Preparing the Update Manager Database

The Update Manager server and Update Manager Download Service (UMDS) that you install on Windows require a database to store and organize server data. Update Manager supports Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server databases.

Before installing the Update Manager server on a Windows machine, you must create a database instance and configure it to ensure that all Update Manager database tables can be created in it. You can install and configure the Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Express database that is embedded with Update Manager. Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Express is recommended for small deployments of up to 5 hosts and 50 virtual machines.

Update Manager 6.5 server is a 64-bit application, and you can install it only on 64-bit machines. Update Manager requires a 64-bit DSN.

To use Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle databases, you must configure a 64-bit system DSN and test it with ODBC.

The Update Manager database you use can be the same as the vCenter Server database. You can also use a separate type of database, or you can use existing database clusters. For optimal results in a large-scale environment, use a dedicated Update Manager database that runs on a different machine than the vCenter Server system database.

The Update Manager server requires administrative credentials to connect to the database. If the database user name and password change after you install the Update Manager server or UMDS on Windows, you can reconfigure Update Manager and UMDS without the need to reinstall them. See the Reconfiguring VMware vSphere Update Manager documentation.

Before you begin the database setup, review the supported databases. If you create an ODBC connection to a database server that is not supported, a DSN for the unsupported database might be displayed in the drop-down menu of the Update Manager installation wizard. For more information about the supported database patches, see the Solution/Database Interoperability option from the VMware Product Interoperability Matrixes at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/sim/interop_matrix.php. If you do not prepare your database correctly, the Update Manager installer might display error or warning messages.