Installation guide

Upgrade to vCenter Server on a
Different Machine and Upgrade the
Existing Database 5
When you upgrade to vCenter Server, you can migrate vCenter Server to a new machine. One reason for doing
this is to move from a 32-bit machine to a 64-bit machine.
You can also use the data migration tool to migrate a SQL Server Express database installed by the vCenter
Server installer on the same machine as vCenter Server. If you use a different database installed on the vCenter
Server machine, you must back up and move the database manually to the new machine. If the database is
installed on a different machine from vCenter Server, you can leave the database in place and create a new
DSN on the destination machine to connect to it.
The VirtualCenter or vCenter Server configuration settings that you can migrate with the tool include:
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LDAP data
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Port settings for the HTTP, HTTPS, heartbeat, Web services, LDAP, and LDAP SSL ports
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Certificates stored in the SSL folder
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License
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Database data for a bundled SQL Server Express database only
If VMware vCenter Update Manager or vCenter Orchestrator is installed on the same machine as vCenter
Server, you can use the data migration tool to migrate configuration data for these products. You can also use
the tool to migrate the vCenter Update Manager database if it is a SQL Server Express database installed on
the same machine as vCenter Update Manager and vCenter Server. You cannot use the data migration tool to
migrate the vCenter Orchestrator database. See the documentation for vCenter Update Manager and vCenter
Orchestrator for more information on upgrading these products.
Prerequisites
If you are using a remote database, either remove any ESX Server 2.x hosts from the VirtualCenter or vCenter
Server inventory or upgrade these hosts. If you are not using a remote database, you do not need to remove
ESX Server 2.x hosts from the VirtualCenter or vCenter Server inventory or upgrade them, however they will
not be connected to the vCenter Server after the upgrade.
Stop the VMware VirtualCenter Server service before performing this upgrade.
Procedure
1 Back Up and Move the vCenter Server Database on page 34
Before you upgrade vCenter Server, back up the vCenter Server database. If you are migrating vCenter
Server to a new machine, you have several options for moving the database.
VMware, Inc.
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