Installation and Setup vCenter Server - VMware

1 vCenter ServerInstallation and SetupModified on 22 JUNE 2018 VMware vsphere Server Server Installation and SetupVMware, Inc. 2 You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware website at: you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback 2018 VMware , Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark , Hillview Alto, CA vCenter Server Installation and Setup 5 Updated Information 6 1 Introduction to vsphere Installation and Setup 7 Overview of the vsphere Installation and Setup Process 7vCenter Server Components and Services 10 Overview of the vCenter Server Appliance 12vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller Deployment Types 13 Understanding vsphere Domains, Domain Names, and Sites 17 Deployment Topologies with External Platform Services Controller Instances and High Availability 18vCenter Enhanced Linked Mode 20 2 Deploying the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services ControllerAppliance 24 System Requirements for the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services ControllerAppliance 25 Preparing for Deployment of the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services ControllerAppliance 34 Prerequisites for Deploying the vCenter Server Appliance or Platform Services ControllerAppliance 37 GUI Deployment of the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services Controller Appliance 38 CLI Deployment of the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services Controller Appliance 63 3 Installing vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller on Windows 81vCenter Server for Windows Requirements 82 Preparing for

2 Installing vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller on Windows 92 Required Information for Installing vCenter Server or Platform Services Controller on Windows 114 Installing vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller on Windows 117 4 File-Based Backup and Restore of vCenter Server Appliance 125 Considerations and Limitations for File-Based Backup and Restore 126 Schedule a File-Based Backup 129 Manually Back up a vCenter Server Appliance by Using the vCenter Server ApplianceManagement Interface 130 Restore a vCenter Server Appliance from a File-Based Backup 132 VMware , Inc. 35 Image-Based Backup and Restore of a vCenter Server Environment 138 Considerations and Limitations for Image-Based Backup and Restore 138 Restore a vCenter Server Image-based Environment 141 6 After You Install vCenter Server or Deploy the vCenter Server Appliance 146 Log in to vCenter Server by Using the vsphere Client 146 Install the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in 147 Collect vCenter Server Log Files 148 Repoint vCenter Server to Another External Platform Services Controller in the Same Domain 148 Repoint vCenter Server to External Platform Services Controller in a Different Domain 150 Reconfigure a Standalone vCenter Server with an Embedded Platform Services Controller to avCenter Server with an External Platform Services Controller 158 7 Troubleshooting vCenter Server Installation or Deployment 162 Collecting Logs for

3 Troubleshooting a vCenter Server Installation or Upgrade 162 Attempt to Install a Platform Services Controller After a Prior Installation Failure 164 Microsoft SQL Database Set to Unsupported Compatibility Mode Causes vCenter ServerInstallation or Upgrade to Fail 165 8 Uninstall vCenter Server 166vCenter Server Installation and SetupVMware, Inc. 4 About vCenter Server Installation andSetupvCenter Server Installation and Setup describes how to install and configure VMware vCenter Server ,and deploy the VMware vCenter Server Appliance . vsphere Installation and Setup is intended for experienced administrators who want to install andconfigure vCenter Server , and deploy and configure the vCenter Server information is written for experienced Windows or Linux system administrators who are familiar withvirtual machine technology and data center operations.

4 The information about using the Image Builderand VMware vsphere Auto Deploy is written for administrators who have experience with MicrosoftPowerShell and VMware vsphere PowerCLI . vsphere Web Client and vsphere ClientInstructions in this guide reflect the vsphere Client (an HTML5-based GUI). You can also use theinstructions to perform most of the tasks by using the vsphere Web Client (a Flex-based GUI).Note In vsphere , most of the vsphere Web Client functionality is implemented in the vsphere an up-to-date list of the unsupported functionality, see Functionality Updates for the vsphere Technical Publications GlossaryVMware Technical Publications provides a glossary of terms that might be unfamiliar to you. Fordefinitions of terms as they are used in VMware technical documentation, go to , Inc. 5 Updated InformationThis vCenter Server Installation and Setup is updated with each release of the product or table provides the update history of the vCenter Server Installation and JUNE2018nUpdated vCenter High Availability information for vCenter embedded linked mode in vCenter EmbeddedLinked Mode for a vCenter Server Appliance with Embedded Platform Services VMware vsphere Authentication Proxy ports (7475 and 7476)

5 To Required Ports for vCenter Serverand Platform Services MAY 2018nAdded a note that Default-First-Site should be used as the site name for the first instance when settingup an embedded linked mode in Stage 2 - Set up the Newly Deployed vCenter Server Appliance with anEmbedded Platform Services Controller and Deployment Configuration descriptions for templates in JSON Templates for CLI Deployment of thevCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services Controller MAY2018nUpdated description for vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller in vCenter Serverand Platform Services Controller Deployment Typesto include enhanced linked mode the number of vCenter Server Appliances that can be linked together to 15 in vCenter EmbeddedLinked Mode for a vCenter Server Appliance with Embedded Platform Services information about embedded linked mode with read only replication in vCenter Embedded LinkedMode for a vCenter Server Appliance with Embedded Platform Services instructions in Joining a vCenter Embedded Linked Mode information about embedded linked mode with read only replication in vCenter Embedded LinkedMode for a vCenter Server Appliance with Embedded Platform Services note for ports 80 and 443 in Required Ports for vCenter Server and Platform Services ports configuration parameter and description to networking subsection in Deployment APR2018 Initial , Inc.

6 6 Introduction to vSphereInstallation and Setup1vSphere provides various options for Installation and Setup . To ensure a successful vSpheredeployment, understand the Installation and Setup options, and the sequence of two core components of vsphere are ESXi and vCenter Server . ESXi is the virtualization platform onwhich you can create and run virtual machines and virtual appliances. vCenter Server is a service thatacts as a central administrator for ESXi hosts connected in a network. vCenter Server lets you pool andmanage the resources of multiple can install vCenter Server on a Windows virtual machine or physical Server , or deploy thevCenter Server Appliance. The vCenter Server Appliance is a preconfigured Linux-based virtual machineoptimized for running vCenter Server and the vCenter Server components. You can deploy thevCenter Server Appliance on ESXi hosts or later, or on vCenter Server instances or with vsphere , all prerequisite services for running vCenter Server and the vCenter Servercomponents are bundled in the VMware Platform Services Controller.

7 You can deploy vCenter Serverwith an embedded or external Platform Services Controller, but you must always install or deploy thePlatform Services Controller before installing or deploying vCenter detailed information about the ESXi Installation process, see VMware ESXi Installation and Setup .This chapter includes the following topics:nOverview of the vsphere Installation and Setup ProcessnvCenter Server Components and ServicesnOverview of the vCenter Server AppliancenvCenter Server and Platform Services Controller Deployment TypesnUnderstanding vsphere Domains, Domain Names, and SitesnDeployment Topologies with External Platform Services Controller Instances and High AvailabilitynvCenter Enhanced Linked ModeOverview of the vsphere Installation and Setup ProcessvSphere is a sophisticated product with multiple components to install and set up. To ensure a successfulvSphere deployment, understand the sequence of tasks vsphere includes the following tasks: VMware , Inc.

8 7 Figure 1 1. vsphere Installation and Setup WorkflowStart the vSphereinstallation and setupEnd of the vSphereinstallation and setupSmall envrionment with onevCenter Server InstanceLarge envrionment with multiplevCenter Server InstancesInstall ESXion at least one hostSet up ESXiDeploy or install vCenter Serverwith an embedded PlatformServices ControllerLog in to the vsphere WebClient to create and organizeyour vCenter Server inventoryLog in to the vsphere WebClient to create and organizeyour vCenter Server inventoriesStart the vSphereinstallation and setupEnd of the vSphereinstallation and setupInstall ESXion at least one hostSet up ESXiDeploy or install the PlatformServices Controller instancesin a sequenceDeploy or install the vCenter Serverinstances and register them with theexternal Platform Services Controller instances1 Read the vsphere release Install

9 See VMware ESXi Installation and Setup for detailed information about the ESXi Server Installation and SetupVMware, Inc. 83 Configure the ESXi boot and network settings, the direct console, and other settings. See VMwareESXi Installation and Setup for Consider setting up a syslog Server for remote logging, to ensure sufficient disk storage for log up logging on a remote host is especially important for hosts with limited local storage. SeeVMware ESXi Installation and Setup5 Determine the vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller deployment model that is suitable foryour vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller Deployment Deploy or install vCenter Server and Platform Services can deploy the vCenter Server Appliance or Platform Services Controller appliance on an ESXihost or vCenter Server instance, or you can install vCenter Server and Platform Services Controlleron a Windows virtual machine or physical can deploy or install multiple vCenter Server instances connected in Enhanced Linked Modeconfiguration by registering them to a common or different joined Platform Services the vCenter Server Appliance or Platform Services Controller Review the topics in System Requirements for the vCenter Server Appliance and PlatformServices Controller Appliance and verify that your system meets the hardware and softwarerequirements for deploying the Determine the deployment method to can use the GUI method to deploy the appliance interactively.

10 You can use the CLImethod to perform a silent deployment of the appliance. See GUI Deployment of the vCenterServer Appliance and Platform Services Controller Appliance and CLI Deployment of thevCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services Controller Use the topic Required Information for Deploying a vCenter Server Appliance or PlatformServices Controller Appliance to create a worksheet with the information you need for theGUI deployment, or use the topic Prepare Your JSON Configuration File for CLI Deploymentto create your JSON templates for the CLI Deploy the vCenter Server or Platform Services Controller on a Windows virtual machine or Verify that your system meets the hardware and software requirements for installingvCenter Server . See vCenter Server for Windows (Optional) Set up an external vCenter Server database. See Preparing vCenter ServerDatabases for Server Installation and SetupVMware, Inc.