vCenter Server for Windows Requirements

To install vCenter Server on a Windows virtual machine or physical server, your system must meet specific hardware and software requirements.

• Synchronize the clocks of the virtual machines on which you plan to install vCenter Server and the Platform Services Controller. See Synchronizing Clocks on the vSphere Network.
• Verify that the DNS name of the virtual machine or physical server matches the actual full computer name.
• Verify that the host name of the virtual machine or physical server on which you are installing or upgrading vCenter Server complies with RFC 1123 guidelines.
• Verify that the system on which you are installing vCenter Server is not an Active Directory domain controller.
• If you plan to use a user account other than the Local System account in which to run your vCenter Server service, verify that the user account has the following permissions:
  • Member of the Administrators group
  • Log on as a service
  • Act as part of the operating system (if the user is a domain user)
  Note: Starting with vSphere 6.5, the vCenter Server services run as child processes of the VMware Service Lifecycle Manager service.
• Verify that the local policy of the virtual machine or physical server on which you are installing or upgrading vCenter Server allows assigning Log on as a batch job rights to new local users.
  Note: Starting with vSphere 6.5, some vCenter Server processes use separate local users that are automatically created and added to the local security policy Log on as a batch job. Such new local users are cm, content-library, eam, imagebuilder, mbcs, netdumper, perfcharts, rbd, vapiEndpoint, vmware-vpostgres, vsan-health, vsm, vsphere-client, and vsphere-ui.
• If the system that you use for your vCenter Server installation belongs to a workgroup rather than a domain, not all functionality is available to vCenter Server. If assigned to a workgroup, the vCenter Server system is not able to discover all domains and systems available on the network when using some features. Your host machine must be connected to a domain if you want to add Active Directory identity sources after the installation.
• Verify that the LOCAL SERVICE account has read permission on the folder in which vCenter Server is installed and on the HKLM registry.
• Verify that the connection between the virtual machine or physical server and the domain controller is working.