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VMware Re-install SSO and setup Linked-Mode

K

KapsZ28

2[H]4U
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May 29, 2009
Messages
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I probably should have read some instructions before I started breaking things. I setup a new vCenter 5.5 U1 that is going to be our primary SSO server. I wanted to setup linked-mode on another vCenter 5.5 but when trying to do this, I found out that they need to share the same SSO server. At the time, they had SSO installed and running separately. So I thought maybe if I uninstall SSO, then reinstall selecting "SSO for an additional vCenter with a new site" that it might work. But now I can't get the SSO installed properly. The first time it installed, but didn't allow me to access vCenter. After trying again, it just gets hung at installing.

So is there an easy way to fix this? Being that the SQL DB is separate, can I technically just reinstall all of the vCenter components?
 
When you installed your first SSO server did you install it as Basic or Mult-Site?
 
Eickst said:
When you installed your first SSO server did you install it as Basic or Mult-Site?
Click to expand...

I installed SSO on both as "SSO for your first vCenter Server", not multi-site unfortunately. Now I want to change them to multi-site, but that is where I am having a problem.
 
They do not need to share the same sso server, the sso servers need to be in multi-site mode, like you found.

Your first install - did you hit the simple install button?
 
Is there something driving you to use Linked Mode? Like SRM? Otherwise I tend to avoid it since it adds more complexity to the environment.
 
Pooled licenses, single pane management, especially for plugins? I couldn't function without it - keeps me sane.
 
Other than NetApp VSC being 'unsupported' in linked mode, never had an issue with it and love it.
 
lopoetve said:
They do not need to share the same sso server, the sso servers need to be in multi-site mode, like you found.

Your first install - did you hit the simple install button?
Click to expand...


No, I didn't use simple install. The first SSO is installed as the "first" SSO. The problem is all the SSO's were installed as "first". So I am trying to undo that by uninstalling SSO and reinstalling it using multi-site with a new site. I called it "shared" because the multi-site is a replicationg of the first SSO server.

Unfortunately I seemed to have broken something. The first time I was able to uninstall SSO and re-install using multi-site, but it didn't seem to work and the vCenter Server services was not starting up. So I uninstalled again, stopped all the services, and tried to re-install again using multi-site, but the install just hangs.
 
Hmm. That's definitely odd, and not something I've run into so far. Any errors in the install logs?
 
Child of Wonder said:
Is there something driving you to use Linked Mode? Like SRM? Otherwise I tend to avoid it since it adds more complexity to the environment.
Click to expand...


Main reason is to make it easier for our NOC, especially as we move towards using the web client. This way they log into one central console to access all vCenters and VMs.
 
QHalo said:
Other than NetApp VSC being 'unsupported' in linked mode, never had an issue with it and love it.
Click to expand...

We have NetApp VSC, but I don't think we have really used it for anything. Is the VSC required for expanding NFS datastores once they have been expanding on the NetApp?
 
lopoetve said:
Pooled licenses, single pane management, especially for plugins? I couldn't function without it - keeps me sane.
Click to expand...

Too often with clients I see them getting confused about which vCenter instance the object they're working with resides in, additional SSO considerations, can't be used with the vCenter appliance, and so on.

Not knocking Linked Mode, it's cool. But if the client doesn't have a requirement for it and the gains for using it will be minimal (no SRM, not using plugins), then it just comes down to one more thing to worry about. And for many organizations where the admins are overworked and, too often, not fully competent with the technology I tend to keep things simple if I can.
 
KapsZ28 said:
We have NetApp VSC, but I don't think we have really used it for anything. Is the VSC required for expanding NFS datastores once they have been expanding on the NetApp?
Click to expand...

No but it is helpful with ensuring your hosts are configured to meet Netapp best practices.
 
Child of Wonder said:
Too often with clients I see them getting confused about which vCenter instance the object they're working with resides in, additional SSO considerations, can't be used with the vCenter appliance, and so on.

Not knocking Linked Mode, it's cool. But if the client doesn't have a requirement for it and the gains for using it will be minimal (no SRM, not using plugins), then it just comes down to one more thing to worry about. And for many organizations where the admins are overworked and, too often, not fully competent with the technology I tend to keep things simple if I can.
Click to expand...

Well, I can't fix stupid, and if you can't figure out that the tree is at the top of the page, then said client definitely falls into the shallow end of "stupid" ;) :p
 
Child of Wonder said:
No but it is helpful with ensuring your hosts are configured to meet Netapp best practices.
Click to expand...

That is true. Now I am kind of curious about that. Do people normally just go in, right click and select "Set Recommended Values"? Is there any downside to this? And are you saying this this will not work at all with linked mode enabled?
 
It's not that it won't work, but you get two NetApp tabs in the C# client. The problem is remembering which one you're in when you're doing work. Just have to be extra careful. And yes, set recommended values. VSC recommended values are recommended settings from NetApp. I try and follow their recommendations unless they contradict something that's specifically a setting our environment needs. But they're good 'best practice' recommendations to go with.
 
OK, so back to the original issue. :) How do I change a SSO from a single site to multiple site so I can then enabled linked-mode? Is this a change that is supported?
 
Yes... and it should work. I've done that reinstall a few times, but it can be messy.

Do you have VC/Inventory service talking to that SSO server yet?
 
lopoetve said:
Yes... and it should work. I've done that reinstall a few times, but it can be messy.

Do you have VC/Inventory service talking to that SSO server yet?
Click to expand...

Yup, all of it was installed and functioning. That is until I broke it. :D Luckily this vCenter is barely used which is why I am trying to work out the issues before messing with a vCenter that we always use.
 
so you just uninstalled SSO?

YEah, toast. Start over.

Normally, you have to unwrap - uninstall the pieces in the opposite order you installed them, change SSO, reinstall using existing DBs and off ya go again.
 
Kind of figured. So if I keep the existing DB, then all the vCenter settings will still be intact?
 
Are you using the same vcenter service account on both sides? If so, don't.
 
geiger said:
Are you using the same vcenter service account on both sides? If so, don't.
Click to expand...

The actual vCenter Service account? What is wrong with using the same account? My VirtualCenter Management Webservices and VirtualCenter Server both use the same account in all locations.
 
At some point either during the linked vcenter joining or SRM config the installer will bomb out with a cryptic message about the accounts being the same.

I ran into it during the very early 5.1 release.
 
geiger said:
At some point either during the linked vcenter joining or SRM config the installer will bomb out with a cryptic message about the accounts being the same.

I ran into it during the very early 5.1 release.
Click to expand...

It so shouldn't. That would have been a bug - I've been running SRM + Linked Mode since 4.1 with no problems, including 5.1 era.
 
After re-installing all vCenter components on the server I broke, I finally have linked mode working.

How do you switch between which vCenter you want to manage in the vSphere Client? When I click on "Home" I am only seeing stuff for one vCenter and not the other. Such as vCenter Server Status, Network Syslog. When I click on them, it shows me one vCenter, but I want to see the other vCenter.
 
KapsZ28 said:
After re-installing all vCenter components on the server I broke, I finally have linked mode working.

How do you switch between which vCenter you want to manage in the vSphere Client? When I click on "Home" I am only seeing stuff for one vCenter and not the other. Such as vCenter Server Status, Network Syslog. When I click on them, it shows me one vCenter, but I want to see the other vCenter.
Click to expand...

When you log into the client you are specifying the vCenter you desire to manage for that session. If you want to manage multiple vCenter from the client you need to launch multiple clients. That is what I have done in the past, right or wrong.
 
peanuthead said:
When you log into the client you are specifying the vCenter you desire to manage for that session. If you want to manage multiple vCenter from the client you need to launch multiple clients. That is what I have done in the past, right or wrong.
Click to expand...

That doesn't appear to be how mine is working. I am logging into vCenter A and yet when go into Home and say click on vCenter Service Status, I am seeing only vCenter B. Using the Web Client lets me choose what I want to see.
 
Also, can you have multiple syslog collectors? All the sudden my primary syslog collector is broken after installing the new vCenter in linked mode.
 
peanuthead said:
When you log into the client you are specifying the vCenter you desire to manage for that session. If you want to manage multiple vCenter from the client you need to launch multiple clients. That is what I have done in the past, right or wrong.
Click to expand...

Up top, click the vcenter icon for whatever you're viewing, and it'll let you switch between things if it's properly configured.
 
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