When you install vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller, Platform Services Controller, or vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller, the wizard prompts you for the installation information. It is a best practice to keep a record of the values that you entered in case you must reinstall the product.

You can use this worksheet to record the information that you need for the installation of vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller, Platform Services Controller, or vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller.

Table 1. Required Information for Installing vCenter Server or Platform Services Controller on Windows
Required for Required Information Default Your Entry
All deployment types System name of the local system

A system name to use for managing the local system. The system name must be an FQDN. If a DNS is not available, provide a static IP address.

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  • vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller
  • Platform Services Controller as the first instance in a new domain
Name for the new vCenter Single Sign-On domain vsphere.local
User name administrator You cannot change the default user name during installation.
Password for the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator account

The password must be at least 8 characters, but no more than 20 characters in length.

The password must conform to the following requirements:

  • Must contain at least one uppercase letter.
  • Must contain at least one lowercase letter.
  • Must contain at least one number.
  • Must contain at least one special character, such as ampersand (&), hash key (#), and percent sign (%).
-
Site name

A name for the vCenter Single Sign-On site.

Default-First-Site
  • vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller
  • Platform Services Controller as a subsequent instance in an existing domain
FQDN or IP address of the Platform Services Controller instance that you want to join

You must join a Platform Services Controller instance of the same version.

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HTTPS port of the Platform Services Controller instance 443
Password of the vCenter Single Sign On administrator user for the domain -
vCenter Single Sign-On site name

You can join an existing site or create a new site.

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  • vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller
  • vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller
vCenter Server service account information

Can be the Windows local system account or a user service account.

Note: Starting with vSphere 6.5, the vCenter Server services run as child processes of the VMware Service Lifecycle Manager service.
Windows local system account
Account user name

Only if you use a user service account

-
Account password

Only if you use a user service account

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  • vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller
  • vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller
vCenter Server database

Can be the embedded VMware Postgres database or an existing external database

embedded Postgres database
Data source name (DSN)

Only if you use an existing external database. Leading and trailing spaces are not supported. Remove spaces from the beginning or end of the DSN.

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Database user name

Only if you use an existing external database. Non-ASCII characters are not supported.

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Database password

Only if you use an existing external database.

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All deployment types HTTP port 80
HTTPS port 443
Syslog Service port 514
Syslog Service TLS port 1514
  • vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller
  • Platform Services Controller
Secure Token Service port 7444
  • vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller
  • vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller
Auto Deploy Management port 6502
Auto Deploy Service port 6501
ESXi Dump Collector port 6500
ESXi Heartbeat port 902
vSphere Web Client port 9443
All deployment types Destination folder
  • The folder in which to install vCenter Server or Platform Services Controller
  • The folder in which to store data for vCenter Server or Platform Services Controller

The installation paths cannot contain non-ASCII characters, commas (,), periods (.), exclamation points (!), pound signs (#), at signs (@), or percentage signs (%).

  • The default installation folder is C:\Program Files\VMware.
  • The default folder for data storage is C:\ProgramData\VMware.
  • vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller
  • Platform Services Controller
Join or do not participate in the VMware Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP)

For information about the CEIP, see the Configuring Customer Experience Improvement Program section in vCenter Server and Host Management.

Join the CEIP