Note:
- This tutorial requires access to Oracle Cloud. To sign up for a free account, see Get started with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Free Tier.
- It uses example values for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure credentials, tenancy, and compartments. When completing your lab, substitute these values with ones specific to your cloud environment.
Delete a VMware ESXi Host from an Oracle Cloud VMware Solution Cluster
Introduction
This tutorial details the tasks to delete a VMware ESXi host from your Oracle Cloud VMware Solution cluster. This process ensures proper removal from vCenter Server, NSX Manager, and the OCI Console. Remember, this action is permanent and cannot be undone.
Objectives
We will guide you through:
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Unpreparing and removing the ESXi host from vCenter and NSX Manager.
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Deleting the ESXi host from the cluster in Oracle Cloud VMware Solution SDDC through the OCI Console.
By following these tasks, you can effectively scale down your VMware cluster to meet your resource needs.
Prerequisites
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SDDC Minimum Requirements: After removing the host, your SDDC must meet minimum requirements. For example, a Unified Management cluster requires at least 3 hosts. For more information about specific configurations and minimum requirements, see the official Oracle Cloud VMware Solution documentation or Introducing a new dimension of flexibility with multiple clusters for Oracle Cloud VMware Solution.
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Migrate or Power Off Virtual Machines (VMs): All virtual machines on the target VMware ESXi host must be either migrated to other hosts within the cluster or powered off before proceeding.
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Administrative Permissions: You must have the necessary permissions to manage both the vCenter Server and NSX Manager. Additionally, you need permissions to delete Oracle Cloud VMware Solution resources in the OCI Console.
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Pricing and Commitment: Be aware of your existing pricing model and commitment period for the VMware ESXi host. If a longer commitment exists, billing may continue until the commitment period ends, even after ESXi host deletion.
Task 1: Delete the VMware ESXi Host from vCenter and NSX Manager
In this task, we will remove the ESXi host from your vCenter cluster and NSX Manager.
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Prepare the ESXi host for removal.
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Log in to the vCenter Server and locate the ESXi host you want to retire.
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Ensure all virtual machines on the target host are either powered off or migrated to other hosts within the cluster. A host with running VMs cannot enter maintenance mode.
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To enter maintenance mode, right-click the ESXi host and select Maintenance Mode and Enter Maintenance Mode.
Data Migration Options (Based on Host Type):
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Standard Shapes: By default, powered off and suspended VMs are migrated to other hosts. Accept the defaults and submit the task.
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Dense Shapes: In addition to the default migration, select Full data migration from the vSAN data migration drop-down menu. This ensures complete data evacuation from the host.
Note: Click PRE-CHECK to validate the vSAN migration process before proceeding to maintenance mode.
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Verify successful maintenance mode entry.
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Standard Shapes: Due to minimal data movement, this should be quick.
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Dense Shapes:
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vSAN data evacuation can take time depending on the environment. Monitor the progress.
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Ensure successful entry to maintenance mode before continuing to avoid data loss or downtime.
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To isolate the host from the cluster, right-click the host and click Move, and select the datacenter.
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To monitor NSX configuration removal, log in to NSX Manager and observe the automatic removal of NSX configuration on the host.
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Verify NSX configuration removal completion. In NSX Manager, under Other Nodes, confirm the host shows Not Configured.
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Disconnect the ESXi host. In vCenter Server, right-click the host and click Connection, Disconnect.
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Verify host disconnected status as the host should now appear as Disconnected in vCenter Server.
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Verify the health of your environment in both vCenter Server and NSX Manager.
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To remove the host from inventory, right-click the host and select Remove from Inventory. This permanently removes the host from your vCenter inventory (proceed with caution).
Task 2: Delete the VMware ESXi Host from Oracle Cloud VMware Solution SDDC
In this task, permanently delete the ESXi host from your Oracle Cloud VMware Solution SDDC in the OCI Console.
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Locate the ESXi host in OCI Console.
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Log in to the OCI Console and navigate to the VMware SDDC.
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Within the SDDC cluster list, locate the specific Cluster containing the ESXi host you want to delete.
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Initiate host deletion.
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Click the three dots next to the target ESXi host.
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Select Terminate ESXi host.
Note: This action permanently removes the host from your OCI environment. There is no way to recover it after this point.
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The OCI Console will display the deletion task in progress. You can also monitor its status in the Work Requests section of the specific cluster.
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Verify successful deletion.
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Once the task completes successfully, the ESXi host will no longer be listed in the cluster.
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As discussed in the prerequisites section, if you had a longer commitment for the ESXi host, billing may continue until the commitment period ends, even after host deletion.
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After deletion, confirm that the remaining cluster health remains as expected.
Important: Deleting an ESXi host is a permanent action. Ensure you have thoroughly planned and migrated any necessary workloads before proceeding.
Verify Minimum Requirements: After deleting a host, verify your SDDC still meets minimum requirements to avoid potential issues.
This tutorial provided instructions for both Standard and Dense host shapes. If you have any further questions, refer to the official Oracle Cloud VMware Solution documentation.
Related Links
Acknowledgments
- Author - Praveen Kumar Pedda Vakkalam (Principal Solutions Architect)
More Learning Resources
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For product documentation, visit Oracle Help Center.
Delete a VMware ESXi Host from an Oracle Cloud VMware Solution Cluster
F95984-01
April 2024