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How to Install a Highly Available VMM Management Server

 

Updated: May 13, 2016

Applies To: System Center 2012 SP1 - Virtual Machine Manager, System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine Manager, System Center 2012 - Virtual Machine Manager

You can use the following procedure to install a highly available VMM management server on the first node of a cluster. To install on the other nodes of the cluster, see How to Install a VMM Management Server on an Additional Node of a Cluster.

Before you begin the installation of the VMM management server, review the system requirements. As part of this, ensure that you have a computer that is running a supported version of Microsoft SQL Server software. Setup will not automatically install an Express edition of SQL Server. For information on system requirements, including supported versions of SQL Server, see the following:

Membership in the local Administrators group, or equivalent, on the computer that you are configuring is the minimum required to complete this procedure.

To install a highly available VMM management server on the first node of a cluster

  1. On the first node of your cluster, start the Microsoft System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager Setup Wizard. To start the wizard, on your installation media, right-click setup.exe, and then click Run as administrator.

    Note

    Before beginning the installation of VMM, close any open programs and ensure that there are no pending restarts on the computer. For example, if you have installed a server role by using Server Manager or have applied a security update, you may need to restart the computer and then log on to the computer with the same user account to finish the installation of the server role or the security update.

  2. On the main setup page, click Install.

  3. On the Select features to install page, select the VMM management server check box. The VMM console is automatically installed when you install a VMM management server.

    We recommend that you do not install the VMM Self-Service Portal on the same highly available server as the VMM management server. For more about installing the Self-Service Portal, see Installing and Opening the VMM Self-Service Portal.

    Note

    As of System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 (SP1), the VMM Self-Service Portal has been removed.

  4. When you are prompted whether you want to make the VMM management server highly available, click Yes.

  5. On the Select features to install page, click Next.

  6. On the Product registration information page, provide the appropriate information, and then click Next. If you do not enter a product key, VMM will be installed as an evaluation version that expires in 180 days after installation.

  7. On the Please read this license agreement page, review the license agreement, select the I have read, understood, and agree with the terms of the license agreement check box, and then click Next.

  8. On the Join the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) page, select either option, and then click Next.

  9. On the Microsoft Update page, select whether or not you want to use Microsoft Update, and then click Next.

    Note

    If you have previously chosen to use Microsoft Update on this computer, the Microsoft Update page does not appear.

  10. On the Installation location page, use the default path or type a different installation path for the VMM program files, and then click Next.

    The computer on which you are installing the highly available VMM management server will be checked to ensure that the appropriate hardware and software requirements are met. If a prerequisite is not met, a page will appear with information about which prerequisite has not been met and how to resolve the issue. If all prerequisites have been met, the Database configuration page will appear.

    For information about hardware and software requirements for VMM, see System Requirements: VMM Management Server in System Center 2012 and in System Center 2012 SP1 or see System Requirements for System Center 2012 R2.

  11. On the Database configuration page, do the following:

    • Specify the name of the computer that is running Microsoft SQL Server. If you are installing the highly available VMM management server on the same computer that is running SQL Server (which is not recommended), in the Server name box, either type the name of the computer (for example, vmmserver01) or type localhost.

    • Specify the port to use for communication with the computer that is running SQL Server, if all of the following conditions are true:

      • SQL Server is running on a remote computer.

      • The SQL Server Browser service is not started on that remote computer.

      • SQL Server is not using the default port of 1433.

      Otherwise, leave the Port box empty.

    • Select or type the name of the instance of SQL Server to use.

    • Specify whether to create a new database or to use an existing database. If the account with which you are installing the VMM management server does not have the appropriate permissions to create a new SQL Server database, select the Use the following credentials check box and provide the user name and password of an account that does have the appropriate permissions.

    After you have entered this information, click Next.

  12. On the Cluster configuration page, do the following:

    • In the Name box, type the name you want to give to this highly available VMM management server implementation. For example, type havmmcontoso. Do not enter the name of the failover cluster or the name of the computer on which the highly available VMM management server is installed.

      You will use this clustered service name when you connect to this highly available VMM management server implementation by using the VMM console. Because there will be multiple nodes on the failover cluster that have the VMM management server feature installed, you need a single name to use when you connect to your VMM environment by using the VMM console.

    • If you are using static IPv4 addresses, you must specify the IP address to assign to the clustered service name. The clustered service name and its assigned IP address will be registered in DNS. If you are using IPv6 addresses or you are using DHCP, no additional configuration is needed.

    After you have entered this information, click Next.

  13. On the Configure service account and distributed key management page, do the following:

    • Under Virtual Machine Manager Service Account, select Domain account, and then provide the name and password of the domain account that will be used by the Virtual Machine Manager service. You must use a domain account for a highly available VMM management server. For more information about using a domain account, see Specifying a Service Account for VMM.

    • Under Distributed Key Management, specify the location in Active Directory to store encryption keys. For example, type CN=VMMDKM,DC=contoso,DC=com.

      You must use distributed key management to store the encryption keys in Active Directory for a highly available VMM management server. For more information about distributed key management, see Configuring Distributed Key Management in VMM.

      After you have specified the necessary information on the Configure service account and distributed key management page, click Next.

  14. On the Port configuration page, provide unique port numbers for each feature and that are appropriate for your environment, and then click Next.

    Important

    The ports that you assign during the VMM management server installation cannot be changed without uninstalling and reinstalling the VMM management server.

  15. On the Library configuration page, click Next.

    Note

    After you install VMM, you will need to add a library share. Be sure to use the Add Default Resources option to add Application Frameworks resources. For more information on adding a library share, see How to Add a Library Server or Library Share.

  16. On the Installation summary page, review your selections and do one of the following:

    • Click Previous to change any selections.

    • Click Install to install the highly available VMM management server.

    After you click Install, the Installing features page appears and installation progress is displayed.

  17. On the Setup completed successfully page, click Close to finish the installation.

    To open the VMM console, ensure that the Open the VMM console when this wizard closes check box is selected.

    For information about connecting to a highly available VMM management server by using the VMM console, see How to Connect to a Highly Available VMM Management Server by Using the VMM Console.

    To install on the other nodes of the cluster, see How to Install a VMM Management Server on an Additional Node of a Cluster.

Note

If there is a problem with setup completing successfully, consult the log files in the %SYSTEMDRIVE%\ProgramData\VMMLogs folder. ProgramData is a hidden folder.