5/2/2011 VMware KB: Installing ESX 4.

0 and vC…

Installing ESX 4.0 and vCenter 4.0 best practices

Purpose

This article provides quick reference to the information needed for a trouble free installation of vSphere ESX 4.0 and vCenter
Server 4.0.

Note: Because each environment is different, many installation decisions require knowledge and understanding beyond the
scope of this article, consult the vSphere 4.0 document set for more detailed information regarding your installation at
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vs_pubs.html (http://www.v mware.com/support/pubs/v s_pubs.html) .

Resolution

Note: Read the VMware vSphere 4.0 Release Notes (http://www.v mware.com/support/v sphere4/doc/v sp_esx40_v c40_rel_notes.html) for known
installation issues.

On the vCenter Server

1. Make sure your hardware and operating system requirements are compliant:

Note: For more information, see ESX and vCenter Server Installation Guide
(http://pubs.v mware.com/v sp40/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href =install/c_v c_hw.html) and VMware Infrastructure Compatibility Guide
(http://www.v mware.com/pdf /v sphere4/r40/v sp_compatibility _matrix.pdf ) .

Processor – 2 CPUs 2.0GHz or higher Intel or AMD x86 processors. Processor may be higher if the database
runs on the same machine.

Memory – 3GB RAM. RAM requirements may be higher if your database runs on the same machine.

Disk storage – 2GB. Disk requirements may be higher if your database runs on the same machine.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express disk requirements. The bundled database requires up to 2GB free disk
space to decompress the installation archive.

Networking – 1Gbit recommended.

2. Make sure your database requirements and patch levels are compliant:

Note: For more information, see VMware Infrastructure Compatibility Guide

(http://www.v mware.com/pdf /v sphere4/r40/v sp_compatibility _matrix.pdf ) and vCenter Server Database Patch and Configuration
Requirements (http://pubs.v mware.com/v sp40/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href =install/c_v center_serv er_database_requirements.html) .

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Microsoft SQL server Database Support:

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express

Note: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express is intended to be used for small deployments of up to 5
hosts and/or 50 virtual machines.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard edition (SP1, SP2, SP3)

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard edition (SP2, SP3) 64bit

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise edition (SP1, SP2, SP3)

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise edition (SP2, SP3) 64bit

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition 64bit

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition 64bit

Oracle Database Support:

Oracle 10g Standard edition (Release 1 [10.1.0.3.0])

Oracle 10g Enterprise edition (Release 1 [10.1.0.3.0])

Oracle 10g Standard edition (Release 2 [10.2.0.1.0])

Oracle 10g Enterprise edition (Release 2 [10.2.0.1.0])

Oracle 10g Enterprise edition (Release 2 [10.2.0.1.0]) 64bit

Oracle 11g Standard edition

Oracle 11g Enterprise edition

3. Download and fill out the vCenter Server Installation Worksheet (http://kb.v mware.com/kb/1010023) .

Note: For more information about the fields in this form, see the Required Data for Installing vCenter Server section o
the ESX and vCenter Server Installation Guide
(http://pubs.v mware.com/v sp40/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href =install/esx_installation.1.1.html) .

4. The vCenter Server install wizard gives you the option to use the Windows system account or a user-specified
account for the purpose of running vCenter Server.

The primary reason to use a user-specified account is to enable the use of Windows authentication for SQL Server.

If you choose this option:

The user-specified account must be an Administrator on the local machine and act as part of the operating

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system and login as a service rights.

You must specify the account name as DomainName\Username in the vCenter Server install wizard.

You must configure the SQL Server database to allow the domain account access to SQL Server.

5. Make sure your system has all the software prerequisites for vCenter Server:

Note: For more information, see the vCenter Server Prerequisites section of the ESX and vCenter Server Installation
Guide (http://pubs.v mware.com/v sp40/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href =install/c_v c_hw.html) .

Make sure your operating system meets the requirements:

Note: For more information, see the Operating System Compatibility for vSphere Client, vCenter Server, and
VMware vCenter Update Manager section of the VMware Infrastructure Compatibility Guide
(http://www.v mware.com/pdf /v sphere4/r40/v sp_compatibility _matrix.pdf ) .

Windows XP Pro SP2 (SP2 required)

Windows Server 2003, SP1 and SP2 32bit and 64bit all editions

Windows Server 2003, R2 and SP2 32bit and 64bit all editions

Windows Server 2008 32bit all editions

Windows Server 2008 64bit Standard and Enterprise editions

Make sure that the system you use for your vCenter Server installation belongs to a domain, rather than a
workgroup.

It is critical that you have reliable DNS and Time services.

During the installation, the connection between the machine and the domain controller must be working.

Log into the system using an account with local administrator rights. If joining another vCenter Server in Linked
Mode, the account must be a local Administrator on both systems.

The computer name cannot be more than 15 characters.

Assign a static IP address and host name to the Windows server that will host the vCenter Server system.
This IP address must have a valid (internal) DNS registration that resolves properly from all managed ESX
hosts.

6. Configure your database prior to the vCenter install, unless you are using default Microsoft 2005 Express:

Note: Schema creation scripts mentioned in the documentation for both Microsoft SQL and Oracle are optional and
intended for experienced Database Administrators. The vCenter Server installer performs the schema creation
automatically if one does not already exist.

Microsoft SQL Database:

As the Database Administrator, use a script to create a local or remote Microsoft SQL Server Database

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(http://pubs.v mware.com/v sp40/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href =install/t_create_sql_script.html) .
Optionally, the database can be created as it was in vCenter 2.5 by using SQL Server Management
Studio.

Configure a SQL Server ODBC Connection

(http://pubs.v mware.com/v sp40/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href =install/t_conf igure_a_sql_serv er_odbc_connection.html)

When you install the vCenter Server system, you can establish a connection with a SQL Server
database.

Configure Microsoft SQL Server TCP/IP for JDBC

(http://pubs.v mware.com/v sp40/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href =install/t_conf igure_microsof t_sql_serv er_tcp_ip_f or_jdbc.html)

If the Microsoft SQL Server database has TCP/IP disabled and the dynamic ports are not set, the JDBC
connection remains closed. This causes the vCenter Server statistics to malfunction.

Oracle Database:

As the Database Administrator, use a script to create a local or remote Oracle database
(http://pubs.v mware.com/v sp40/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href =install/t_create_oracle_script.html) .

Configure an Oracle Database User

(http://pubs.v mware.com/v sp40/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href =install/t_oracle_user_script.html)

If you plan to use an Oracle database when you install vCenter Server, you must configure the database
user.

Configure an Oracle Connection for Local Access

(http://pubs.v mware.com/v sp40/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href =install/t_conf igure_an_oracle_connection_f or_local_access.html) o
Configure an Oracle Connection for Remote Access
(http://pubs.v mware.com/v sp40/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href =install/t_conf igure_an_oracle_connection_f or_remote_access.html)

depending on where the database is located.

Connect to an Oracle Database Locally

(http://pubs.v mware.com/v sp40/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm#href =install/t_connect_to_an_oracle_database_locally .html)

7. VMware recommends using a separate database for vCenter Server and vCenter Update Manager.

8. VMware recommends that vCenter Server be installed on a system that is dedicated to managing your Virtual
Infrastucture environment. Having other applications installed on the same server can take up valuable system
resources, and may drastically reduce performance and supportability.

9. Run the vCenter Server installer using the vCenter Server Installation Worksheet filled out in step 3.

On the ESX host

1. Make sure your hardware is compliant on the Hardware Compatibility Guide

(http://www.v mware.com/resources/compatibility /search.php) .

This includes:

System compatibility

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I/O compatibility (Network and HBA cards)

Storage compatibility

Backup software compatibility

2. VMware ESX 4.0 only installs and runs on servers with 64bit x86 CPUs. 32bit systems are no longer supported.
3. Make sure Intel VT is enabled in the host's BIOS.
4. If you are installing to the local disks and SAN is connected to the ESX host, detach the fiber before continuing with
the installation.

Note: Do not disable HBA cards in the BIOS.

5. The /, swap, and all the optional partitions are stored on a virtual disk called esxconsole-<UUID>.vmdk. Set a
size minimum of 8GB for this virtual disk.

Note: For /var/log, VMware recommends a separate partition to prevent unexpected disk space constraints due
to extensive logging.

Additional Information

For related information, see Upgrading to ESX 4.0 and vCenter 4.0 best practices (1009039) (http://kb.v mware.com/kb/1009039) .

See Also

ESX 4.0 および vCenter 4.0 のインストールに関するベスト プラクティス

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KB Article: 1009080

Updated: Jan 27, 2011

Categories:
Best Practices

Products:
VMware ESX
VMware vCenter Server

Product Versions:
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x

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