vCenter and SRM software is installed on the same Windows Server Virtual Machine FAQs
Article ID: 312737
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
Q. My vCenter Server & SRM software is running on the same Windows Server, which one should I migrate first ?
A. SRM must be migrated from Windows to an Appliance first. Before beginning the migration process of either, please make sure you have the latest back-up of this Windows VM. The first thing to do after is to export the SRM database from the Windows server and copy it outside the server, this will be used later to import it to the SRM appliance. Now, you are good to migrate your vCenter Server to an appliance.
Q. Can I continue using the Windows vCenter Server on which SRM is installed after the vCenter migration is complete.
A. No, you cannot do this because after the migration, the source vCenter Server is turned off and cannot be turned on to avoid network ID conflicts with the target vCenter Server Appliance. After the source vCenter Server is turned off, all solutions that are installed on the source vCenter Server and that are not migrated become unavailable.
Known Limitations - https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.7/com.vmware.vcenter.upgrade.doc/GUID-5E19B79A-AE4F-497A-9047-3E9AAC1D7767.html
Q. My Windows SRM server is using a SQL Database, can I migrate this to an appliance ?
A. No, migration of data from an external database to the embedded database is not supported.
Prerequisites and Best Practices for Site Recovery Manager Upgrade - https://docs.vmware.com/en/Site-Recovery-Manager/8.5/com.vmware.srm.install_config.doc/GUID-C9BD3EEA-73F3-4784-8D7A-EB281C69C4D0.html
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SRM Versions
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Supported Database Software
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Windows
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Appliance
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8.5
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vPostgres
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NO
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YES
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8.4
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vPostgres
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NO
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YES
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8.3
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vPostgres & External Database
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YES
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YES
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8.2
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vPostgres & External Database
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YES
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YES
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8.1
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vPostgres & External Database
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YES
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NO
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Refer to Supported Database Software Compatibility Matrices for VMware Site Recovery Manager to find more information about the types of databases supported with SRM and vCenter version.
Q. My vCenter Server and external PSC are running on 2 different Windows Servers that will be converged to a vCenter Server with an Embedded Platform Services Controller but SRM is installed on the Windows vCenter, how do I proceed ?
A. Export the SRM database from the Windows server and copy it outside the Windows server, this will be used later to import it to an SRM appliance. SRM DB surgery is a MUST post PSC convergence which will be done by SRM technical support staff.
Q. My vCenter Server and SRM are using the same IP address as they are installed on the same Windows Server, what will happen after vCenter migration ?
A. The newly migrated vCenter appliance will take the original IP and MAC of the Windows Server, you'll have to create a new DNS host record for the SRM appliance deployment and then import the database to it.
Q. My SRM server or appliance stopped working after we did a PSC convergence
A. SRM DB surgery would be required on the SRM Windows Servers or Appliances.
SRM gets disconnected post PSC Convergence and does not work even after running a Modify Install on Windows OR Reconfigure on SRM Appliance (78692)
Q. I have a vCenter with an external PSC (Windows/Appliance) at the Protected and Recovery site. I would like to converge the PSC at one site at a time and then fix the broken SRM & then work on the second site at a later time.
A. This would not be an ideal way to go about this, its strongly recommended that you perform the PSC convergence on the same day and later contact SRM technical staff to perform a DB surgery on both the SRM servers and then pair the sites.
SRM gets disconnected post PSC Convergence and does not work even after running a Modify Install on Windows OR Reconfigure on SRM Appliance (78692)
SRM configuration can be exported using 3 methods :
A. Export it from Windows - Very popular method when performing a migration and this is also the go-to method as per the SRM documentation.
B. Export it from SRM UI - Not widely used because customers don't know the efficacy of doing this every month or when a change is made to SRM configuration in the GUI.
C. Exporting using Import/Export Tool - Least used method of them all
We will now discuss about the steps involved in migrating SRM installed on the same Windows server as vCenter having an EXTERNAL/EMBEDDED PSC -
Please follow the steps in the order mentioned below, the procedure remains the same for multiple SRM sites -
1. Back-up your Windows vCenter and External PSC (Assuming they are both installed on Windows, sometimes you can also find the PSC running on an appliance)
2. Take a normal snapshot (without memory) of Windows vCenter VM running vCenter and SRM
3. Export SRM configuration from Windows & copy this file out to a location outside this Windows server - https://docs.vmware.com/en/Site-Recovery-Manager/8.4/com.vmware.srm.install_config.doc/GUID-F39A84D3-2E3D-4018-97DD-5D7F7E041B43.html
4. Export SRM configuration from SRM UI on both the SRM sites, if your SRM version is 8.2 and above - https://docs.vmware.com/en/Site-Recovery-Manager/8.2/com.vmware.srm.install_config.doc/GUID-F2538781-F824-4B5C-A4CE-D2A64CF56837.html
STEP 4 will come in handy when you are unable to import the exported SRM configuration from Windows or if it errors out for any other reason that is hard to fix.
5. Deploy SRM appliances by assigning them new IP addresses but DO NOT CONFIGURE the appliances; the appliance will get automatically configured when you import the SRM configuration that was taken in STEP 3.
6. Copy the exported SRM configuration files to respective SRM appliances using WinSCP
7. Import SRM configuration that was taken in STEP 3.
NOTE: You should copy the appropriate SRM export file belonging to the appropriate site to the SRM appliance deployed in that site. You CANNOT copy the same SRM export file belonging to one of the sites to both the sites or multiple shared sites.
If you are able to successfully import SRM configuration taken from STEP 3 on both the SRM appliances, proceed to inform the customer to perform vCenter migration to an appliance AND combine the PSC using PSC convergence (Customer to log a separate case with IUM team for assistance on this). Customer must complete the vCenter migration / PSC convergence task on both the sites before approaching SRM support staff to perform a SRM DB surgery to repair site pairing. Performing vCenter migration / PSC convergence at one site and then requesting SRM support to perform a DB surgery should not be entertained as this will require us to do a DB surgery twice, also this could invoke other subtle problems from vCenter/PSC angle that we may not be aware of.
Q. My SRM configuration import taken from STEP 3 failed on the SRM appliance, what to do now ?
A. If your SRM configuration import taken from STEP 3 is failing in the appliance and you find out that there's no other way of fixing it, you can then use the SRM configuration export from STEP 4.
1. Deploy SRM appliances by assigning them new IP addresses
2. Stop SRM server service on the Windows servers. Alternatively, you can also uninstall SRM but if you choose not to, during SRM appliance registration you'll be asked to override existing registrations.
3. Configure the SRM appliances using the correct default or custom SRM plug-in as per the original configuration
4. Pair sites
5. Import configuration using SRM UI from STEP 4 - https://docs.vmware.com/en/Site-Recovery-Manager/8.5/com.vmware.srm.install_config.doc/GUID-8EA13BC6-A6AD-457D-A76F-95517DF31E80.html
6. Perform vCenter migration / PSC convergence task
7. Contact SRM support staff to perform a SRM DB surgery
Now, you must be pondering why you are being recommended to try importing the SRM configuration using STEP 3 first and only try this recourse if STEP 3 fails; that is because importing SRM configuration using STEP 3 will remain the de-facto method of migrating Windows SRM to an appliance as per our documentation and VMware blogs. STEP 4 is a good back-up plan to still continue to import your configuration if the Windows method fails. The only difference here lies in having to re-create all your protection groups if you configure SRM as a fresh appliance with a fresh DB and then import configuration from the original SRM DB because if you are using vSphere replication, importing SRM DB in this fashion will show a replication error or exclamation marks on all the PGs because SRM DB is not completely in sync with vSphere replication. But, if the Windows export/import goes as expected, you can be rest assured that everything will be normal. This won't be a problem in the case of array based replication.
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