Standalone VCSA?

[AdamNZ]

Hi all,

I haven't worked with VMware for the last 4 years or so and - as it does - the landscape has changed somewhat.

I'm currently working on upgrading vCenter 6.0 to v6.7, and we've opted to move to a appliance-based VCSA, and retire the Windows Server host that the vCenter environment is currently sitting on.

Initially, I was under the impression that VCSA could be deployed as a standalone VM/box, and we could move the hosts to it. So far, all the documentation seems to point towards "ingesting" the VCSA into an existing environment, then moving all your assets across.

Is there any way of having a standalone VCSA box from scratch?

I hope I'm making some sense, and thanks upfront

[sjesse]

The vcsa is deployed from an app on your computer, if you want it an be a brand new one, but if you want to "upgrade" a windows one it firsts creates a new appliance then transfers the settings over. I think this is what you mean by ", then moving all your assets across. " You can start from scratch and deploy the vcsa to a new host if you want, there is no prereq to deploy it in a pre existing environment.

[AdamNZ]

Thanks for the prompt response.

I'm still in the development phase at this point, and I've been wanting to get a working lab up and running first. All the KB articles I've dug into all seem to suggest installing the VCSA in an existing environment. I was under the impression that, since it's built on Linux, I could deploy the VCSA first.

Could you perhaps point me in the direction of setting it up as a brand new one, please? Ideally, in my test lab, I'm hoping to have a VCSA VM that isn't built on a Windows Server host, if possible?

[sjesse]

I suggest doing some research, sites like

https://masteringvmware.com/how-to-install-vcsa-6-7-step-by-step/

go through the process step by step

[AdamNZ]

Yep, so, this is pretty much in line with what I've come across so far.

It's either my expectation of the product or my understanding of it, but this is still effectively using Windows as a starting point - and running a Windows installer to get the VCSA up.

I really thought VCSA could be installed, almost like it's own OS, on a VM (or host) somehow - is this not possible?

[sjesse]

you don't install it you deploy a preconfigured appliance and configure it.

[scott28tt]

Moderator: Moved to vCenter Server

[IRIX201110141]

The starting point can be a linux, osx or a windows box.

The installer creates a appliance like VM on an ESX host. This host doesnt need to be part of the later environment the VCSA is managed.

Regards,

Joerg

[AdamNZ]

Thanks for the input.

I've spent a bit more time with this today. I guess the real question I'm looking for an answer to - can the VCSA VM be deployed to any other hypervisor? In this case, can it be deployed to a Proxmox host?

[scott28tt]

VCSA is supported on ESXi 5.5 or later

vCenter Server Appliance Overview