Identifying VMware vCenter Single Sign-On server deployment mode

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Purpose

This article provides information on identifying the deployment mode in which SSO is running.


General Information

VMware vCenter Single Sign-On (SSO) can be deployed in three modes. Choose one of these modes during the installation.

For vSphere 5.1:

• Basic
• Primary
• High Availability Cluster (HA)
• Multisite

For vSphere 5.5:

• vCenter Single Sign-On for your first vCenter Server
• vCenter Single Sign-On for an additional vCenter Server in an existing site (formerly HA Cluster)
• vCenter Single Sign-On for an additional vCenter Server with a new site (formerly Multisite)

Note: After installation, the vSphere Web Client does not indicate the mode in which the server is running.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x

Resolution

To identify the SSO deployment mode:

For vSphere 5.1

1. On the vCenter Single Sign-On server, click Start > Run, type regedit, and click OK. The Registry Editor window opens.
2. Browse to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.\VMware Infrastructure\SSOServer\SetupType key.
3. Check the value of this key. This value determines the SSO deployment mode.
   
   The value of this key can be:
   
4. • Basic
   • Primary
   • HA
   • Multisite

Note: There are four types of possible values, even though there are only three deployment types. This is because the first node deployed in an HA or Multisite is identified as the Primary node.

For vSphere 5.5

Use one of the below solutions:

Solution 1:

Note: If the vCenter Single Sign-On server has been rebooted, these files may no longer be present.

1. On the vCenter Single Sign-On server, open a browser and navigate to %TEMP%.
2. Open the file vim-sso-msi.log in a text editor
3. Search for the following string:
   
   DEPLOYMODE
   
   
4. To determine the SSO deployment mode, review the below strings:

• vCenter Single Sign-On for your first vCenter Server, you will see:
  • Property(C): UPGRADEDEPLOYMODE = FIRSTDOMAIN
    Property(C): DEPLOYMODE = FIRSTDOMAIN
    
    
• vCenter Single Sign-On for an additional vCenter Server in an existing site, you will see:
  • PROPERTY CHANGE: Modifying DEPLOYMODE property. Its current value is 'FIRSTDOMAIN'. Its new value: 'EXISTINGDOMAINSAMESITE'.
    
    
• vCenter Single Sign-On for an additional vCenter Server with a new site, you will see:
  • PROPERTY CHANGE: Modifying DEPLOYMODE property. Its current value is 'FIRSTDOMAIN'. Its new value: 'EXISTINGDOMAINNEWSITE'.

Solution 2:

1. On the first vCenter Server, open the LS_ServiceID.prop file (located at C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\).
   
2. Document the observed string in the LS_ServiceID.prop file. Use this model as an example:
   
   Primary:81675401-eaf0-429e-ab6c-720cee354c08
   
   
3. On the second vCenter Server, open the LS_ServiceID.prop file (located at C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\).
4. Review the string.
   1. If the string has the same site name as per Step 2, the vCenter Single Sign-On instance is deployed as vCenter Single Sign-On for an additional vCenter Server in an existing site. For example:
      
      Primary:c236eeb8-2187-422b-9e03-e8a4df991b6b
      
      
   2. If the string has a different site name, the vCenter Single Sign-On instance is deployed as vCenter Single Sign-On for an additional vCenter Server with a new site. For example:
      
      Secondary:c236eeb8-2187-422b-9e03-e8a4df991b6b
      
      
5. Repeat this on any additional vCenter Servers to determine the deployment mode.

For more information, see vCenter Single Sign On Deployment modes in the vSphere 5.5 Installation and Setup Guide or the vSphere 5.1 Installation and Setup Guide.

Additional Information

For translated versions of this article, see:

• 日本語: VMware vCenter Single Sign-On のデプロイ モードを識別する (2105852)
  
• 简体中文: 确定 VMware vCenter Single Sign-On 服务器的部署模式 (2113453)