Dear users,
I'm planning to upgrade our vCenter from 4.1 to 5.0 and my checks and documentation are saying that the upgrade will succeed but I also want to make sure I have a good backup/restore plan ready in case of a disaster.
I found out that there is plenty to find online but because the great offer and many different version people are talking about is it hard to say which guidelines are good to follow for someone like me who has not a lot of experience with VMware.
So I thought let’s make a topic and put all the information that I have and that maybe you users could verify if my backup/restore strategy is complete or that I’m something missing and that you are willing to help me a hand in this.
My server information:
- Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise
- 64-bit OS
- Databases located on same server
- Microsoft SQL Server 2005
Backup and documentation
1. I got a backup from both databases
- VIM_UMDB
- VIM_VCDB
2. I have a backup from the following SSL folder:
C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\SSL
3. I have a backup from the following vpxd.cfg folder:
C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter
4. I have the installation cd’s standing by from Windows, vCenter and MS-SQL
5. SQL Servername:
Servername\SQLEXP_VIM
6. SQL Authentication:
Windows Authentication
Missing points?
- I see people talking about different places about the SSL Certification backup, but which one is the correct one?
A: C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\Update Manager\SSL
B: C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\SSL
C: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware Virtual Center\SSL\
- I see people also talking about the folder sysprep, is this one necessary to backup for a good restore, and which location is this folder acutely located?
- What do I need to do with the Update Manager exactly, since I don’t understand what to do with that?
Quick easy step how I’m planning to restore our vCenter
1. Install Windows
2. Install SQL
3. Put the databases back into the SQL
4. Install the vCenter and point to the SQL Databases
5. Run vSphere to login