VMware vSAN ESA Cluster Node Addition Failure

Products

• VMware vSAN

Issue/Introduction

New ESXi host fails to join an existing vSAN ESA cluster via command line, despite successful network connectivity (vmkping) and correct unicast agent configuration.

• Symptom: esxcli vsan cluster get shows vSAN ESA Enabled: false on the new host, while the Master node shows vSAN ESA Enabled: true.

• Environment: vSAN ESA Cluster.

Environment

VMware vSAN (All Versions)

Cause

A version mismatch in the cluster configuration occurs because the new host joined without the required ESA flag,
leading to a partition between the vSAN OSA (new host) and vSAN ESA (cluster) modes.

Resolution

To resolve the network partition and integrate the host into the vSAN ESA cluster, perform the following steps on the new ESXi host:

1. Leave the existing vSAN cluster: esxcli vsan cluster leave

2. Re-join with the ESA flag (-x): esxcli vsan cluster join -u <Cluster_UUID> -x (Replace <Cluster_UUID> with the actual UUID of the cluster.)

3. Re-add the unicast agent for the Master node: esxcli vsan cluster unicastagent add -a <Master_Node_IP> -t node -u <Master_Node_UUID> -U 1

4. Verify cluster status: esxcli vsan cluster get Confirm that vSAN ESA Enabled is now set to true and the node state reflects proper membership.

Additional Information

 

• vSAN OSA nodes and vSAN ESA nodes cannot be mixed within the same vSAN cluster.

• For further documentation on vSAN cluster operations, refer to Broadcom TechDocs.