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3. Create a New Cluster

Now that you have created a new data center, you can populate it with a new cluster. A cluster is a set of physical hosts that are treated as a resource pool for a set of virtual machines. A cluster constitutes a domain for virtual machines to migrate from one host to another, therefore all hosts in a cluster must share the same network infrastructure and the same storage. However, the hosts do not need to share the exact same CPU model, as long as the cluster's CPU name is set to the family that is the most common denominator.
To add a new host cluster
  1. You should still be on the New Data Center - Guide Me dialog. If you are not, select your newly created data center and click Guide Me. On the dialog, click Configure Cluster.
  2. The New Cluster dialog displays. Note that there are three tabs on the left side of this dialog box. Click on each tab to access them in turn.
    New Cluster
    Figure 62. New Cluster

    Configure the following options:
    • On the General tab, enter a suitable Name and Description.
      On the CPU Name field, select the family that best describes your host CPUs. Note that for the Default cluster, you did not need to perform this step because it had been automatically set according to the first host you added to the cluster.
    • On the Memory Optimization tab, tick the checkbox for Optimize for Density and select For Desktop Load.
    • On the Resilience Policy tab, select Do Not Migrate Virtual Machines.
  3. Click OK. The New Data Center - Guide Me dialog displays again. Leave it open for now.