vCenter High Availability (VCHA) Configuration removal
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vCenter High Availability (VCHA) Configuration removal

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Article ID: 427313

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

This article provides instructions for removing a vCenter High Availability (VCHA) configuration. VCHA is a feature that links three separate virtual machines (Active, Passive, Witness) together to provide redundancy. Removing this configuration returns the vCenter Server to a standalone setup, which is needed when high availability is no longer required or when preparing for system upgrades. For more information about VCHA refer vCenter High Availability FAQ

Note: Standard VM snapshots on the vCenter can disrupt VCHA database replication and are unsupported. Hence it is recommended to Review the risks involved while operating with VCHA removal and proceed carefully.

  • Single Point of Failure: vCenter management will rely entirely on a single virtual machine.
  • No Automatic Failover: If a host or guest OS failure occurs, there is no Passive node to immediately take over.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 

Resolution

To remove VCHA, ensure a file based vCenter backup is in place and follow one of the below methods. 

Method 1: via vSphere Client (Preferred)

  1. Log in to the Source vCenter Server via the vSphere Client.
  2. Select the vCenter object in the inventory.
  3. At the right hand side, navigate to Configure > vCenter HA.
  4. Disable vCenter HA by clicking "Edit". Select "Disable vCenter HA" and then click OK
    Note: Disabling VCHA is a critical first step that halts database replication and heartbeats between nodes but keeps the cluster configuration intact for troubleshooting or temporary maintenance.
  5. Once VCHA is disabled, click Remove vCenter HA.
    Note: This action is destructive; it completely dissolves the cluster configuration and returns the Active node to a standalone state. Ensure you select the option to delete the Passive and Witness nodes to automatically clean up resources.

Method 2: Using the command line Interface (CLI)

  1. Power Off the Passive and Witness virtual machines and delete them.
    Note: Active, Passive and Witness nodes can be verified by logging into the vSphere Client, selecting the vCenter Server object in the inventory, and navigating to Configure > Settings > vCenter HA. The status diagram clearly indicates which node currently holds the Active role and its management IP address. (Refer to Method 1, step 3)
  2. Once Passive and Witness nodes are powered off, open an SSH session to the Active vCenter node and log in as root.
  3. Type shell to enter the BASH interface.
  4. Execute the following command to force the removal of the VCHA configuration:

    vcha-destroy -f

    Example Output    :
    root@<vcenter> :~ # vcha-destroy -f
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss [Info]: Initiating vCenter HA cluster destruction ...
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss [Info]: Stopping vCenter HA services on active node ...
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss [Info]: Deleting Passive and Witness nodes ...
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss [Info]: Unconfiguring vCenter HA on active node ...
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss [Success]: vCenter HA configuration has been successfully removed.
  5. Reboot the vCenter Server Appliance to ensure all services refresh their configuration. When it comes back up it should be a standalone vCenter instance.

Additional Information

For further details, refer to Remove a vCenter HA Configuration

If the VCHA configuration was removed for the purpose of a vCenter Server upgrade, the VCHA cluster must be re-established once the upgrade is successfully completed to restore environment redundancy by following the steps outlined in Configure vCenter HA with the vSphere Client

 

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