Install vCenter Server into a virtual machine

You can install vCenter Server in a Microsoft Windows virtual machine that runs on an ESXi host.
Deploying the vCenter Server system in the virtual machine has the following advantages:

• Rather than dedicating a separate server to the vCenter Server system, you can place it in a virtual machine running on the same host where your other virtual machines run.
• You can provide high availability for the vCenter Server system by using vSphere HA.
• You can migrate the virtual machine containing the vCenter Server system from one host to another, enabling maintenance and other activities.
• You can create snapshots of the vCenter Server virtual machine and use them for backups, archiving, and so on.

vCenter Server Prerequisites:

• Access to the installation DVD or download the vCenter Server installer.
• Verify that Microsoft Windows Installer version 4.5 (MSI 4.5) is installed on your system.
• Verify that your system meets the requirements, and that the required ports are open.
• vCenter Server Minimum Hardware Requirements
  

  vCenter Server Hardware	Requirement
  CPU	Two 64-bit CPUs or one 64-bit dual-core processor.
  Processor	2.0GHz or faster processor (Intel or AMD)
  Memory	4GB RAM
  Disk storage	4GB.
  Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Express disk	Up to 2GB free disk space to decompress the installation archive
  Networking	Gigabit connection recommended.
  CPU, Processor, Memory and Disk storage requirements might be higher if the database runs on the same machine.

• Recommended JVM Heap Settings for vCenter Server & vCenter Server Appliance
  

  vCenter Server Inventory	VMware VirtualCenter Mgmt Webservices (Tomcat)	Inventory Service	Profile-Driven Storage Service
  Small inventory (1-100 hosts or 1-1000 virtual machines)	1GB	2GB	512MB
  Medium inventory (100-400 hosts or 1000-4000 virtual machines): at least 13GB.	2GB	4GB	1GB
  Large inventory (More than 400 hosts or 4000 virtual machines)	3GB	6GB	2GB



• Hardware Requirements for VMware vCenter Server Appliance
  

  VMware vCenter Server Appliance Hardware	Requirement
  Disk storage on the host machine	At least 7GB, and a maximum of 80GB
  Memory in the VMware vCenter Server Appliance	Very small inventory - (10 or fewer hosts, 100 or fewer virtual machines): at least 4GB. Small inventory (10-100 hosts or 100-1000 virtual machines): at least 8GB. Medium inventory - (100-400 hosts or 1000-4000 virtual machines): at least 13GB. Large inventory - (More than 400 hosts or 4000 virtual machines): at least 17GB.

• Required Ports for vCenter Server
  • The VMware vCenter Server needs to send data to every managed host and receive data from every vSphere Client.
  • VMware uses designated ports for communication. Additionally, the managed hosts monitor designated ports for data from the vCenter Server system.
• Ports Required for Communication Between Components
  

  Port	Description
  80	vCenter Server requires port 80 for direct HTTP connections. Port 80 redirects requests to HTTPS port 443. If you use a custom Microsoft SQL database (not the bundled SQL Server 2008 database) that is stored on the same host machine as the vCenter Server, port 80 is used by the SQL Reporting Service.
  389	This port must be open on the local and all remote instances of vCenter Server. This is the LDAP port number for the Directory Services for the vCenter Server group.
  443	The default port that the vCenter Server system uses to listen for connections from the vSphere Client. To enable the vCenter Server system to receive data from the vSphere Client, open port 443 in the firewall. The vCenter Server system also uses port 443 to monitor data transfer from SDK clients.
  636	For vCenter Server Linked Mode, this is the SSL port of the local instance.
  902/903	The default port that the vCenter Server system uses to send data to managed hosts. Managed hosts also send a regular heartbeat over UDP port 902 to the vCenter Server system. This port must not be blocked by firewalls between the server and the hosts or between hosts. Port 902 must not be blocked between the vSphere Client and the hosts. The vSphere Client uses this ports to display virtual machine consoles.
  8080	Web Services HTTP. Used for the VMware VirtualCenter Management Web Services.
  8443	Web Services HTTPS. Used for the VMware VirtualCenter Management Web Services.
  60099	Web Service change service notification port
  10443	vCenter Inventory Service HTTPS. New at 5.0
  10109	vCenter Inventory Service Management. New at 5.0
  10111	vCenter Inventory Service Linked Mode Communication. New at 5.0

• Each vCenter Server instance must have its own database. vCenter Server instances cannot share the same database schema.
• During vCenter Server installation, you can point the vCenter Server system to any existing supported database.
• vCenter Server supports IBM DB2, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL Server databases.
• Update Manager supports Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server databases.

• vCenter Server license key
• Fully qualified domain name of Directory Services for the vCenter Server group
• Data source name (DSN) and authentication information, if using existing database
• Fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for the vCenter Server machine
• Open required ports

• nslookup your_vCenter_Server_fqdn at a command line prompt.

• Member of the Administrators group
• Act as part of the operating system
• Log on as a service

Procedure

• Install the vSphere Client on any machine with network access to the ESXi host.
• Using the vSphere Client, access the ESXi host directly and create the virtual machine for hosting vCenter Server.
• In the virtual machine, install vCenter Server.

Procedure

• In the software installer directory, double-click the autorun.exe file to start the installer.
• Select vCenter Server
• Follow the prompts in the installation wizard
• Choose the type of database that you want to use
• Set the login information for vCenter Server
• Enter the destination folder
• Select Create a standalone VMware vCenter Server instance or Join Group
• If you join a group, enter the fully qualified domain name and LDAP port number of any remote vCenter Server system
• Enter the port numbers that you want to use or accept the default port numbers
• Select the size of your vCenter Server inventory to allocate memory for several Java services
• (Optional) In the Ready to Install the Program window, select Select to bump up the ephemeral port value
  This option increases the number of available ephemeral ports. If your vCenter Server manages hosts on which you will power on more than 2000 virtual machines simultaneously, this option prevents the pool of available ephemeral ports from being exhausted.
  Note, each VM takes about 2 TCP ephemeral ports, so the default 5000 ports is good for about 2000 VMs.
• Click Install and Finish.

• Save resources. No need to dedicate a separate server to the vCenter Server system.
• High availability for the vCenter Server system by using vSphere HA
• Portability as you can migrate the Virtual Machine containing the vCenter Server system from one host to another, enabling maintenance and other activities
• Recoverability as you can create snapshots of the vCenter Server virtual machine and use them for backups and archives.