You can replace an existing ESXi host in a VMware cluster or a standalone datacenter with a new server. The storage settings are automatically updated so that the logical units used by the original host are presented to the new replacement host, and the datastores (other than local) on the original host are presented to the new replacement host.
- Set up the ESXi host that is to be used in place of the server you are replacing and prepare an appropriate host profile. Creating a host profile requires a VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus license for the ESXi host.
- Onboard the new server to the inventory.
- Register the vCenter server that you want to replace with UCP Advisor.
- Verify that the vCenter server that you want to replace is in the vCenter inventory.
- Create an UCP system and onboard with ESXi details both the replacement server and server that is being replaced.
- Attach the vCenter to UCP system.
- Verify that the firmware version and model of the original server and the replacement server are the same. Note:
- Host replacement and the migration of vSAN datastores are not supported for HC nodes.
- Verify that a vCenter is registered and attached to the UCP system
- Browse to the UCP system where you want to replace a compute server, and then click Replace Server.
- Select the host that you want to replace.
- Select the new host for replacement under Select Hosts.
- Select a host profile to apply to the new host under Host Profile.
- Click Submit.
The original server is replaced by the new server according to the selected host profile. The new replacement host firmware is upgraded to the recommended firmware level.