Preparing The Vcenter Server Databases; Vcenter Server Database Patch And Configuration Requirements - VMware ESX 4.0 - INSTALLATION GUIDE UPDATE 1 Installation Manual

Preparing the vCenter Server
Databases
vCenter Server and vCenter Update Manager require databases to store and organize server data.
You do not need to install a new database for the vCenter Server installation to work. During installation, you
can point the vCenter Server system to any existing supported database. vCenter Server supports IBM DB2,
Oracle, and Microsoft SQL Server databases. vCenter Update Manager supports Oracle and Microsoft SQL
Server databases. For detailed information about supported database versions, see the Compatibility Matrixes
on the VMware vSphere documentation Web site.
C If you have a VirtualCenter database that you want to preserve, do not perform a fresh installation
AUTION
of vCenter Server. See the Upgrade Guide.
VMware recommends using separate databases for vCenter Server and vCenter Update Manager. However,
for a small deployments, a separate database for vCenter Update Manager might not be necessary.
Each vCenter Server instance must have its own database. vCenter Server instances cannot share the same
database schema. Multiple vCenter Server databases can reside on the same database server, or they can be
separated across multiple database servers. For Oracle, which has the concept of schema objects, you can run
multiple vCenter Server instances in a single database server if you have a different schema owner for each
vCenter Server instance, or use a dedicated Oracle database server for each vCenter Server instance.
This chapter includes the following topics:

"vCenter Server Database Patch and Configuration Requirements,"

n
"Create a 32-Bit DSN on a 64-Bit Operating System,"
n
"Configure vCenter Server to Communicate with the Local Database After Shortening the Computer
n
Name to 15 Characters or Fewer,"
"About the Bundled Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Database Package,"
n
"Maintaining a vCenter Server Database,"
n
"Configure DB2 Databases,"
n
"Configure Microsoft SQL Server Databases,"
n
"Configure Oracle Databases,"
n
vCenter Server Database Patch and Configuration Requirements
After you choose a database type, make sure you understand the configuration and patch requirements for
the database.
Table 10-1 lists the configuration and patch requirements for the databases that are supported with
vCenter Server.
VMware, Inc.
on page 75
on page 75
on page 76
on page 76
on page 85
on page 89
10
on page 73
on page 76
73