Installation guide
Table Of Contents
- Installation Guide
- Contents
- About This Book
- Getting Started
- Introduction
- Installation
- vCenter Server Heartbeat Implementation
- Installing vCenter Server Heartbeat
- Unattended Installation of vCenter Server Heartbeat
- Appendix - Setup Error Messages
- Glossary
Installation Guide
24 VMware, Inc.
vCenter Converter Enterprise
SQL Server Versions
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP1-SP3
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 including SP2
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2
vCenter Server with SQL Server on the Same Host
To ensure adequate performance in 20+ host or 200+ virtual machine environments, VMware recommends
that SQL Server and vCenter Server be installed on separate physical disk drives. VMDKs must be on separate
datastores to avoid potential disk bottlenecks.
vCenter Server with SQL Server on a Separate Host
When installing vCenter Server Heartbeat in an environment where SQL Server is on a separate host from
vCenter Server, repeat the installation process for the Primary and Secondary server specifically for the SQL
Server.
To ensure proper failover, increase the default Heartbeat interval for the vCenter Server from 20 to 30 seconds.
vCenter Server Only
The vCenter Server Only option requires a single iteration of the installation process because the database is
not protected.
Network Options
Networking requirements are contingent upon how vCenter Server Heartbeat is deployed. To deploy as a
High Availability (HA) solution, a LAN configuration is required. To deploy vCenter Server Heartbeat for
Disaster Recovery (DR), a WAN configuration is required. Each network configuration has specific
configuration requirements to ensure proper operation.
LAN
When deployed in a LAN environment, vCenter Server Heartbeat requires that both servers use the same
Principal (Public) IP address. Each server also requires a separate VMware Channel IP address on a separate
dedicated subnet.
Switchover/Failover
vCenter Server Heartbeat will not attempt to update DNS and therefore, the Administrator must pre-populate
the DNS server with entries for the new management names and IP addresses that are to be used. Adjacent IP
addresses should be reserved and used for the Principal (Public) IP address and the Management IP addresses
for the Primary and Secondary Servers when installing vCenter Server Heartbeat on servers running Windows
2008.
N
OTE Ensure that all VMware components are bound to the Principal (Public) IP address on the Principal
(Public) network adapter and that the Principal (Public) network adapter is listed first in the bind order of the
Network Connections > Advanced > Advanced Settings page.
NOTE vCenter Server Heartbeat does NOT out-of-the-box support teams of NICs but can be configured to
support teamed NICs with additional configuration steps when installing with teamed NICs present. See
Knowledge Base article 1027288 for more information about teamed NICs.