Migrate View VCenter (with Linked Clones) to new hardware

[taopiglet]

Problem:  I need to migrate our VCenter that hosts VMWare View Linked Clone Desktops to new hardware.  I am not really finding a procedure for this.  I can only find a procedure for migrating Composer (including RSA Keys) to new hardware.  Is it possible to migrated a VCenter to different hardware when View Linked Clones are involved?

Environment:

VMware View Connection Servers 5.1.1

View Agents 5.1.1

VCenter Server 5.0.0 and Composer 3.0 (installed on same server) - Database for both is on a separate SQL 2008 Server

All Servers both old and new are Windows 2008 R2 (x64)

Possible Solution:

Is the below possible?

1.  Disable Provisioning and Migrate Composer to new hardware per the instructions in the Upgrade Guide (migrating the RSA keys with it),

2.  Ensure that View Composer is still able to provision new desktops, etc after Composer has been migrated.

3.  Shutdown the old VCenter Server.

3a.  Backup SQL Databases

4.  Name the new VCenter Server with the same name (and same IP) as the old VCenter server.

5.  Install VCenter 5.0 on the new server and point to the old VCenter Server's SQL database.

6.  After all the above is complete and verified as working...upgrade new VCenter Server to 5.1.0a (at a later date)

[Lewis00]

My first train of thought is that you are very much correct in your processes. I would also say for you to look at the View 5.1 upgrade guide. This includes some steps and warnings about how to upgrade the composer. These same "pre" steps would need to be applied before you disconnect\stop the composer. The largest aspect being disabling refreshes, recomposes, and previsioning. During my test upgrade I missed changing the pool setting that made the machines refresh on disconnect..lol . Once the composer is no longer going to be utilized you should be in the clear as far as live environment interruptions.

I would then detach the databases from the SQL server and make a copy of the files for the VCDB and ViewCompDB (depending on how they were named). Then just move those files to the new server and attach them to the new SQL install. After that in theory it should just be a few software install steps and ODBC setups away from having it moved. I would also be sure to reattach the original databases so that you can return to that setup if anything goes wrong.

Once that is done I would just name the new server with the same name and IP of your old one as you said. I have not done this type of "upgrade" but based on what experience I have had with cleaning up our SQL install\file placement and upgrading to View 5.1 I would expect that this process would work out. The biggest thing I would stress is to be sure you can fall back to your old setup if anything goes a stray. I would also possible watchout for needing to re-add the Composer or vCenter to View Manager when done.

Anyway just my rambling thoughts on this topic. Please let me know if you find any of it useful or just way off, and good luck with your upgrade.

[taopiglet]

The below is what I ended up doing (in a test environment) to migrate the VCenter 5.0 Server to new hardware.  Ran through the procedure twice and it worked just fine.  I could still recompose/refresh Virtual Desktops.  I also had no problem accessing my Virtual Desktops.  Hope this procedure helps someone else.

Migrate View VCenter 5.0 to new hardware

1. Disable virtual machine provisioning in the vCenter Server instance that is associated with the View Composer service.
   
2. In View Administrator, click View Configuration > Servers.
   
3. In the vCenter Server tab, select the vCenter Server instance and click Disable provisioning.
   
4. Shutdown Virtual Center Services on old VCenter Server
   
5. Export RSA Keys from old server
   
6. • On the source computer on which the existing View Composer service resides, open a command prompt and navigate to the %windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0xxxxx directory.
     
   • Type the aspnet_regiis command to save the RSA key pair in a local file.
     
   • aspnet_regiis -px "SviKeyContainer" "keys.xml" -pri
     
   • The ASP.NET IIS registration tool exports the RSA public-private key pair from the SviKeyContainer container to the keys.xml file and saves the file locally.
     
7. Backup ADAM Database (see instructions at:  http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&e...)
   
8. Make a note (screenshot) of your Folder Structure (VM and Templates View) and your Cluster/Resource Pool Configuration (Host and Clusters View)
   
9. Shutdown old VCenter Server
   
10. Backup VCenter and Composer Databases on SQL Server….Restore to New SQL Server (only if you are migrating databases also)
    

11. Rename and Re-IP new VCenter Server with same name and IP as the old VCenter Server

    
    
12. • Turn off User Account Control setting (Control Pane) – if required
      
    • Add Service account to Administrators that has access to SQL
      
    • Login as Service Account
      

13. Migrate RSA Keys to New VCenter Server

    
    
14. • Copy the keys.xml file to the destination computer on which you want to install the new View Composer service.
      
    • On the destination computer, open a command prompt and navigate to the %windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0xxxxx directory.
      
    • Type the aspnet_regiis command to migrate the RSA key pair data.
      
    • aspnet_regiis -pi "SviKeyContainer" "path\keys.xml" –exp
      
15. Install SQL Native Client (sqlncli.msi)
    
16. Configure ODBC System DSN Connection for VCenter (Native 64-bit) and View Composer (Native 64-bit).
    

17. Install VCenter Server 5.0 (same version as old VCenter Server)

    
    
18. • In Database re-initialization warning, choose:  Do not overwrite, leave my existing database in place.
      

19. Restore ADAM Database per:  http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&e...

    
    
20. • NOTE:  Restore Instructions are wrong…you should restore to C:\ProgramData\... (not C:\Program Files).
      
21. Install View Composer 3.0 (same version as old View Composer Server).  The first time you run setup, it might require a reboot before it will completely install (takes a minute or two to tell you).  Use same credentials during setup as the ODBC connection used (will need to be an SA Login).  NOTE:  You will have to manually type in the ODBC Connection name.  Reboot after install.
    
22. Install VSphere Client
    
23. Start VSphere Client and connect to your new VCenter Server
    
24. You will probably have to Reconnect your VSphere Host Servers (right click on each Host and Connect)…you will have to run through the wizard.  Select a VCenter folder for your VDI virtual machines…it doesn’t seem to matter as they seem to go back to their original folder structure in my testing.
    
25. In View Administrator, you will need to go to the Dashboard and Verify the SSL Certificates for the new VCenter.
    

26. Enable Provisioning in View Administrator (shouldn’t have to change anything here)

    
    
27. • In View Administrator, click View Configuration > Servers.
      
    • In the vCenter Server tab, select the vCenter Server instance and click Disable provisioning.
      
    • NOTE:  You might have to separately Enable Provisioning on each Pool.
      

28. In the new VCenter Server, In Customization Specification Manager, Edit the one you use for View Composer.  You will get an error indicating “The public key in the specification does not match the VCenter public key. Click OK to open the Customization Specification Wizard, reenter the password and continue the import”.

    
    
29. • Click OK and step through the wizard to put all your settings back in (specifically, the Local Administrator password for your Master Image).
      
30. Test Recomposing and Provisioning of new Linked Clones.
    
31. Done. 
    

[Lewis00]

Thank you for the write up. I am glad to hear you had success with the move.