Stage 2 - Set up the Newly Deployed Platform Services Controller Appliance

When the OVA deployment finishes, you are redirected to stage 2 of the deployment process to set up and start the services of the newly deployed Platform Services Controller appliance.

Procedure

Review the introduction to stage 2 of the deployment process and click Next.

Configure the time settings in the appliance, optionally enable remote SSH access to the appliance, and click Next.

Option	Description
Synchronize time with the ESXi host	Enables periodic time synchronization, and VMware Tools sets the time of the guest operating system to be the same as the time of the ESXi host.
Synchronize time with NTP servers	Uses a Network Time Protocol server for synchronizing the time. If you select this option, you must enter the names or IP addresses of the NTP servers separated by commas.

Create a new vCenter Single Sign-On domain or join an existing domain.

Option	Description
Create a new Single Sign-On domain	Creates a vCenter Single Sign-On domain. Enter the domain name, for example `vsphere.local`. Note: Ensure that the domain name does not contain any upper-case letters. Set the password for the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator account. This is the password for the user administrator@`your_domain_name`. Enter the site name for vCenter Single Sign-On. The site name is important if you are using vCenter Single Sign-On in multiple locations. The site name must contain alphanumeric characters. Choose your own name for the vCenter Single Sign-On site. You cannot change the name after installation. Extended ASCII and non-ASCII characters are unsupported in site names. Your site name must include alphanumeric characters and a comma (,), period (.), question mark (?), dash (-), underscore (_), plus sign (+) or equals sign (=). Click Next.
Join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain	Joins the Platform Services Controller appliance to an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain as a replication partner of an existing Platform Services Controller instance. You must provide the information about the partner Platform Services Controller instance that you want to join. Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of the partner Platform Services Controller instance. Enter the HTTPS port of the partner Platform Services Controller instance. Enter the vCenter Single Sign-On domain name of the partner Platform Services Controller instance. Enter the password of the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator user. Click Next. Select whether to create or join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On site.

Option

Description

Create a new Single Sign-On domain

Creates a vCenter Single Sign-On domain.

Enter the domain name, for example vsphere.local.
Note: Ensure that the domain name does not contain any upper-case letters.
Set the password for the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator account.
This is the password for the user administrator@your_domain_name.
Enter the site name for vCenter Single Sign-On.
The site name is important if you are using vCenter Single Sign-On in multiple locations. The site name must contain alphanumeric characters. Choose your own name for the vCenter Single Sign-On site. You cannot change the name after installation.

Extended ASCII and non-ASCII characters are unsupported in site names. Your site name must include alphanumeric characters and a comma (,), period (.), question mark (?), dash (-), underscore (_), plus sign (+) or equals sign (=).
Click Next.

Join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain

Joins the Platform Services Controller appliance to an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain as a replication partner of an existing Platform Services Controller instance. You must provide the information about the partner Platform Services Controller instance that you want to join.

Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of the partner Platform Services Controller instance.
Enter the HTTPS port of the partner Platform Services Controller instance.
Enter the vCenter Single Sign-On domain name of the partner Platform Services Controller instance.
Enter the password of the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator user.
Click Next.
Select whether to create or join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On site.

Review the VMware Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) page and choose if you want to join the program.
For information about the CEIP, see the Configuring Customer Experience Improvement Program section in vCenter Server and Host Management.
On the Ready to complete page, review the configuration settings for the Platform Services Controller appliance, click Finish, and click OK to complete stage 2 of the deployment process and set up the appliance.
(Optional) After the initial setup finishes, click the https://platform_services_controller_fqdn/psc to go to the Platform Services Controller Web interface, or click the https://platform_services_controller_fqdn:443 to go the Platform Services Controller Getting Started page.
Click Close to exit the wizard.
You are redirected to the Platform Services Controller Getting Started page.

Results

If you joined the new Platform Services Controller appliance to an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain, the appliance replicates infrastructure data with the other Platform Services Controller instances within the domain.

What to do next

You can deploy a vCenter Server Appliance with an external Platform Services Controller and register it with the newly deployed Platform Services Controller appliance.
You can deploy one or more Platform Services Controller instances joining the same vCenter Single Sign-On domain to replicate infrastructure data and distribute the load.