Create logical networks for Azure Local VMs for multi-rack deployments (preview)

Applies to: Multi-rack deployments of Azure Local 2511 and later

This article describes how to create or add logical networks for Azure Local virtual machines (VMs) for multi-rack deployments. Azure Local VMs that you create use these logical networks.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, complete these prerequisites:

• Review and complete the prerequisites. If you're using a client to connect to your Azure Local, see Connect to the system remotely.

• Ensure you have at least one Layer 3 internal network configured with sufficient IP addresses and the right permissions to associate this internal network with the logical network you create.

• Gather the following details about the Layer 3 internal network you plan to associate with the logical network: Azure Resource Manager (ARM) ID, subnet (address prefix), and VLAN ID. These details must match the internal network when creating the logical network.

• To create VMs with static IP addresses in your address space, add a logical network with static IP allocation. Reserve an IP range with your network admin, and get the address prefix for this IP range.

Create the logical network

You can create a logical network using either the Azure Command-Line Interface (CLI) or the Azure portal.

To create a logical network using Azure CLI, follow these steps.

Sign in and set subscription

1. Connect to your Azure Local instance.

2. Sign in and type:

   az login --use-device-code 
   

3. Set your subscription:

   az account set --subscription <Subscription ID>
   

Create logical network

To create a logical network on the Layer 3 internal network of your choice or static IP configuration, use the az stack-hci-vm network lnet create command. Only static IP allocation is supported in this release of multi-rack deployments.

Create a static logical network

You can create Azure Local VMs enabled by Azure Arc with a static IP only via the Azure CLI.

Create a static logical network when you want to create Azure Local VMs with network interfaces on these logical networks. Follow these steps in Azure CLI to configure a static logical network:

1. Set the parameters. Here's an example:

   $lnetName = "mylocal-lnet-static"
   $internalNetworkName = "<Layer 3InternalNetwork>" 
   $subscription = "<Subscription ID>"
   $resource_group = "mylocal-rg"
   $customLocationID = "/subscriptions/<Subscription ID>/resourceGroups/mylocal-rg/providers/Microsoft.ExtendedLocation/customLocations/mylocal-cl"
   $location = "eastus"
   $addressPrefixes = "100.68.180.0/28"
   $ipPoolEnd = "100.68.180.20"
   $ipPoolStart = "100.68.180.10"
   $gateway = "192.168.200.1"
   $dnsServers = "192.168.200.222"
   $vlan = "201"
   

   Note

   For the default VM switch created at deployment, pass the name string enclosed in double quotes followed by single quotes. For example, a default VM switch ConvergedSwitch(management_compute_storage) is passed as '"ConvergedSwitch(management_compute_storage)"'.

   For static IP, the required parameters are tabulated as follows. Contact your network admin to get networking specific input parameters in the following table:

   Parameters	Description
   name	Name for the logical network that you create for your Azure Local. Make sure to provide a name that follows the Naming rules for Azure network resources. You can't rename a logical network after it's created.
   resource-group	Name of the resource group where you create the logical network. For ease of management, we recommend that you use the same resource group as your Azure Local.
   subscription	Name or ID of the subscription where your Azure Local is deployed. This could be another subscription you use for the logical network on your Azure Local.
   custom-location	Use this parameter to provide the custom location associated with your Azure Local where you're creating this logical network.
   location	Azure regions as specified by az locations.
   vlan	VLAN ID as configured in the Layer 3 Internal Network and provided as the fabric network resource.
   address-prefixes	Subnet address in CIDR notation. For example: "192.168.0.0/16". Must match "ipv4prefix" in the Layer 3 Internal Network provided as the fabric network resource. Only one prefix is supported.
   ip-pool-start	Start of the IP pool. For example: “192.168.0.0”.
   ip-pool-end	End of the IP pool. For example: “192.168.0.20”.
   dns-servers	List of IPv4 addresses of DNS servers. Specify multiple DNS servers in a space separated format. For example: "10.0.0.5" "10.0.0.10" Use the --no-dns-server flag instead if you choose not to provide this parameter.
   gateway	IPv4 address of the default gateway. Use the --no-gateway flag instead if you choose not to provide this parameter.
   fabric-network-configuration-id	ARM resource ID of the Layer 3 Internal network.

   Note

   The dns-server and gateway parameters are optional. Use the --no-gateway flag to bypass passing the gateway parameter. Use the --no-dns-servers flag to bypass passing the dns-servers parameter.

2. Create a static logical network. Run the following command:

   az stack-hci-vm network lnet create --subscription $subscription --resource-group $resource_group --custom-location $customLocationID --location $location --name $lnetName --ip-allocation-method "Static" --address-prefixes $addressPrefixes --gateway $gateway
   --ip-pool-start $ipPoolStart --ip-pool-end $ipPoolEnd --ip-pool-type "vm" --dns-servers $dnsServers --fabric-network-configuration-id $fabricResourceID --vlan $vlan
   

   Here's a sample output:

   {
     "extendedLocation": {
       "name": "/subscriptions/<Subscription ID>/resourceGroups/mylocal-rg/providers/Microsoft.ExtendedLocation/customLocations/mylocal-cl",
       "type": "CustomLocation"
     },
     "id": "/subscriptions/<Subscription ID>/resourceGroups/mylocal-rg/providers/Microsoft.AzureStackHCI/logicalnetworks/mylocal-lnet-static",
     "location": "eastus",
     "name": "mylocal-lnet-static",
     "properties": {
       "dhcpOptions": {
         "dnsServers": [
           "192.168.200.222"
         ]
       },
   
       "fabricNetworkConfiguration": { 
   
         "resourceId": "/subscriptions/<Subscription ID>/resourceGroups/mylocal-rg/providers/Microsoft.ManagedNetworkFabric/l3IsolationDomains/<Layer 3 Isolation Domain> /internalNetworks/<name of internal network>" 
   
       }, 
       "provisioningState": "Succeeded",
       "status": {},
       "subnets": [
         {
           "name": "mylocal-lnet-static",
           "properties": {
             "addressPrefix": "192.168.201.0/24",
             "addressPrefixes": null,
             "ipAllocationMethod": "Static",
             "ipConfigurationReferences": null,
             "ipPools": null,
             "routeTable": {
               "etag": null,
               "name": null,
               "properties": {
                 "routes": [
                   {
                     "name": "mylocal-lnet-static-default-route",
                     "properties": {
                       "addressPrefix": "0.0.0.0/0",
                       "nextHopIpAddress": "192.168.200.1"
                     }
                   }
                 ]
               },
               "type": null
             },
             "vlan": null
           }
         }
       ],
   
     },
     "resourceGroup": "mylocal-rg",
     "systemData": {
       "createdAt": "2023-11-02T16:38:18.460150+00:00",
       "createdBy": "guspinto@contoso.com",
       "createdByType": "User",
       "lastModifiedAt": "2023-11-02T16:40:22.996281+00:00",
       "lastModifiedBy": "319f651f-7ddb-4fc6-9857-7aef9250bd05",
       "lastModifiedByType": "Application"
     },
     "tags": null,
     "type": "microsoft.azurestackhci/logicalnetworks"
   }
   

   After the logical network creation is complete, you're ready to create VMs with network interfaces on these logical networks. You can also create public IP and load balancer resources on these logical networks.

Next steps

• Create Azure Local VMs enabled by Azure Arc