Add a "Compute Only" Node or a ESXi host with no local storage to a vSAN Cluster

Products

• VMware vSAN 7.x
• VMware vSAN 8.x

Issue/Introduction

This article lists the steps to add a "Compute Only"  Node or a ESXi host with no local storage to a vSAN Cluster

Note:

• Broadcom does not recommend having unbalanced cluster configurations, and thus minimize significant levels of asymmetry.  This will help prevent potential availability and capacity issues during failure conditions, and minimize deviation in performance

For more information please check:

Asymmetrical vSAN Clusters - What is Allowed, and What is Smart

• This article is not related to vSAN remote datastore mount or to HCI Mesh Architecture 

Environment

VMware vSAN 7.x

VMware vSAN 8.x

Resolution

To add a compute only node to a vSAN cluster, three high level steps need to be followed:

• Add the ESXi to the vSAN Cluster on the vCenter server:

Add a Host to the vSAN Cluster

• Add the ESXi host to the dvSwitch and migrate the Management Network:

Add Hosts to a vSphere Distributed Switch

• Create VMkernel Port for vSAN:

Set Up a VMkernel Network for vSAN