Migrating the VMware vCenter Update Manager database

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to migrate the VMware vCenter Update Manager database to another database server.

Resolution

To migrate the VMware vCenter Update Manager database to another database server, use one of these options:

• Reinstall VMware vCenter Update Manager
• Update the existing VMware vCenter Update Manager configuration with the new database settings
  

Reinstall VMware vCenter Update Manager (Option 1)

1. Stop the VMware vCenter Update Manager service. For more information, see Stopping, starting, or restarting the vSphere Update Manager service (1039328).
2. Back up the VMware vCenter Update Manager database. For more information, see software provider documentation.
3. Restore the VMware vCenter Update Manager database. For more information, see software provider documentation.
4. Uninstall the VMware vCenter Update Manager component in Programs and Features.
5. Create a new 32-bit DSN to point to the new VMware vCenter Update Manager database server. For more information, see Creating a 32bit DSN on a 64bit Windows machine (1010401).
6. Run the install VMware vCenter Update Manager and when prompted for database information, select the Use an existing supported database option and select the DSN created in step 5.
   
   Note: Ensure to select the option Preserve existing database contents when prompted or your existing database will be replaced with a new one.
   
   
7. (Optional) Remove the old 32-bit DSN.
   

Update the existing VMware vCenter Update Manager configuration with the new database settings (Option 2)

Note: It is not possible to modify the VMware vCenter Update Manager database password stored within registry prior to vCenter 4.1 Update 1. For more information, see Enabling VMware vCenter Update Manager 1.0/4.0 fails with multiple errors (1013508).

1. Stop the VMware vCenter Update Manager service. For more information, see Stopping, starting, or restarting the vSphere Update Manager service (1039328).
2. Back up the VMware vCenter Update Manager database. For more information, see software provider documentation.
3. Restore the VMware vCenter Update Manager database. For more information, see software provider documentation.
4. Create a new 32-bit DSN to point to the new VMware vCenter Update Manager database location. For more information, see Creating a 32bit DSN on a 64bit Windows machine (1010401).
5. On the VMware vCenter Update Manager server, click Start > Run and type regedit and press Enter.
6. Back up the the registry.
7. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\VMware, Inc.\VMware Update Manager\DB.
8. Modify these keys according to your environment's configuration.
   
   Key 1: Is the DSN Connection Name. This key is the name of your active Update Manager DSN connection used when creating the DSN in step 4.
   
   Key 4: Is the DSN Driver Name. This key is the name of the SQL Server DSN driver name. If your upgrade involves the upgrade to a newer SQL Native Client, then update this key to reflect the driver name of the new DSN connection.
   
   Key 5: Is the database name. This key is the name of the database for Update Manager. If the database name was changed in step 4, update this key to reflect the new name.
   
   Notes:
   • Key 2 and Key 3 will be empty if using Windows Session Credentials to connect to the database. It is not necessary to modify these if the new database connection will also use Windows Session Credentials.
   • If using Windows Session Credentials to connect to a remote Update Manager database, the VMware vCenter Update Manager service must be run as user account that has database owner rights to the new database.
   • If required, use the VMware vSphere Update Manager Utility to update Key 2 and Key 3. For more information, see Changing the vCenter Update Manager database password (1034605).
   
   
9. The configuration files must be updated to reflect the new DSN name. For more information, see Enabling Update Manager fails with the error: database unavailable or has network problems (1015223).
10. Start the VMware vCenter Update Manager service. For more information, see Stopping, starting, or restarting the vSphere Update Manager service (1039328).

Additional Information

Creating a 32bit DSN on a 64bit Windows machine
Enabling VMware vCenter Update Manager 1.0/4.0 fails with multiple errors
Enabling the Update Manager plug-in fails with the error: database unavailable or has network problems
Changing the vCenter Update Manager database password
Stopping, starting, or restarting the vSphere Update Manager service