Installing VCSA 6.5 in Workstation 14

[peter79]

Guys,

First off I wasn't sure if I should post in the vCenter forums or the workstation forums as my issues cover both.  So apologies if I picked the wrong one.

Previously I was able to install VCSA 6 in workstation 12 using the steps outlined in the following article

vCenter 6 VCSA External PSC in VMware Workstation - Cloudy Future

I'm now trying to install VCSA 6.5 using the following article

https://www.vladan.fr/how-to-install-vcsa-6-5-in-vmware-workstation-lab/

However every attempt fails (see screenshot below)

I read that workstation 14 added additional features to help install VCSA 6.5 in workstation, so I upgraded to 14.  However I'm still hitting the same issue.

I have windows 2008 domain controller VM running with DNS properly configured (both A and pointer records configured).  I've found a few guides online relating to VCSA 6.5 and workstation 14 and it should work as far as I can see.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.  I've going for the VCP 6.5 delta exam in a few months and would love to get this up and running for study.

Thanks in advance. 

[Finikiez]

Hi!

Can you attach VM's VMX file here? And also can you confirm that modified VMX _before_ you powered on VCSA VM for the first time?

[peter79]

I've attached the file and as you suspected.  None of the information i entered into the Workstation import wizard is there.  I would expect it to appear between "floppy.0 present" and "tools.upgrade.policy".

Unfortunately in workstation 14 when you import the VCSA OVA it starts the VM automatically after you complete the wizard.  In previous versions the VM would be left in a powered off state after the import was completed.

[peter79]

FYI this is these are the steps I'm following

https://thewificable.com/2017/10/13/deploy-vcsa-in-workstation-14/

[Finikiez]

when you don't input the lines manually then you will have no root password configured.

Check instructions from William Lam. Maybe it can help https://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2016/10/how-to-deploy-the-vcenter-server-appliance-vcsa-6-5-running-...

[peter79 · Accepted solution]

If anyone is interested I found a solution.

There was a bug in the version of 6.5 I was using.  I downloaded 6.5 update 1 and got past the issues.  However I ran into further issues which lead to a different approach which was successful.

I ended up going for a nested deployment (installing VCSA/PSC on a virtual host deployed in workstation).  I also ended up running the install wizard from the ISO instead of importing the OVA in workstation.

Hope this helps anyone else encountering this issue.