can you install vCenter as a virtual machine with Fault Tolerance

[a2alpha]

The benefits of having vCenter as a virtual machine are features like HA and snapshots, is there an issue with having fault tolerance enabled on a virtual machine that is the vCenter server for managing the fault tolerance?

Couldn't see it in the documentation for limitations of fault tolerance

[mcowger · Accepted solution]

Well....

vCenter lists 2 CPUs as required, and FT only works with one....

--Matt

VCP, vExpert, Unix Geek

[RParker]

In addition to what mcgower said, vCenter has it's OWN fail over system, you can link to ANOTHER vCenter instance, you don't need FT for this to work. This is built into vCenter 4.0

The benefits of having vCenter as a virtual machine are features like HA and snapshots

Actually I see no benefit to putting vCenter on a VM at all. Snapshots, what are you taking a snapshot of? The DATA should be on a SQL server, A) the data should be separate from vCenter B) You shouldn't put the Oracle / SQL DB on a VM.

vCenter STILL runs faster on a physical host than a VM. And HA, so if your vCenter controls the HA and that ESX host goes down where the VM is your vCenter is ALSO down, so you don't have HA any longer, or vmotion for that matter..

So there is a viscous circle.. you need vCenter to STAY running for this to work, and you need the ESX hosts to keep vCenter running..

[znet98]

Yes, it is possible.

We have installed vcenter as a VM in one of our IBM blade, and we made 2 blades as pair for HA

Did test, if we shutdown one blade, all VMs would move to another blade and running, also, vcenter moves as well.

But, for some reason, vcenter services could not start automatically, we had to manually start it.

Just for reference.

Now, we moved vcenter as a physical windows blade, and with other application installed together, like IBM storage management, Backup management console, and VCB proxy.

[a2alpha]

thanks all for the info and help,

[Troy_Clavell]

vCenter has it's OWN fail over system, you can link to ANOTHER vCenter instance, you don't need FT for this to work. This is built into vCenter 4.0

by this statement do you mean VMware vCenter Server Heartbeat? Because linked mode does not provide fault tolerance.

[Braumin]

I have to clear up some serious misinformation in this thread. HA does NOT require vCenter Server to function. That would be a serious flaw in VMware if it did, as there would be a single point of failure.

There is no vicious circle. You do lose VMotion, but that is far less important.

If your vCenter server is a VM, you get all of the benefits of virtualizing including HA. If your host goes down with vCenter running on it, it will quickly be restarted on another host.

Here is a quote from the HA white paper:

"If the VirtualCenter Management Server host goes down, HA functionality changes as follows. HA clusters can still restart virtual machines on other hosts in case of failure; however, the information about what extra resources are available will be based on the state of the cluster before the VirtualCenter Management Server went down."

[a2alpha]

Thanks Braumin,

It was the fault tolerance I was really after not HA as I am already successfully using a virtual virtual center with HA and it is fine, I neglected to put the fact that vCenter has a minimum requirement of 2 CPU's and at this point FT can only work on one vCPU together!

Thanks again,