VCF Node Expansion - Node Stuck Activating Due to Missing VMkernel or VSwitch Configuration

Products

• VMware SDDC Manager / VCF Installer

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to add a new ESXi host to an existing vSAN cluster via SDDC Manager, the task remains stuck in an "activating" state indefinitely.

Symptoms:

• SDDC Manager UI shows the host status as "activating" with no progress.

• Sub-tasks related to "Enable vSAN" or "Configure Networking" fail to initialize or time out.

• The new host is missing specific networking components (e.g., a standard vSwitch, Port Group, or VMkernel interface like vmk1) that are present on all existing cluster members.

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 5.x/9.x

Cause

The new ESXi host's networking configuration does not match the uniform cluster profile required for vSAN integration.

Resolution

 

• Identify the Configuration Gap:

  • Log into a functional ESXi host in the cluster via SSH and run: esxcfg-vmknic -l and esxcfg-vswitch -l.

  • Log into the new ESXi host and run the same commands to identify missing vSwitches or Port Groups (e.g., a missing "BMC_Network").

• Remove the host from vCenter and decommission the host from SDDC manger. 
  
• Re-Commission the host

• Manually Align Networking:

  • On the new host, create the missing vSwitch or Port Group to match the existing hosts exactly (including MTU and VLAN ID).

  • Example command to add a Port Group: esxcli network vswitch standard portgroup add -p "<PORTGROUP_NAME>" -v <VSWITCH_NAME>

• Re-attempt the cluster expansion

 

Additional Information

Broadcom KB 383014