physical vCenter 2.5 migrate to Virtual vCenter 4.0

[Speedbmp]

we are running a physical server running vCenter 2.5 and other software that can not be run virtual, IE software that needs a physical card to run.

I am thinking about creating a new VM to trun vCenter 4.0 on. however i wish to migrate all of the old settings on the old vCenter 2.5.

what would be the best way to do this.

Stephen

[FredPeterson]

Pretty much every configuration option is in the database so just create a new VM, install VCServer and point it to the database that already exists - just be absolutely sure to say you want to keep the data

The only thing you'll want to make sure you port over by hand is the license file if you run the licensing server alongside VCServer (most folks do)

[Speedbmp]

what i ended up doing was creating a new VM installing vCenter 4.0 on it.

once that was done, i disconnected the host on the old virtual center, then I added the host to the new vCenter 4.0

i had to install the license server service for the old ESX 3.5 hosts on the new vCenter 4.0 server.

next up upgrading the hosts to 4.0

Stephen

[admin]

Upgrade guide is a good reference point prior to do any component upgrade:

https://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf

VMware-GSS,

VMware Communities User Moderator

[HyperSprite]

Concerning the upgrade guide, this scenario is covered in the guide.

Follow this link to see the section Upgrading to vCenter Server on a Different Machine and Keeping the Existing Database

http://pubs.vmware.com/vsp40/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href=upgrade/t_upgrade_vc_on_64-bit.h...

It says:

The page has more details about prerequisites but this is the procedure:

1 On the source machine, copy the SSL certificate folder at %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter.

2 Paste it on the destination machine.

¦ On Microsoft Windows 2003 Server: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%/Application Data/VMWare/VMware VirtualCenter. Create the folder if it does not exist.

¦ On Microsoft Windows 2008 Server: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%/VMWare/VMware VirtualCenter. Create the folder if it does not exist.

3 On the destination machine, configure a system DSN that points to the database. The DSN must be 32-bit.

4 On the source machine, stop the VirtualCenter service by selecting Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services > VMware VirtualCenter Server.

5 On the destination machine, start the vCenter Server 4.0 installer.

6 When prompted by the installer, select the DSN that you configured on the destination machine.

The Database Upgrade wizard upgrades the database tables to make them compatible with vCenter Server 4.0. If you are upgrading from VirtualCenter 2.0.x, you must complete the Database Upgrade wizard. If you are upgrading from VirtualCenter 2.5, the Database Upgrade wizard runs in the background.

[vancod]

@Stephen -

How is the performance? What specs does your VM have?

My physical machine was a tad challenged with 2.5 (enough RAM, but slow CPU) - it is absolutely crushed by vSphere vCenter. I hesitate to suggest customers use a VM to begin with, this is not helping me feel any better about the idea...

[Texiwill]

Hello,

Moved to VMware vCenter forum.

Best regards, Edward L. Haletky VMware Communities User Moderator, VMware vExpert 2009
Now Available on Rough-Cuts: 'VMware vSphere(TM) and Virtual Infrastructure Security: Securing ESX and the Virtual Environment'[/url]
Also available 'VMWare ESX Server in the Enterprise'[/url]
[url=http://www.astroarch.com/wiki/index.php/Blog_Roll]SearchVMware Pro[/url]|Blue Gears[/url]|Top Virtualization Security Links[/url]|Virtualization Security Round Table Podcast[/url]