Backing up and restoring vCenter Server 4.x and 5.0

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

This article provides instructions on backing up and restoring VMware vCenter Server 4.x and 5.0.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.1.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.0.x

Resolution

VMware vCenter Server 4.x and 5.0 require that the database and ADAM (VMwareVCMSDS) data be backed up.

Note: The ADAM data is backed up every 5 minutes into the vCenter Server database. To back up the latest update of ADAM data, ensure that the VMware VirtualCenter Management Webservices service has been running for at least 5 minutes before stopping the other vCenter Server services.

This requires a procedure similar to upgrading vCenter Server 2.5 to vCenter Server 4.x or from vCenter Server 4.x to 5.0. For more information, see the vSphere Upgrade Guide.

Back up

1. Stop the VMware VirtualCenter Service, VMwareVCMSDS, and the Database service. For more information, see Stopping, starting, or restarting vCenter services (1003895).
   
   
2. Back up the vCenter Server database. For more information, see Backing up the vCenter Server database running on Microsoft SQL or SQL Express server (2012138).
   
   This backup includes backing up ADAM information. For more information, see the vSphere Upgrade Guide.
   
   
3. Backup the SSL certificate folder at:
   
   
   • Windows 2003: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter
   • Windows Vista and 2008 Server: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\VMWare\VMware VirtualCenter

Restore

1. Restore the database. For more information, see the vSphere Upgrade Guide.
   
   
2. Restore SSL certification. Copy the backed up SSL certificate folder to the same path on the destination. Create the folder if it does not already exist.
   
   Note: If you are using a custom rui.crt file, ensure that the file starts with -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- and ends with -----END CERTIFICATE-----. For more information, see Upgrading or Installing vCenter Server 4.x (or later) fails with the error: Setup cannot create vCenter Server Directory Services (1015887).
   
   
3. Prepare a DSN that points to the database. For more information, see the vSphere Upgrade Guide for your version of vCenter Server.
   
   
4. Install vCenter Server 4.x or 5.0 and connect it to the database during the installation. ADAM information is restored by this process. If vCenter Server 4.x was installed on the target operating system to restore, you need to uninstall it before the restoration.

Note: On vSphere 5.0 you should also back up the Inventory Service database as part of your regular vCenter Server database administration. For further details on backing up and restoring the Inventory Service Database, see the vSphere Installation and Setup guide.

For more information on these steps, see the Upgrading to vCenter Server on a Different Machine and Keeping the Existing Database section of the vSphere Upgrade Guide.

Additional Information

How to stop, start, or restart vCenter Server services
Overview of upgrading or migrating from vCenter Server 4.x to vCenter Server 5.0
vCenter Server 4.x および 5.0 のバックアップとリストア
Backing up the vCenter Server database running on Microsoft SQL or SQL Express server
Realizar copias de seguridad y restaurar vCenter Server 4.x y 5.0
Como fazer backup e restaurar o vCenter Server 4.x e 5.0
备份和还原 vCenter Server 4.x 和 5.0