vCenter 5.1 not on domain... is this possible?

[gregchait]

Greetings

I have had some considerable struggles with installing vCenter 5.1 within infrastructures that are not part of an Active Directory domain.  The root of the problems seem to be the ability for vCenter to restart after the server rebooting.

I've done some online research and followed suggestions in a few articles, but still cannot resolve the issue.  I cannot imagine that vCenter is completely dependent upon a domain?

I've thought perhaps I can create a bogus FQDN and map it in the server's host file.

Has anyone successfully setup 5.1 on a "domain-less" Windows OS?  Was this a cut & dry install or was there workarounds required?

Any info from the community is appreciated...

~grc

[JCMorrissey]

Hi,

Take a look at aravinds3107 thread in http://communities.vmware.com/message/2228607  contains a lot of good info related to this piece

Many tx

[weinstein5]

vCenter does not need to be part of a fomain - you can rely on the local users and groups for credentials and access

[gregchait]

I understand that it will install without a domain; I've done it.  But I've encountered issues with starting vCenter services after reboots shortly after.

Are you running a vCenter that is not installed on a server that is not on a domain?

Greg C.

[rpotru]

I have done this on my lab sometime back. I don't have any issues. What is the issue exactly anyway?

it could be your environment problem. Check the event logs on your windows server where vCenter installed. Any errors?

[gregchait]

Further digging this thread seems to be in line with the error I am seeing in the vCenter log file:

http://communities.vmware.com/message/2192782

Adding cpu/memory is really tough for me to believe as a remedy to this problem.

Online research showed someone who called VMware support and was told the "Simple Installer" can be the culprit of the issue and to reinstall individually/seperately: SSO > Inventory Service > vCenter.

I am giving this a shot...

Greg C.