Technical

vCenter Server Converge Tool Enhancements in vSphere 6.7 Update 2

vCenter Server 6.7 Update 2 has been announced and with this release there have been enhancements made to the vCenter Server Converge Tool. VMware has now provided a topology overview of your Platform Services Controllers (PSCs) and vCenter Servers in the System Configuration view. Previously available only through the CLI, the vCenter Server Converge Tool is now available to use through the vSphere Client.

vCenter Server 6.7 Update 2 includes a brand new System Configuration interface. Within this updated view you are now able to see information on nodes that are within your vCenter Server Single-Sign On (SSO) Domain. You can see information such as the Load Balancers, External PSCs and vCenter Servers.  Information about your environment such as the health, type, version, uptime and replication partners is also available within this updated section..

 

Table View

 

Alongside the new table view there is also a new topology view. This view allows you to see the nodes within your SSO domain in a graphical representation. This is useful when you need to understand which vCenter Server is pointing to which Platform Services Controller or to see which replication agreements are in use.

 

Topology View

What’s New in the vCenter Server Converge Tool

In vCenter Server 6.7 Update 2 within the table view you will see two new buttons, the ability to Converge to Embedded and Decommission PSC. You no longer are required to utilize the CLI and JSON templates to run the vCenter Server Converge Tool. One additional benefit when running the Converge Tool through the vSphere Client, is that if you have internet access we will automatically download any needed components from the VMware Online Repository. This is great for customers or partners who wish for a simplistic and foolproof method to migrate their External vCenter Server Deployment to an Embedded vCenter Server Deployment.

The vSphere Client will guide you through convergence asking you for information specific to your environment and notifying you if any downtime will occur.

 

Converge UI

 

Once you have successfully converged your vCenter Servers, you now have the ability to decommission your PSC through the vSphere Client as well. When running this task your External PSC will be shutdown and unregistered from the SSO domain.

 

Decommission UI

 

After the converge and decommission process is complete, you are now able to see your simplified vCenter Server deployment within the topology view.

Topology View

 

Additional Resources

More information on how to use the vCenter Server Converge Tool can be found in the following resources