Specifications

Prerequisites for All vCenter Server Databases
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If your database server is not supported by vCenter Server, perform a database upgrade to a supported
version or import your database into a supported version. See “Supported Database Upgrades,” on
page 53.
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Perform a complete backup of the vCenter Server database before you begin the upgrade.
If you choose to remove the DBO role, you can migrate all objects in the DBO schema to a custom
schema. See the VMware knowledge base article at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1036331.
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You must have login credentials, the database name, and the database server name that will be used by
the vCenter Server database. The database server name is typically the ODBC System database source
name (DSN) connection name for the vCenter Server database.
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Review “Supported Database Upgrades,” on page 53.
Prerequisites for Microsoft SQL Databases
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To use a newly supported Microsoft SQL database, such as Microsoft SQL 2008, you do not need to
perform a clean installation of vCenter Server if your existing database is also Microsoft SQL Server. For
example, you can upgrade a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and then
upgrade vCenter Server 4.0 or higher to vCenter Server 5.5. When you migrate the database from
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 or higher, set the compatibility level of the
database to 90.
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JDK 1.6 must be installed on the vCenter Server machine. In addition, sqljdbc4.jar must be added to
the CLASSPATH variable on the machine where vCenter Server is to be upgraded. If it is not installed
on your system, the vCenter Server installer installs it. The JDK 1.6 installation might require Internet
connectivity.
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Your system DSN must be using the SQL Native Client driver.
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If you choose to remove the DBO role and migrate all objects in the DBO schema to a custom schema, as
described in the VMware knowledge base article at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1036331, grant the
following permissions to the vCenter user in the vCenter database:
GRANT ALTER ON SCHEMA :: <schema> to <user>;
GRANT REFERENCES ON SCHEMA :: <schema> to <user>;
GRANT INSERT ON SCHEMA :: <schema> to <user>;
GRANT CREATE TABLE to <user>;
GRANT CREATE VIEW to <user>;
GRANT CREATE Procedure to <user>;
Grant the following permissions to the user in the MSDB database:
GRANT SELECT on msdb.dbo.syscategories to <user>;
GRANT SELECT on msdb.dbo.sysjobsteps to <user>;
GRANT SELECT ON msdb.dbo.sysjobs to <user>;
GRANT EXECUTE ON msdb.dbo.sp_add_job TO <user>;
GRANT EXECUTE ON msdb.dbo.sp_delete_job TO <user>;
GRANT EXECUTE ON msdb.dbo.sp_add_jobstep TO <user>;
GRANT EXECUTE ON msdb.dbo.sp_update_job TO <user>;
GRANT EXECUTE ON msdb.dbo.sp_add_category TO <user>;
GRANT EXECUTE ON msdb.dbo.sp_add_jobserver TO <user>;
GRANT EXECUTE ON msdb.dbo.sp_add_jobschedule TO <user>;
vSphere Upgrade
50 VMware, Inc.