Virtualize vCenter, New Database

[proden20]

Somehow my vcdb database grew to a size of 28GB after the VI3 -> 4.0 upgrade and there are only 5 hosts in the cluster. I ran the cleanup script but after 24 hours it looked like it had a few more days to go. Backup & shrink actions on the DB also had no effect. I don't have high statistics logging requirements in my vCenter configuration. The sizing calculator indicates that this DB only be about 2GB.

This all being said:

1.) I want to move my vCenter to a virtual machine on the cluster, is there updated information for doing this on vSphere 4.0?

2.) How can I get this database to a reasonable size...or...

What would be the implications of building out a brand-new vCenter datacenter / cluster with HA & DRS?

[dnetz]

Are you certain that the .mdf file is 28GB and not just the transaction log (.ldf)? The upgrade guide recommends setting the vcenter database to "simple" for the upgrade process to avoid a large transaction log. Also, 28GB sounds so unreasonably large that it sounds like the database is in "full" mode and transaction logs aren't being backed up properly.

The upgrade guide should tell you everything you need to know about the upgrade process: http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40_u1/vsp_40_u1_upgrade_guide.pdf

[proden20]

Yep..

The .mdf is 28GB and the .ldf is 1.5GB. Recovery model is simple. I'm wondering if the cleanup script is the only answer at this point.

Does this article you referenced discuss virtualing vCenter 4.0? Still looking for that info if anyone has it.

Thanks.

Dennis.

[msemon1]

We ran into a problem with the database size and could not pull performance information from previous days or weeks. To resolve this we ran the cleanup script and created a SQL mainitenance plan. The tables can grow quite large if not properly cleaned up.

http://communities.vmware.com/message/1215095#1215095

-Mike

[dnetz]

I don't think it mentions virtual vCenters, there's a document specifically for this but for vCenter 2.5, the considerations should still be true for vSphere: http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_vc_in_vm.pdf

Duncan also has a nice writeup of virtualising vSphere on his blog: http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2009/10/09/best-practices-running-vcenter-virtual-vsphere/

[proden20]

Good links, thanks!

As far as my database issue goes, the stat table is insanely huge. Something probably went awry when prepping the logging type prior to upgrade...

2010-01-21 11:25:52 VPX_HIST_STAT1: will attempt to delete 436737169 rows

This will take some time but should work out for me....