When you use the vSphere Client, the Set Up vCenter HA wizard creates and configures a second network adapter on the vCenter Server Appliance, clones the Active node, and configures the vCenter HA network.

Prerequisites

  • Deploy vCenter Server Appliance that you want to use as the initial Active node.
    • The vCenter Server Appliance must have a static IP address.
    • SSH must be activated on the vCenter Server Appliance.
  • Verify that your environment meets one of the following requirements.
    • The vCenter Server Appliance that will become the Active node is managing its own ESXi host and its own virtual machine. This configuration is sometimes called a self-managed vCenter Server.
    • The vCenter Server Appliance is managed by another vCenter Server. They both use an external Platform Services Controller and both are running vSphere 6.5 or later.
  • Set up the infrastructure for the vCenter HA network. See Configure the Network.
  • Determine which static IP addresses to use for the two vCenter Server Appliance nodes that will become the Passive node and Witness node.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the Active node with the vSphere Client.
  2. Select the vCenter Server object in the inventory and select the Configure tab.
  3. Select vCenter HA under settings.
  4. Click on the Set Up vCenter HA button to start the setup wizard.
    • If the vCenter server is self-managed, the Resource settings page is displayed. Proceed to step 7.
    • If your vCenter server is managed by another vCenter server, input the location and credential details of that management vCenter server.
  5. Click Management vCenter Server credentials. Specify the Management vCenter server FQDN or IP address, Single Sign-On user name and password and click Next.
    If you do not have the Single Sign-On administrator credentials, select the second bullet and click Next.
  6. You may see a Certificate warning displayed. Review the SHA1 thumbprint and select Yes to continue.
  7. In the Resource settings section, first select the vCenter HA network for the active node from the drop-down menu.
  8. Click on the checkbox if you want to automatically create clones for Passive and Witness nodes.
    Note: If you do not select the checkbox, you must manually create clones for Passive and Witness nodes after you click Finish.
  9. For the Passive node, click Edit.
    1. Specify a unique name and target location.
    2. Select the destination compute resource for the operation.
    3. Select the datastore in which to store the configuration and disk files.
    4. Select virtual machine Management (NIC 0) and vCenter HA (NIC 1) networks.
      If there are issues with your selections, errors or compatibility warnings are displayed.
    5. Review your selections and click Finish.
  10. For the Witness node, click Edit.
    1. Specify a unique name and target location.
    2. Select the destination compute resource for the operation.
    3. Select the datastore in which to store the configuration and disk files.
    4. Select vCenter HA (NIC 1) network.
      If there are issues with your selections, errors or compatibility warnings are displayed.
    5. Review your selections and click Finish.
  11. Click Next.
  12. In the IP settings section, select the IP version from the drop-down menu.
  13. Enter the IPv4 address (NIC 1) and Subnet mask or prefix length information for the Active, Passive and Witness nodes.
    You can Edit management network settings for the Passive Node. Customizing these settings are optional. By default, the management network settings of the Active node are applied.
  14. Click Finish.

Results

The Passive and Witness nodes are created. When Set Up vCenter HA is complete, vCenter Server Appliance has high availability protection. After vCenter HA is activated, you can click Edit to enter Maintenance Mode, Enable or Disable vCenter HA. There are separate buttons to remove vCenter HA or initiate vCenter HA failover.

What to do next

See Manage the vCenter HA Configuration for a list of cluster management tasks.

For a brief overview of enhancements in the vSphere Client when working with vCenter HA, see: