Specifications

Perform a complete backup of the VirtualCenter Server or vCenter Server database before you begin the

upgrade. The VirtualCenter 2.5 database schema is not compatible with vCenter Server 5.0. The vCenter

Server 5.0 installer upgrades your existing VirtualCenter Server database schema with extra fields,

making the database unusable by VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6.

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.

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.

Review “Supported Database Upgrades,” on page 34.

Prerequisites for Microsoft SQL Databases

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 2005 or

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and then upgrade VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6 or higher to vCenter

Server 5.0. When you migrate the database from Microsoft SQL Server 2000 to Microsoft SQL Server

2005 or higher, set the compatibility level of the database to 90.

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 vCenterServer installer installs it. The JDK 1.6 installation might require Internet

connectivity.

If you are upgrading from VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6 with the bundled SQL Server 2005 Express (by

installing vCenter Server 5.0 on a different machine and keeping the database), you do not have to

perform a clean installation of vCenter Server.

Your system DSN must be using the SQL Native Client driver.

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

32 VMware, Inc.