Add Host-Clusters-SRM?

[VMware2024]

If I have vCenter 8.02 and need to add some ESXI 7.03 host 2 of them each has 11 vms on it do I need to turn off all vms put the host in Maintenace mode once this is done add The host to my vCenter 8.02?

Ideally I want to login and see vCenter 8.02 with 2 new host
then below that see cluster with vCenter 7.03 and 2 7.03 host

Site Recovery manager says I need to have it this way?

Or is there a way easier or better way to do this live ?

[Andrea Consalvi]

Hi,

No, you don’t necessarily need to shut down all VMs before adding your ESXi 7.03 hosts to vCenter 8.02, but there are a few things to keep in mind to avoid issues.

If those ESXi 7.03 hosts are already registered under another vCenter (like vCenter 7.03), you’ll need to properly remove them first. This might require maintenance mode, but if the VMs are on shared storage (vSAN, NFS, etc.), you can vMotion them to other hosts before putting the hosts into maintenance mode.

An alternative would be to use Enhanced Linked Mode if both vCenters are connected. That way, you can manage everything from a single interface and migrate hosts more easily.

If SRM is requiring this setup, it’s likely because it manages disaster recovery relationships and wants to ensure failover works properly after switching vCenter. It’s worth checking if there’s an option to reassociate hosts without completely removing them.

To summarize:

• If the hosts are not registered in another vCenter, you can add them directly to vCenter 8.02 without shutting down VMs.
• If they are already in vCenter 7.03, you must remove them first, preferably in maintenance mode to avoid any issues.
• If SRM is involved, check if there’s a way to maintain the DR configuration without disrupting everything.

If you want to do this without downtime, your best option is leveraging vMotion and Storage vMotion, assuming your licensing supports it.