Our vCenter Server Appliance Migration webcast last November was second in our series of free webcasts designed around helping you upgrade to vSphere 6.5. Feidhlim O’Leary, a Staff Technical Support Training Specialist with the VMware Technical Support University (vTSU), answered many questions during the event, and we picked some of the most interesting ones here. You can read them all and/or watch the full webcast replay.
Is it possible to migrate from one vCenter installation to two separate vCenter Server Appliances?
The migration will retain the existing configuration. You can deploy a second vCenter after the migration if required.
Does this include Update Manager if I had it on the Windows Server?
Yes – the Update Manager service will be migrated to the VCSA 6.5
Can those certificates be the VMware self-signed?
Yes, we support the default out of the box certificates.
What if you are not using the Windows vCenter Server but the Linux appliance?
Then you can perform a normal upgrade from VCSA 5.5 or 6.0 to VCSA 6.5.
If we turn the source machine back on, will the VMware services restart, or do they get set to disabled?
They will automatically try to start and you will end up with an IP conflict.
Are valid certificates required? What certificates particularly?
You need all the vCenter Server certificates and SSO certificates.
Is this migration supported for vCloud Director environments?
Yes – but check the interoperability guide for version specific requirements: http://partnerweb.vmware.com/comp_guide/sim/interop_m atrix.php
Do you need to disable linked mode prior to the migration?
No
Do we need to move Composer to a different server if it is installed on the original vCenter server?
Yes – the VC machine will be shut down so you will need to move composer.
Will there be a migration for the current version e.g. v6.5(d) Windows to v6.5 Update 1 VCSA?
Not currently. We cannot perform a migration from Windows 6.5 (any build) to VCSA 6.5.
Will the AD computer name for the source and destination appliance be the same?
Yes the VCSA 6.5 will join AD with the same computer name.
Do we upgrade vCenter first or our Hosts first?
vCenter first – always
