Set Up the Target vCenter Server Appliance with an Embedded Platform Services Controller

When the OVA deployment completes, you are redirected to stage 2 of the migration process to transfer the data from the source vCenter Server and start the services of the newly deployed vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 with an embedded Platform Services Controller.

Your window of downtime does not begin until you begin to set up the target appliance. You cannot cancel or interrupt the process until it completes with the shut down of the source deployment. Your window of downtime ends when the target appliance starts.

Procedure

1. Review the introduction to stage 2 of the migration process and click Next.
2. On the Select source vCenter Server page, enter the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator password and the root password of the source vCenter Server, enter the password of the user with administrative privileges on the vCenter Server instance, and click Next.
3. (Optional) Accept the warning message, if any, by clicking Yes.
4. If your source Windows machine is connected to an Active Directory domain, enter the credentials for an administrator domain user with permission to add the target machine to the Active Directory domain, and click Next.
   Note: The installer verifies the entered credentials, but does not check the required privileges to add the target machine to the Active Directory domain. Verify that the user credentials have all the required permissions to add a machine to the Active Directory domain.
5. 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.
6. On the ready to complete page, review the migration settings, accept the backup acknowledgment, and click Finish.
7. Click OK to confirm the shutdown of the source vCenter Server.
8. Wait for the data transfer and setup process to finish and click OK to go to the vCenter Server Getting Started page.

Results

The source vCenter Server instance is migrated from Windows to an appliance. The sourcevCenter Server instance is powered off and the new target appliance starts.

What to do next

Verify that your migration to an appliance was successful. For verification steps, see Verify Your vCenter Server Appliance Upgrade or Migration Is Successful. For post-migration steps, see After Upgrading or Migrating vCenter Server.