To configure the host networking settings on your host and to customize the cluster settings, start the Configure cluster wizard, part of the Cluster quickstart workflow.

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to а cluster.
  2. On the Configure tab, select Configuration > Quickstart.

    The Cluster quickstart page appears.

    Note:

    To configure your cluster host networking and services manually by referring to different parts of the vSphere software, click the Skip quickstart button. If you dismiss the Cluster quickstart workflow, you cannot restore it, and you have to configure manually any hosts that you add to this cluster in the future.

  3. In the Configure hosts card, select Configure.
  4. On the Distributed switches page, configure the cluster networking.

    Alternatively, you can select the Configure networking settings later check box to configure the default settings only for the cluster services and to hide all options that are related to host networking.

    Caution:

    After you select the Configure networking settings later check box, and complete the Configure cluster workflow, you cannot perform the networking configuration in the future by using the Configure cluster wizard.

    1. Specify the number of distributed switches to create from the drop-down menu.
      Note: You can select up to three distributed switches.

      The selected distributed switches are configured as part of this workflow and all hosts in the cluster connect to them.

    2. Enter a unique name for each of the distributed switches you are about to create.
    3. (Optional) Click Use Existing to select an existing compatible distributed switch and an existing compatible distributed port group.
    4. To set up the vMotion network, select a distributed switch from the drop-down menu and assign a new default port group to it.
    5. In the Physical adapters section, for each physical network adapter (NIC), select the distributed switch name from the drop-down menu.
      The new distributed switch must be assigned to at least one physical adapter.
      Note: If you are using an existing distributed switch, the physical adapter selection must match the current mapping of the distributed switch. Any variation results in an error.
      This mapping of physical NICs to the distributed switches is applied to all hosts in this cluster.
    6. Click Next.
  5. If the vSphere DRS feature is enabled on the cluster, configure the networking options in the vMotion traffic page.
    1. (Optional) Select the Use VLAN check box and enter an ID for the vMotion distributed port group.
    2. (Optional) Select a protocol type from the drop-down menu.
    3. Select an IP type from the drop-down menu.
    4. (Optional) Populate the text boxes for each host in the cluster depending on the IP address type you need for setting up the networking.
      If the IP address type is set to DHCP, these text boxes are dimmed.
  6. Click Next.
    The Advanced options page appears.
  7. (Optional) If you enabled the vSphere HA feature during cluster creation, use the options in the High Availability section to activate or deactivate host failure monitoring, virtual machine monitoring, and admission control.

    If you enable admission control, you can specify the failover capacity by number of hosts.

  8. (Optional) If you enabled the vSphere DRS feature during cluster creation, the Distributed Resource Scheduler section is visible.
    1. Set the Automation level to Fully Automated, Partially Automated or Manual.
    2. Select one of the five migration settings from the Migration threshold drop-down menu.
  9. In the Host Options section, configure the Lockdown mode, NTP server address, and host update preference.
    1. Select a lockdown mode from the drop-down menu.
    2. (Optional) Enter an NTP server address or FQDN.
      If you enter more than one NTP server addresses, separate them by using commas.
    3. (Optional) Select a host update option from the drop-down menu.

    The settings are applied across all hosts in this cluster.

  10. (Optional) In the Enhanced vMotion Capability section, enable EVC and select the CPU model from the EVC mode drop-down menu.
  11. Click Next.
    The Review page appears.
  12. Review the settings and select Finish.
    The card closes, and the progress of the operation appears in the Recent Tasks pane.

Results

You have created a fully configured cluster in the vCenter Server inventory.

What to do next

Expand your cluster by using the Add hosts card.