You can add a cluster to a workload domain through the Workload Domains page in the SDDC Manager Dashboard.

Prerequisites

  • There must be at least three hosts available in the Cloud Foundation inventory. For information on adding a host to Cloud Foundation, see Commission Hosts.
  • Ensure that the hosts you want to add to the cluster are in an active state.
  • You must have a valid vSphere and vSAN (if using vSAN storage) license specified in the Licensing tab of the SDDC Manager Dashboard with adequate sockets available for the host to be added. For more information, see Add License Keys for the Software in Your Cloud Foundation System.
  • A DHCP server must be configured on the VXLAN VLAN of the management domain. When NSX creates VXLAN VTEPs for the VI workload domain, they are assigned IP addresses from the DHCP server.
  • From the UI, you can only select hosts on which pNICs 0 and 1 are active. For information on multi-pNIC support, see Separating Traffic by Using Multiple vDSes.

Procedure

  1. On the SDDC Manager Dashboard, click Inventory > Workload Domains.
    The Workload Domains page displays information for all workload domains.
  2. Use one of the following methods to get started.
    • From the high level workload domain page:
      1. Hover your mouse in the workload domain row that where you want to add a cluster.

        A set of three dots appear on the left of the workload domain name.

      2. Click these dots and then click Add Cluster.

        The Add Cluster wizard appears.

    • From the workload domain details page:
      1. Click the name of the workload domain to go to the details page for that workload domain.
      2. Click Actions > Add Cluster.

        The Add Cluster wizard appears.

  3. Select the storage type for the cluster and click Begin.
  4. Enter a name for the cluster and click Next.
  5. On the Networking page, enter the VXLAN VLAN of the management domain and click Next.
    This is the VXLAN VLAN of the management domain. A DHCP server must be configured to lease IPs in the specified VLAN. When NSX creates VXLAN VTEPs, they are assigned IP addresses from the DHCP server.
  6. If you selected vSAN storage for the cluster, the vSAN parameters page appears. Specify the level of availability you want configured for this cluster. The specified Failures To Tolerate (FTT) value determines the number of hosts required the cluster.
  7. If you selected VMFS on FC storage for the cluster, enter the VMFS on FC datastore name.
  8. Click Next.
  9. On the Object Names page, review the syntax that will be used for the vSphere objects generated for this cluster and click Next.
  10. On the Host Selection page, select hosts for the cluster.
    All hosts in a cluster must be associated with the same network pool.
    Note: The Cloud Foundation API supports adding hosts from different network pools to NSX-T workload domain clusters, as long as those network pools have the same VLAN ID and MTU settings.
    Starting with Cloud Foundation 3.9.1, you can add add hosts with multiple active pNICs to the cluster using APIs. For information on multi-pNIC support, see Separating Traffic by Using Multiple vDSes.
    When you have selected the minimum number of hosts required for this cluster, the Next button is enabled.
  11. Click Next.
  12. If you selected NFS storage for the cluster, the NFS Storage page appears. Enter the datastore name, NFS share folder, and NFS server IP address.
  13. Click Next.
  14. On the Licenses page, select the vSphere and vSAN (if using vSAN storage) license to apply to this cluster.
  15. Click Next.
  16. On the Review page, review the cluster details and click Finish.
    The details page for the workload domain appears with the following message: Adding a new cluster is in progress. When this process completes, the cluster appears in the Clusters tab in the details page for the workload domain.