Database Choice for vCenter Server 5 Install on Windows Server 2003

[teksup88]

Hi to all.

We have a small assisted living healthcare environment with about a dozen sites/servers.

One server has 3 VMw4 vms on it.

We received two new servers each with ESXi 5 installed. They will host several Windows server vms mostly migrations of current VMw4.

I want to install vCenter Server 5 to manage them.

From my VMware book by Lowe he mentions that the bundled SqlExp08 is fine for 5 hosts and 50 vms.

We will never have more than that probably.

However, the server I want to install vCSrv5 on already has installs of Sql05 and Sql08 in use by several other applications.

Those applications will be migrated to our new vms later on with their respective db.

My questions are:

1) Should I install vCSrv5 and use the bundled SqlExp08 and just let it go at that? If so should the db just be on another drive or should it be on another server?

2) Should I install using an instance of either Sql05 or Sql08 that is already installed?

I am not sure about the impacts later when I migrate the few apps that currently use Sql05/Sql08.

I am no DBA but a dedicated db would seem to be better.

Keep in mind that once our vms are installed vCSrv5 probably won't be doing much since most of the features are for large environments with many vms.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

[raog · Accepted solution]

The 5 host 50 VM thing is not hard enforced.

If you use the bundled DB, it will be on the same machine as VC.

Also a dedicated DB for VC is the preferred option.

Regards

Girish

[DCSpooner]

The best solution is to put vCenter on its on virtual server.

also if you already have a license for SQL Server Std or Ent the use it and not the express edtion.

let the SQL Server do its job, on another server, and vCenter do its thing.

the exrpess edition has limitations to it, such as a 10GB database size.

i would not use another instance of SQL server unless the default instance has a lot of databases for one application.

i would just prefix my database with VMware_vCetner,...

[teksup88]

Great thanks a bunch

I think I'll just go with the bundled db since we only have two vm hosts

PS

Not sure how to indicate the question is answered don't see the options but no more replies needed

[jdptechnc]

I think in this case I would just run vCenter in a clean VM and just do the Express edition as long as you're sure it's only going to be two hosts and a handful of VMs.  You don't want to put your vSphere stuff in another SQL instance already used by other applications; it expects its own instance.