Services bundled with vCenter Server Appliance
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Services bundled with vCenter Server Appliance

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Article ID: 320261

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

  • This article provides information on the services that are included with vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA).
  • It also provides information on the services not included with vCSA and its limitations.

Environment

  • VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0.x
  • VMware vCenter Server Appliance 5.5.x
  • VMware vCenter Server Appliance 5.1.x
  • VMware vCenter Server Appliance 5.0.x

Resolution

Table of Contents

  • Services included in vCenter Server Appliance
  • Services that are not included in vCenter Server Appliance
  • Limitations of vCSA

Services included in vCenter Server Appliance

  • Autodeploy
    • An Autodeploy service is bundled with vCSA.
    • The Autodeploy service is automatically registered as a vCenter Server Extension.
  • Syslog Collector Service
    • The Syslog Collector Server is installed by default, but is not registered as a vCenter Server Extension.
    • To collect the required logging information, you must log into the console or connect to vCSA using SSH and manually collect the log files generated.
  • ESXi Dump Collector Service
    • The ESXi Dump Collector Server is installed by default, but is not registered as a vCenter Server Extension.
    • To collect the required core dump information, you must log into the console or connect to vCSA using SSH and manually collect the log files generated.
  • vSphere Web Client
    • The vSphere Web Client Service is bundled with the vCenter Server Appliance.
    • Unlike the standalone version of this server, the service need not be configured to connect to vCSA. By default, the service is aware of vCenter Server on the appliance.
    • Services that are not included in vCenter Server Appliance
  • vCenter Update Manager
    • There is no Linux-based equivalent to Update Manager.
    • You can install the Windows-based Update Manager on a Windows guest and register the Update Manager plug-in when connected to the vCSA with a vSphere Client.
  • vCenter Converter Standalone
    • There is no Linux-based equivalent to Converter Standalone.
    • You can install the Windows-based Standalone Converter on a Windows guest and import converted machines connecting to the vCSA as a destination.
  • vSphere vCLI
    • The vCLI is not included as part of vCSA.
    • If you want vCLI in an appliance, use the vSphere Management Assistant (vMA) Appliance. 
  • vSphere PowerCLI
    • PowerCLI and all other PowerCLI extensions require PowerShell, which runs only on Microsoft Windows-based systems.
    • For more information, see the vSphere PowerCLI Documentation

Limitations of vCSA

  • vCSA supports connection between vCenter Server and vCenter Server components by IP address only if the IP address is IPV4-compliant.
  • To connect to a vCenter Server system in an IPv6 environment, you must use the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or host name of the vCenter Server.
  • The best practice is to use the FQDN, which works in all cases, instead of the IP address, which can change if assigned by DHCP.
  • vCSA does not support Linked Mode. This is because the Microsoft ADAM dependency is provided by Microsoft Windows-based platforms.
  • The vCSA 5.0 GA uses an embedded DB2 Express database.
  • The vCSA 5.0 Update 1b, vCSA 5.1, 5.5, and 6.0 all use an embedded vPostgres database.
  • The appliance can also connect to supported Oracle databases.
    • Oracle RAC is supported on these versions:
      • vCSA 5.1 running version 11.2.0.3.0 or higher.
      • vCSA 5.5 and 6.0 running version 11.2.0.4.0 or higher.
    • vCSA 5.1, 5.5, and 6.0 do not support Microsoft SQL database connectivity.
  • Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI) is only supported with a Kerberos mechanism when vCSA is in a Windows domain.

Additional Information