In NetApp HCI system, you can scale out on Compute node, Storage node or both nodes. In this post, I will show how to scale out the compute node in NetApp HCI. Below is the environment diagram for this demonstration.
Now I will scale out 1 x compute node into this configuration of NetApp HCI (2 x Compute Node + 4 x Storage Node). First you login into the NetApp Deployment Engine (NDE).
In welcome page, you will choose “Yes” and see the process for adding a compute node. Now we will add a compute node, select “Yes” and click “Continue“.
Accept the agreement and click “Continue“.
Enter the following vCenter details and click “Continue“.
You can select the existing Datacenter menu, and select the new cluster or create a new one. Click “Continue“.
Remark: In this configuration, we will create a new cluster.
Define a password for new compute node, then click “Continue“.
The Network Topology defaults to the currently configured 6 Cable Option. Click “Continue“.
Select the new compute node to be added and click “Continue”.
On the Network Settings, enter the following information for new compute node and click “Continue“:
- Management Network Subnet
- Management Network Default Gateway
- vMotion Network Subnet
- vMotion Network Default Gateway
- Hostname
- Management IP Address
- vMotion IP Address
- iSCSI A – IP Address:
- iSCSI B – IP Address:
Note: The iSCSI network ensure its connectivity to the Element storage cluster.
On the Review, click “Add Nodes”.
Then the compute node add into NetApp HCI cluster, it may take a few minutes for processing.
Once the compute node added, you can see there a new ESXi host in a new cluster.
Victor Wu
Chief Architect, Blogger, Author at Dell EMC Knowledge Sharing & Packt
Victor Virtualization 
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