According to VMWare ESX server architecture, a virtual center can manage "N" number of ESX servers. All the configuration and changes we make on the ESX server and their guest OS's will be stored in a VC Database (Oracle and SQL are the one's supported).
At present , I have installed only an ESX server and I use VI client to access this ESX server. I believe, virtual center will be installed by default on the ESX server. Am i right? Can you please let me know or send a document on how to set up/install virtual center managing 2 or 3 ESX servers and also the database installation.
Thanks.......
Documentation on how to install/use VC is available from the Support/Documentation pages:
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/
VC gets installed on a Windows server (be it Virtual or Physical), and installation is a pretty standard next....next...Finish setup.
For the VC database, you can use any of the supported databases (create the database first, if you're using anything other than the SQL Express 2005 which is provided by the installer); during setup you will get asked the question where you want to store the data.
When VC is installed, you can connect to it using the same VI client you use to manage the ESX hosts, just point it to the correct ip-address or hostname.
In the VI client, connected to your VC, you can then add the hosts you want your VC to manage, and perform all the fun stuff, like cloning, vmotions,....
Virtual Center is a separate, stand-alone application that installs on a Windows machine. It provides a single point to connect your VI Client to, in order to view all of your ESX servers, clusters, datacenters, datastores, etc... in a single place. It also handles licensing, and some other items as well. If you have a single ESX server, and that is it, VC is not necessary, although it can still be used. If you plan to add more ESX servers in the future, you may wish to go with VC still. The ESX server(s) do not get anything installed on them when you install VC, they are simply logged into and managed by the VC machine. You simply point your VI client to the VC, instead of the individual ESX server.
If you found this or any other post helpful please consider the use of the Helpfull/Correct buttons to award points