix Prism, so your teams can keep using familiar Nutanix tools and management views. Nutanix licenses (NCI or NCI-C) are sourced through your usual channels and are portable between Private Clouds, with 1-, 3-, 4-, or 5-year subscription options.
Overall, Dell Private Cloud deploying Nutanix is designed to reimagine how you run private cloud by combining an appliance-like experience with the flexibility of disaggregated infrastructure and Dell’s system-level support.
How does automation and lifecycle management work?
Dell Private Cloud deploying Nutanix uses the Dell Automation Platform and validated blueprints to automate both initial deployment and ongoing operations.
Intelligent lifecycle management
- Provides automated, full-stack lifecycle management for Dell compute, storage, and the private cloud software stack.
- Covers patching, updating, expansion, and component replacement using blueprint-driven, validated routines.
- Lets you define a desired state (hypervisor/OS image, Dell Private Cloud software version, PowerEdge firmware). The system continuously checks compliance against validated states.
- Supports controlled version drift for urgent or security patches, so you can apply a critical fix even before a new validated state is published.
Automation and blueprints
- Day‑2 tasks like cluster updates, node expansion/removal, and storage updates are executed via predefined, Dell-tested blueprints written in TOSCA-based YAML.
- You can upload software and firmware bundles, preview upgrade paths and health checks with update advisor reports, and stage or schedule operations for maintenance windows.
- Compliance and health checks are integrated into all workflows, reducing manual steps and risk.
Dynamic licensing and operations
- Licenses are applied automatically from Dell Digital Locker, eliminating manual key handling.
- Cluster updates (firmware, software, OS), cluster expansion or node removal, and storage system updates are all managed from the central orchestrator.
- The environment is designed so you can quickly re-provision, repurpose, or decommission infrastructure as workloads or business needs change.
Through this approach, Dell helps you reshape day‑2 operations from manual, ticket-driven work into automated, blueprint-based workflows.
What flexibility and support options are available?
Dell Private Cloud deploying Nutanix is built to give you flexibility in how you license, configure, and evolve your environment over time.
Licensing flexibility
- Nutanix licensing is sourced independently (e.g., NCI or NCI-C), so you can leverage existing ELAs or perpetual licenses without tying them to specific hardware.
- Dell Private Cloud software is licensed per PowerEdge node, with a no-cost subscription added to the sales order (only one instance required).
- Standard storage licensing (e.g., PowerStore, PowerFlex) continues to apply; no additional Private Cloud storage licenses are required.
Infrastructure and deployment flexibility
- Supports disaggregated infrastructure, so you can mix and match Dell storage and PowerEdge compute and bring your own networking.
- Nutanix clusters can run on-premises with 3 to 32 nodes, 10GbE or higher networking, and mixed platforms for cluster expansion (as long as NIC configuration matches).
- The Dell Automation Platform can be customer-hosted (as a virtual appliance or Kubernetes cluster) or Dell-hosted and accessed via Dell On-Premises Proxy Accelerator.
Support and services
- ProSupport is included, with options for ProSupport Plus for higher levels of OS and collaborative support.
- Dell offers ProDeploy or ProDeploy Plus for new clusters, including physical and logical planning, racking and cabling, and ecosystem setup.
- Hardware support for Dell PowerEdge and storage is required, while customers maintain their own Nutanix support contracts.
This open, adaptable model helps rethink private cloud investment: you can repurpose infrastructure to different third-party cloud ecosystems as workloads and business needs change, while relying on Dell for system-level support and lifecycle automation.