Upgrading to vCenter Server 6.0 without migrating SQL database to vPostgres

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• When upgrading the vCenter Server to 6.0, if the vCenter Server database currently resides on the default SQL Express instance (VIM_SQLEXP or SQLEXP_VIM), the default behavior is to migrate the database to vPostgres.
• Databases residing in SQL Standard or Enterprise editions will not be migrated to vPostgres.
• Databases residing in a SQL Express instance other than the one installed with vCenter Server will not be migrated to vPostgres.
• Oracle databases will not be migrated to vPostgres.
• vCenter Server 6.0 running against the vPostgres database has a limit of 20 hosts and 200 virtual machines.
• Ensure you are running a supported versions of SQL Express. For more information, see VMware Product Interoperability Matrixes for supported versions.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x

Resolution

It is possible to upgrade to vCenter Server 6.0 when configured with a supported SQL Express database and not have the database migrated to vPostgres.

Note: As SQL Express is an external database solution, you may need to reach out to database vendor for database solution management or core SQL issues.

 

Method 1

 

Before performing an upgrade of vCenter Server to version 6.0, migrate the database to another MS SQL Express instance which is not the VMware default instance. For more information, see Migrating the vCenter Server database from SQL Express to full SQL Server (1028601).

 

Method 2

 

Before performing an upgrade of vCenter Server to version 6.0, configure the default SQL instance to use SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode and update vCenter Server to use a SQL account to connect to the vCenter Server database.

 

To do this, perform these steps:

 

1. Enable SQL Server and Windows Authentication
    
   1. Connect to the SQL instance hosting the vCenter using SQL Management Studio.
   2. Right-click on the instance (example: localhost\vim_sqlexp) and select properties.
   3. Select security.
   4. Ensure SQL Sever and Windows Authentication mode is enabled. Changing this setting will require a restart of the SQL instance for the change to take affect.
       
2. Select SQL user to connect with vCenter Server
    
   If the SA account already exists, this account can be used. Other wise a new SQL account needs to be created.
    

   1. Connect to the SQL instance hosting the vCenter database.
   2. Expand Security.
   3. Expand logins.Right-click SA user and click properties.
   4. Under General the SA user password can be set.
   5. Under Status ensure login is set to enabled.
       
3. Configure vCenter Server to use a SQL account to connect to the vCenter Server database

1. Stop the VMware Virtual Center Server Service.
2. Ensure a backup of the vCenter database has been taken.

1. Update the ODBC connection on vCenter Server
    
   1. As an administrator, click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Data Sources (ODBC).
   2. Click the System DSN tab.
   3. Under System Data Sources, select the Data Source that the vCenter Server is using, as noted in the previous section of this article.
   4. Click Configure.
   5. On the Configure pane you see the name of the configured database server in the server text box.
   6. Click Next.
   7. Enter the appropriate log in credentials on the next page.
   8. Click Next.
   9. On this pane, you see the database that has been configured. To change the database, ensure that the checkbox for Change the default database to is selected, and select the database that you want to use for vCenter Server.
   10. Click Next.
   11. Click Next on the next screen, making no changes.
   12. Click Finish.
   13. Click Test Data Source to verify the information entered.
   14. When the test completes, review the information presented and click OK.
   15. If the test was successful, click OK to exit the wizard. If the test did not complete successfully, click Cancel and review the information entered to ensure it is valid.
   16. After the test is successful, click OK to exit the ODBC Data Source Administrator window.
2. Update the vCenter server Configuration
    
   1. Click Start > Run, type regedit, and click OK. The Registry Editor window opens.
   2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > VMware, Inc > VMware VirtualCenter.
   3. Modify the key DbInstanceName and remove the current Value data. Do not delete this key.
   4. Modify the key DbServerType and change the Value data from Bundled to Custom.
   5. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > VMware, Inc > VMware VirtualCenter > DB.
   6. Modify key 2 and add the vCenter Server user, for example sa.
       
3. Change the database password stored in the registry to allow the user to update the ODBC information without reinstalling vCenter Server.
    

   1. Click Start > Run, type cmd, and click OK. The Command Prompt window opens.
   2. Run this command to set the password for the vCenter Server database:
      
      C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\vpxd.exe -p
      
      Note: This is the default path to the vCenter Server installation directory. Change the path appropriately, if required.

   
    
4. Start vCenter Server Service and log in to verify that the host and virtual machine inventory is visible.

Additional Information

Migrating the vCenter Server database from SQL Express to full SQL Server
How to stop, start, or restart vCenter Server 6.x services
升级到 vCenter Server 6.0 而不将 SQL 数据库迁移到 vPostgres
SQL データベースを vPostgres に移行せずに vCenter Server 6.0 にアップグレード
Atualizando para o vCenter Server 6.0 sem migrar o banco de dados SQL para vPostgres
Actualizar a vCenter Server 6.0 sin migrar una base de datos SQL a vPostgres