HOW TO: Install and Configure VMware vSphere vCenter Server 6.0 for Windows

In this tutorial article, I will show you how to install and configure the VMware vSphere vCenter Server 6.0 for Windows on an ESXi 5.5 Host Server. VMware vSphere vCenter Server is a management server and does not affect the running of virtual machines on the host. It can be safely installed on an ESXi host server, without affecting running production virtual machines.
 
However, I recommend the use of the VMware vSphere vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) 6.0 over vCenter Server 6.0 for Windows if you intend to use more than 3 ESXi host servers. The issue is the SQL Express database included with vCenter Server for Windows is limited to a maximum database size of 10GB. As the tables can grow very quickly beyond 10GB in just a few months with the amount of information which is stored in the Events and Tasks tables, you'll need more space than that.The VMware vSphere vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) 6.0 can now scale to 1000 ESXi hosts and 10,000 VMs, which takes care of that problem.
 
Here, we will use the Microsoft Windows Server 2012 as the operating system of choice to support the VMware vSphere vCenter Server for Windows. I also recommend the use of a virtual server to support vCenter Server for Windows.
 
I have written the following EE article on how to install this operating system:

• HOW TO: Create your first Windows Virtual Machine on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) Host Server

 
Please note:

• vCenter Server for Windows requires a Windows Server OS license and a SQL license if using SQL Server Full Edition. See this VMware blog for more information: Which vCenter Server platform should I use - Appliance or Windows?
• VMware vSphere vCenter Server for Windows is available as a 60 day evaluation. The download can be found here.

 
Additional resources:
I have written some EE articles on installing and configuring the VMware vSphere vCenter Server Appliance that you may want to refer to as you make these configurations:

• HOW TO: Deploy and Install the VMWARE vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 (VCSA 6.0)
• HOW TO: Upgrade from vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) 5.5 to 6.0
• HOW TO: Install and Configure the VMware vSphere vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) 5.5

 
Follow the steps below to install and configure the VMware vSphere vCenter Server 6.0 for Windows on an ESXi 5.5 Host Server:
 
1. Installing VMware vSphere vCenter Server for Windows

• After inserting the DVDROM or mounting the ISO image in the server, autorun will start.
• You will need at least 2 vCPU and 4GB RAM memory for the server, also make sure that Microsoft .NET 3.5 is installed.
• Give yourself, at least 2 hours, to complete the installation.

 
 

• Click Install.

 

• Click Next to continue.

 

• Tick the "I accept the terms of the license agreement" and click Next to continue.

 

• Study the next screen. vCenter 6.0 has changed and now requires a new service called the "Platform Services Controller". This service is a shared serviced of vCenter Single Sign-On, Licensing, and Certificate Management. For this tutorial and smaller installations, I recommend vCenter Server and the Embedded Platform Services Controlelr be installed on the same server. For larger installations with multiple vCenter Servers, I recommend one or more Platform Service Controllers.
• Select Next to Continue.

 

• Enter the System DNS name. If DNS is not available, enter an IP Address of the host server.
• Click Next to continue.

 

• Create a new vCenter Single Sign-On Configuration and enter a password for the Administrator@vsphere.local account. You must remember this complex password as you'll need it later.
• Click Next to continue.

 

• Use a Windows Local System Account.
• Select Next to continue.

 

• I recommend the use of an embedded database based on vProgres rather than SQL Express, which has a maximum database size of 10GB.
• Select Next to continue.

 

• Accept the default network ports and click Next to continue.

 

• Accept the Default Destination Directories, and click Next to continue.

 

• Review the settings before the installation, and click Install to continue.

 

• The installation will start.

 

• The installation is finished and complete.
• Click Finish.

2. Testing the VMware vCenter Server 6.0 for  Windows

• Using the vSphere Client or a Web Browser, you can check and connect to your vCenter Server (use the Administrator@vsphere.local account and password to login the first time). The address for your web browser is https://<IP Address>:/vsphere-client/. Please note that 9443 has gone!

 

 
Congratulations you have successfully installed and configured VMware vSphere vCenter Server 6.0 for Windows
 
Basic VMware Articles Series: 
During this series of articles VMware released VMware vSphere 5.5 and VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi 5.5. These articles are also applicable to VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi 5.0 and 5.5. For consistency, I have used VMware vSphere Hypervisor ESXi 5.1 throughout this series.
 

• Part 1: HOW TO: Install and Configure VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1)

 

• Part 2: HOW TO: Connect to the VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) using the vSphere Client

 

• Part 3: HOW TO: Create an ISO CD-ROM/DVD-ROM image (*.iso), and MD5 checksum signature, for use with VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1)

 

• Part 4: HOW TO: Upload an ISO CD-ROM/DVD-ROM image to a VMware datastore for use with VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) using the vSphere Client, and checking its MD5 checksum signature is correct.

 

• Part 5: HOW TO: Enable SSH Remote Access on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1)

 

• Part 6: HOW TO: Create your first Linux Virtual Machine on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) Host Server

 

• Part 7: HOW TO: Create your first Windows Virtual Machine on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) Host Server

 

• Part 8: HOW TO: Install VMware Tools for Windows on a VMware Windows virtual machine on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) Host Server

 

• Part 9: HOW TO: Install VMware Tools for Linux on a VMware Linux virtual machine on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) Host Server

 

• Part 10: HOW TO: Backup (Export) and Restore (Import) virtual machines to VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 for FREE

 

• Part 11: HOW TO: Suppress Configuration Issues System logs on host are stored on non-persistent storage

 

• Part 12: HOW TO: Configure and Replace the SSL Certificate on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) Host Server

 

• Part 13: HOW TO: Configure basic networking on a VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 (ESXi 5.1) Host Server

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