Quick question regarding uninstall of vCenter 5.1

[StoneLund]

Due to problem with the web client which i think is because i did not have forward and reverse DNS for the host during installation i am forced to uninstall the vcenter and reinstall. I have already tried to uninstall and reinstall both vCenter and Inventory service, but the problem with the web client still persists. (Unable to connect to one or more vCenter server systemes when logging in to the web client)

vCenter works if i connect thrugh the ordinary client.

Question is now, can i do a complete uninstall of all of the components in vCenter server (SSO as well) and reinstall, and keep my old vCenter database and point vCenter installation to that database when installing again?

I have a lot of configuration which i would like to keep.

Thanks!

[IanBerg]

I believe you can do this safely.  However, if you can I would recommend a sandbox strategy to allow you to get back to your existing configuration.  If your vCenter server and DB are on the same server and it is a physical server, I would make myself a sandbox by virtualizing the system using converter.  If it is already a VM, clone it.  If your database is on another host, see if you can create a new instance of the same data and connect a cloned copy of your vCenter server to the new DB.  Keeping your vCenter server offline or on different IPs (obviously necessary for an external DB), do the uninstall and reinstall of vCenter and attempt to connect the new installation to the sandbox DB.  This should be an effective test and if you like the results, and don't mind running vCenter in a VM, you can simply switch to the new vCenter instance.  You can also repeat the process on the production vCenter host instead.

In any case a sandbox is a very handy tool to have here.

[IanBerg]

Also, while I still recommend doing it in a sandbox to protect your production environment, this KB explains how to migrate vCenter to a new host machine. This should provide both a confirmation that it IS possible to do what you need to do and how to do it safely.

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=5850444&sl...

In addition you can use the Upgrade Guide to assist you.  The "Upgrade to vCenter Server on Different Machine and Upgrade the Existing Database" section should be of great help.

[StoneLund]

Hi

I could succefully uninstall the SSO and everything else (keeping the database) and reinstall. I did however have to add the datasource manually since the vCenter installtion removed that.

Also, the problem with the "Unable to connect to one or more vCenter server systemes when logging in to the web client" error was not only the missing pointer, but the name i had on my vCenter server. I had _ (underscore) in the name. When i renamed the server before reinstalling, the Web Client found the vCenter server without any problem.

So, lessons learned. You can uninstall vCenter safely, as long as you keep the database. (backup recommended anyway).

And,

dont have underscore in the server name.