vCenter Appliance vCSA lost, How to install a new one to take control of the hosts?

[Cruz10]

Hello,

Due to a disk failure I lost the VCSA controlling 2 hosts. Now I'm managing the VMs entering each host separately.

The backup didn't work, so I want to reinstall VCSA 5.1 again.

I have read that the first step is to "detach" the hosts of the VCSA.

Is there a procedure for this operation? I mean to reinstall and take control of the hosts and their VMs.

Will it affect the settings VMs have currently running? new Appliance will "read" the current configuration?

I backed the VCSA configuration but I think that is not reliable because during this time we have made changes directly to the hosts.

Thanks in advance

[npadmani · Accepted solution]

since the Old vCenter is not available.

and as you said you are able to connect directly to both the hosts so there is no Lockdown mode either. nothing needs to be done from 'Detaching' part of it.

Just prepare your new VCSA, login into it after successful configuration using vi client or web client, create new virtual data Center

and start adding hosts, both the hosts will be added without trouble.

new VC will be able to reset vpxuser account password as part of the host add process it self.

[Cruz10]

Thanks a lot Narendra!

I'll try and tell you. 🙂

[alexganser]

Hi Cruz,

how Narendra wrote, the hosts will get connected. You didn't have to disconnect them from the old vCenter manually.

If you mean HA Settings, EVC Mode, DRS Rules and so on with "configuration", then all of this will be lost and you must create all new. In your new vCenter you starts from the beginning (Datacenter; HA/DRS Cluster).

Hope you get all running again.

Alex