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beezleinc
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vSAN licensing for 2-node and vCenter Foundation

I understand that the 2-node + witness scenario is supported with any license type of vSAN (Standard, Advanced or Enterprise)

I also understand that the witness node appliance doesn't count toward vSphere licenses inside vCenter

What I want is to run 2 separate 2-node + witness clusters for a total of 6 hosts (4 vsphere and 2 witnesses)

Can I load 2 witnesses and the  4 vSphere hosts inside vCenter Foundation and not have it complain about licenses?

I have this scenario built and working with the all eval licenses but they allow everything.  I don't want to buy vCenter Foundation just to have then kick out one or both witness hosts.

Anyone every try this setup?

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TheBobkin
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Hello beezleinc​,

Thanks for reminding me - after you asked before I spent longer than I would care to admit absolutely wrecking a HOL cluster trying to get multiple Witnesses going without ova available to no avail :smileylaugh: .

Configured a 6.5 U2 environment today and there is no problem with adding 2 Witnesses + 4 hosts to inventory with Foundation license vCenter - didn't test adding more than 2 Witnesses but fails as expected when trying to add 5th host:

pastedImage_0.png

Bob

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beezleinc
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Oh, this is 6.7U1 where vCenter Foundation does support up to 4 vSphere hosts.  🙂

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a_p_
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The vSAN witness doesn't require ESXi host/CPU licenses, but it counts as a host against the 4 host maximum in the Foundation edition. That's actually a reason why new versions of vCenter Server Foundation support up to 4 hosts rather than 3 as in the past.


André

beezleinc
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Thanks but release note from 6.5 suggests that the witness can be added above and beyond the vCenter capacity... at least for Essentials version.    It sort of implies that if I add the two witness appliances first, I can add the 4 vSphere hosts to Foundation and it will take them.   Obviously I can't try this since I don't own Foundation.  Maybe this is just an essentials things idk.

Licensing Issues

  • Cannot add witness virtual machine to vCenter Server with Essentials licenseWhen the witness host for a stretched cluster is an appliance that resides in a virtual machine, it incorrectly consumes a host license. This problem occurs because the vCenter Server considers the witness appliance to be a physical host. If your license does not cover an additional host, you cannot add the witness appliance to vCenter Server.Workaround: Add the witness appliance VM to vCenter Server before you add the physical hosts.
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a_p_
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I guess I have to apologize for the previous answer.

This was indeed an issue that has been fixed in vSphere 6.5 U2, and 6.7 U1 (see VMware vCenter Server 6.7 Update 1 Release Notes ).


André

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TheBobkin
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Hello beezleinc

Just to confirm - it's not just an Essentials thing, it applies to Foundation edition too:

Adding a fifth (virtual) ESXi host to vCenter Foundation - Yellow Bricks

And yes, shouldn't need to explicitly add Witness(es) first anymore in later builds as this is fixed.

Bob

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beezleinc
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Thank you, that is my understanding as well ...  my concern is adding two witnesses and four hosts to Foundation vCenter....  for six total nodes (2 separate 2-node+witness clusters)   Or is the fix just for that 'fifth' host.  I just can't find that written down anywhere and I don't have the license to test it myself.

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TheBobkin
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Hello beezleinc​,

Yes, I did think about that and wonder whether there is a limit at all and am fairly sure we don't have that written down anywhere externally.

I should have some Foundation licenses on hand, give me a bit and I will try test this on HOL - though if that starts having a panic attack from using cloned Witness VMs (no OVFs there that I am aware of) I will have to reproduce it on labs at work.

Bob

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beezleinc
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Hi Bob.  Just curious if you had a chance to try this configuration out with Foundation.  Thanks in advance!

-a

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TheBobkin
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Hello beezleinc​,

Thanks for reminding me - after you asked before I spent longer than I would care to admit absolutely wrecking a HOL cluster trying to get multiple Witnesses going without ova available to no avail :smileylaugh: .

Configured a 6.5 U2 environment today and there is no problem with adding 2 Witnesses + 4 hosts to inventory with Foundation license vCenter - didn't test adding more than 2 Witnesses but fails as expected when trying to add 5th host:

pastedImage_0.png

Bob

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beezleinc
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Very cool.  Thank you sir!     So Foundation vCenter will support two (2)  2-node+witness clusters.  This is good info to know.

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