You extend a cluster by adding hosts to that cluster. If you previously configured the cluster without setting up the host networking, the same configuration of the existing hosts in the cluster is applied to the new hosts.

Prerequisites

  • You have already created a cluster and added hosts to it.
  • In the initial cluster configuration, you selected the Configure networking settings later check box.
  • Verify that hosts have the same ESXi version and patch level.
  • Obtain the user name and password of the root user account for the host.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to Home > Hosts and Clusters and select a configured cluster.
  2. Right-click the cluster and select Add Hosts.
  3. From the Add hosts wizard, add new and existing hosts from the vCenter Server inventory.
    The Cluster quickstart page appears.
  4. In the Configure cluster card, click Configure.
    A pop-up window appears. It informs you that the configuration for the existing in the cluster hosts is applied on the newly added hosts.
  5. Select Continue.

Results

After successful validation, your newly added hosts are configured as the existing hosts in your cluster and the Configure button in the Configure hosts card becomes inactive. You can only click Re-validate to verify the cluster configuration.

What to do next

Configure manually the host networking and add more hosts to the cluster.