VCenter "appliance" VM and Essentials users?

[Javik]

(Splitting from the VCenter windows backup topic.)

Sorry but it is extremely bizarre to be running the VCSA management interface as a VM inside a hypervisor that is managed by that management interface.

What are we supposed to do as an Essentials customer? I am not burning up one of the three paid hypervisor licenses to separately host VCSA by itself so that all else can be shut down for maintenance if needed while still keeping the management interface accessible.

If necessary I will run a free license ESXi that only runs VCSA in isolation. I know the free ESXi denies UPS shutdown support so it will just crash when the power fails, but that's beyond my control.

Apparently it makes far more sense at my small scale to just turn the VCSA linux virtual disk back into a physical machine and run it direct on the Dell Optiplex 7040 where I have VCenter 6.5 for Windows running right now.

[daphnissov]

Apparently it makes far more sense at my small scale to just turn the VCSA linux virtual disk back into a physical machine and run it direct on the Dell Optiplex 7040 where I have VCenter 6.5 for Windows running right now.

Not only will that completely not work, but it's 100% unsupported.

[IRIX201110141]

Hmmm?

If you run vCenter on top of the hypervisor/cluster its manage.... than

- You can perform snaps before Modifying/Updating

- You can backup it as every other VM

- If you have Ess+ you can use vMotion and its protected by HA

Whats the reason to run vCenter on pyhs or not on the cluster?

- You use NSX (needs extra mgmt cluster)

- Well.... you have vSAN... well

Regards
Joerg

[Javik]

Or how about using the free-licensed Hyper-V Windows Server as the VM host for VCSA?

That sounds like it should work just swimmingly.

Whats the reason to run vCenter on pyhs or not on the cluster?

#3. We are poor.

[IRIX201110141]

Whats YOUR additional risk if you run the VCSA in the same environment?

Whats the reason to run vCenter on pyhs or not on the cluster?

- You cant use VUM to patch the Host the VCSA runs on... but the 2 others of course

Regards

Joerg

[daphnissov]

#3. We are poor.

I get that you're poor, but are you really so poor yet still able to:

1. Burn a license on a Windows VM
2. Dedicate a physical server to the sole purpose of running one VM
3. Increase your management complexity of adding one of each of those things to your patch/update/monitoring cycle?

I think you have adequate justification here to bump up to Essentials Plus, and it's really not *that* much more expensive. Also, there is no more Windows-based vCenter after this terminal release of 6.7, so keep that in mind.