Adding an individual host to a workload domain adds the resources of that host to the workload domain. You can add multiple hosts at a time to a workload domain.

Prerequisites

  • There must be a host available in the VMware Cloud Foundation inventory. For information on adding a host to VMware Cloud Foundation, see Commission Hosts.
  • Ensure that the host you want to add is in an active state.
  • You must have a valid vSphere 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 VMware Cloud Foundation System.
  • Verify that the host to be added to the workload domain matches the configuration of the hosts in the cluster to which you want to add the domain. This allows the cluster configuration to remain balanced. If the host to be added does not match the pre-existing hosts in the cluster, the cluster will be unbalanced and a warning will be displayed. The warning will not prevent the expansion and can be dismissed if needed.

Procedure

  1. On the SDDC Manager Dashboard, click Inventory > Workload Domains.
    The Workload Domains page displays information for all workload domains.
  2. In the workload domains table, click the name of the workload domain that you want to expand.
    The detail page for the selected workload domain appears.
  3. Click the Clusters tab.
  4. Click the name of the cluster where you want to add a host.
  5. Click Actions > Add Host.
    The Add Hosts wizard appears.
  6. Select the host you want to add to the cluster.
    The host you select must be associated with the same network pool as the other hosts in the cluster.
    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.
    For optimum performance, you should select hosts that are identical in terms of memory, CPU types, and disks to the other hosts in the cluster. If you select unbalanced hosts, the UI displays a warning message, but you can proceed with the workload domain creation.
    Starting with VMware Cloud Foundation 3.9.1, you can add add a host with multiple active pNICs to a multi pNIC-aware cluster using APIs. For information on multi-pNIC support, see Separating Traffic by Using Multiple vDSes.
  7. Click Next.
  8. Select the vSphere license you want to apply to the host.
  9. Click Next.
  10. Review the host and license details, and click Finish.
    The details page for the cluster appears with a message indicating that the host is being added. Wait until the action is complete before performing additional workload domain tasks.