Stage 2 - Set up the Newly Deployed vCenter Server Appliance with an Embedded Platform Services Controller

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 vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded Platform Services Controller.

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 new 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 user name for the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator account, for example, `administrator`. After the deployment, you can log in to vCenter Single Sign-On and to vCenter Server as `adminstrator_user_name`@`your_domain_name`. Set the password for the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator account. This is the password for the user `adminstrator_user_name`@`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 (=). Note: When setting up an embedded linked mode, use `Default-First-Site` as the site name for the first instance. Click Next.
Join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain	Joins a new vCenter Single Sign-On server to a vCenter Single Sign-On domain in an existing Platform Services Controller. You must provide the information about the vCenter Single Sign-On server to which you join the new vCenter Single Sign-On server. Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of the Platform Services Controller that contains the vCenter Single Sign-On server to join. Enter the HTTPS port to use for communication with the Platform Services Controller. Enter the user name and password of the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator account. Click Next. Approve the certificate provided by the remote machine, and you must select whether to create or join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On site. Select whether to create or join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On site.

Option

Description

Create a new Single Sign-On domain

Creates a new 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 user name for the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator account, for example, administrator.
After the deployment, you can log in to vCenter Single Sign-On and to vCenter Server as adminstrator_user_name@your_domain_name.
Set the password for the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator account.
This is the password for the user adminstrator_user_name@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 (=).

Note: When setting up an embedded linked mode, use Default-First-Site as the site name for the first instance.
Click Next.

Join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain

Joins a new vCenter Single Sign-On server to a vCenter Single Sign-On domain in an existing Platform Services Controller. You must provide the information about the vCenter Single Sign-On server to which you join the new vCenter Single Sign-On server.

Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of the Platform Services Controller that contains the vCenter Single Sign-On server to join.
Enter the HTTPS port to use for communication with the Platform Services Controller.
Enter the user name and password of the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator account.
Click Next.
Approve the certificate provided by the remote machine, and you must select whether to create or join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On site.
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 vCenter Server 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://vcenter_server_appliance_fqdn/vsphere-client to go to the vSphere Web Client and log in to the vCenter Server instance in the vCenter Server Appliance, or click the https://vcenter_server_appliance_fqdn:443 to go the vCenter Server Appliance Getting Started page.
Click Close to exit the wizard.
You are redirected to the vCenter Server Appliance Getting Started page.

What to do next

You can configure high availability for the vCenter Server Appliance. For information about providing vCenter Server Appliance high availability, see vSphere Availability.