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Adding a node to an existing cluster

To add one or more nodes to an existing vSAN cluster using the VX Deployer, set up the VX Deployer, and then run the VX Deployer. When the deployment is complete, validate that the deployment was successful.

Before you begin​

Before you begin to deploy the vSAN cluster, make sure that you have completed the following activities:

  1. Install any ThinkAgile VX nodes that will be added to an existing cluster. See Install hardware into rack.

  2. Cable the networks. See Cabling network.

  3. Set up the VX Deployer. See Setting up the VX Deployer.

Procedure​

After navigating to the URL for the VX Deployer, step through the VX Deployer wizard:

Important
If you need to return to a previous page in the Deployer, make sure that you click the page in the left navigation or that you use the Back button within the VX Deployer. Do not use the Back button on the browser, which will return you to the first page of the Deployer (all data entered in the VX Deployer will be lost).

  1. On the Getting Started page, determine the deployment process to be used.

    • Click Add Nodes to an existing cluster to proceed through the deployment process.

    • Click Use Configuration File to choose a configuration file that you saved when you added a node to a vSAN cluster previously.

      For more information about using a configuration file, see the following topic:

      Working with configuration files

    Specify the fully qualified domain name or IP address of the vCenter server and provide the access credentials for the administrator account.

    Note

    The user account used to authenticate with the vCenter instance must include a minimum set of permissions. For a list of the required permissions, see the following topic:

    Minimum vCenter user permissions

    Click Next. The VX Deployer validates the details for the vCenter server.

  2. On the License Agreements page, you can view the Lenovo license, open-source information, and the VMware EULA.

    • Click I have read and agree to the License Agreements.

    • Click Your data will be handled in accordance with Lenovo’s Privacy Statement.

    Click Next to continue.

  3. On the Cluster Selection page, choose an existing vCenter datacenter and an existing vSAN cluster.

    The nodes in the cluster are displayed in the Existing Physical Hosts section.

    Click Next to continue.

  4. On the Select Nodes page, choose the ThinkAgile VX nodes to be added to the vSAN cluster.

    Note
    The nodes to be added to the cluster must be the same machine type and model of the nodes that are already in the cluster, and they must have the same hardware configuration. Only nodes meeting these criteria are displayed in the Discovered Nodes section.

    Click Next to continue.

  5. On the Physical Location page, specify the location of your vSAN cluster (organization name, region name, and site name). You can select existing names or choose new names.

    Click Next to continue.

  6. On the Global ESXi Settings page, specify the login credentials to be used on all ESXi hosts.

    Click Next to continue.

  7. On the General Networking page, provide the following networking information:

    • The ESXi management subnet mask. You can specify the hostname prefix that will be applied to each of the new nodes. Make sure that you validate the name for each new host on the Host Settings page. The gateway is required.

    • Specify a valid vSAN subnet mask. The gateway is optional.

    • Specify a valid vMotion subnet mask. The gateway is optional.

    • Specify a valid XCC management subnet mask if the XCC management network is different than the ESXi management network. The gateway is optional.

      Note

      • If you specified an XCC network IP address when you configured networking during the setup of the VX Deployer, you must specify the XCC management subnet mask. For more information about setting up the VX Deployer, see:

        Setting up the VX Deployer

    Click Next to continue. The VX Deployer validates the network settings.

  8. For each host listed on the Host Settings page, specify the IP addresses for the vSAN, vMotion, and XCC networks. Validate the ESXi host name and IP addresses for the node to be added. If changes are required, you must click Revalidate.

    Note

    • A unique numeric identifier is automatically added to the host name prefix that you specified on the General Networking page.

    • You can use a configuration file to add hosts to an existing cluster. If you choose to do so, the host names for the new hosts will be generated by the Deployer, but they might not be consistent with the other hosts in the cluster. After adding the hosts, make sure that you validate the host names on the Host Settings page. From that page, you can modify the host names if desired.

    Click Next to continue.

  9. On the XCC Credentials page, specify a common password that will be used to access the XCC USERID user account on each new VX appliance. In addition, you must specify the existing password for that VX appliance.

    Click Next. The VX Deployer validates the current XCC USERID password and configures the common XCC USERID password.

  10. Deploy the cluster.
    Note
    Only data on the new nodes being added to the cluster will be lost by the deployment process. Data on existing nodes will not be affected.
    This process may take some time, depending on the network and the number of nodes being added to the cluster.
    Important
    Make sure that the VX Deployer VM is not shut down during the deployment process. If the VX Deployer VM is shut down during the deployment process, the VM might be left in an indeterminate state. If the VM is inadvertently shut down, you will need to attempt the deployment again to reset the state of the VM. It will not succeed, but the VX Deployer will invoke a cleanup script. Then, you can attempt the deployment again.
    From the Deploy Cluster page, you can perform the following actions:

    • Click Download Log Bundle to download the log files associated with this deployment. For more information about the log bundle, see Troubleshooting the deployment.

    • Click Launch vCenter to launch the vCenter instance so that you can validate the deployment. For more information about validating the deployment, see Validating the deployment.

    • Click Shutdown VX Deployer to shut down the VX Deployer virtual machine.