Linked Mode - 2 Existing vCenter 6 servers

[wreedctd]

Hello,

I have 2 standalone vCenter 6 servers running on Windows. Is it possible to link them link we could in 5.5? I do not see the program in the start menu anymore and the documentation seems vague.

Any insight is appreciated.

[rcporto]

If you're talking about join a vCenter Server version 5.5 to your linked vCenter Server version 6.0, this is not possible, since vCenters in linked mode must be at the same version and that is a requirements even on old versions, see: Linked Mode Prerequisites for vCenter Server

vCenter Server does not support Linked Mode groups that contain both version 5.x and pre-5.0 versions of vCenter Server. Similarly, vCenter Server does not support Linked Mode groups that contain different 5.x versions of vCenter Server or different versions of vCenter Single Sign-On. After all 5.x vCenter Server and vCenter Single Sign-On instances in a Linked Mode group are upgraded to the same 5.x version, you can rejoin them.

And note that before vCenter 6, the linked mode use the Microsoft ADAM that is no longer used by vCenter 6, see: vSphere 6.0 Documentation Center

In vSphere 5.5 and earlier, Linked Mode relied on Microsoft ADAM to provide replication functionality. Starting in vSphere 6.0, the Platform Services Controller provides replication and ADAM is no longer required. Because of the change in architecture, you must isolate vCenter Server 5.5 systems from any Linked Mode groups before upgrading these systems to vCenter Server 6.0. For more information, see the vSphere Upgrade documentation.

Anyway if you're just trying join two standalone vCenter 6, if each vCenter have a isolated PSC, you will need change your deployment and join them to the same SSO domain and the Enhanced Linked Mode wil be automatically configured, see:

To join vCenter Server systems in Enhanced Linked Mode, connect them to the same Platform Services Controller, or to Platform Services Controllers that share the same vCenter Single Sign-On domain.

More about vCenter changes: How to properly architect and deploy vCenter 6.0 - Jonathan McDonald - VMware Blogs

[wreedctd]

Both are Vcenter 6 U1 standalone deployments.

So how do I connect one of them to the other ones PSC? Is that even possible?

[tseidt]

Hi,

according to VMware KB: VMware Platform Services Controller 6.0 FAQs it is not possible to enable enhanced link mode between two separate vSphere domains.

Can I merge two vSphere Domains together?

No, there is no way to merge two vSphere domains together.

Can I get Enhanced Linked Mode between two, separate vSphere domains?

No, Enhanced Linked Mode requires that all PSCs be in the same domain and replicating. Since two separate vSphere Domains do not have a means of replicating, the new APIs that provide ELM cannot display the contents of both domains. For more information about Enhanced Linked Mode, see the Enhanced Linked Mode Overview section in the vSphere Upgrade Guide.

So in my opinion you have to reinstall one the vCenter Servers and add it to the PSC of the other one.

But, as Richardson already wrote, keep the list of recommended topologies in mind!

List of recommended topologies for VMware vSphere 6.0.x

Thomas