You can repoint a single vCenter Server from one Single Sign-On domain to an existing Single Sign-On domain without a replication partner. Each Single Sign-On domain contains a single vCenter Server.

See Repointing a Single vCenter Server from One Domain to an Existing Domain for an example of repointing a single vCenter Server from one domain to another existing domain. This is one of many ways to create an Enhanced Linked Mode node. In this case, there is no replication.
Figure 1. Repointing a Single vCenter Server from One Domain to an Existing Domain
The vCenter Server nodes before and after repointing from one domain to an existing domain.

Prerequisites

  • Repointing is only supported with vCenter Server 6.7 Update 1 and later.
  • You must repoint to a vCenter Server that is of the same version and nodes that are of the same version and build number.
  • To ensure no loss of data, take a file-based backup of each node before proceeding with repointing the vCenter Server.

Procedure

  1. Make sure that both vCenter Server nodes are powered on before beginning the repointing process.
  2. (Optional) Run the pre-check mode command. The pre-check mode fetches the tagging (tags and categories) and authorization (roles and privileges) data from the vCenter Server. Pre-check does not migrate any data, but checks for conflicts between the source and destination vCenter Server. For example, run the pre-check with the following CLI:
    cmsso-util domain-repoint -m pre-check --src-emb-admin Administrator --replication-partner-fqdn FQDN_of_destination_node --replication-partner-admin PSC_Admin_of_destination_node --dest-domain-name destination_PSC_domain
    Note: Pre-check is not required if a replication partner does not exist (repointing to a newly created domain).
    See Syntax of the Domain Repoint Command for argument definitions for the cmsso-util domain-repoint command.
    The pre-check writes the conflicts to the /storage/domain-data directory.
  3. (Optional) Review the conflicts and apply resolutions for all conflicts, or apply a separate resolution for each conflict.
    The conflict resolutions are:
    • Copy: Create a duplicate copy of the data in the target domain.
    • Skip: Skips copying the data in the target domain.
    • Merge: Merges the conflict without creating duplicates.
    Note: The default resolution mode for Tags and Authorization conflicts is Copy, unless overridden in the conflict files generated during pre-check.
  4. Run the execute command. In execute mode, the data generated during the pre-check mode is read and imported to the target node. Then, the vCenter Server is repointed to the target domain. For example, repointing without a replication partner, run the execute command with the following:
    cmsso-util domain-repoint -m execute --src-emb-admin Administrator --replication-partner-fqdn FQDN_of_destination_node --replication-partner-admin PSC_Admin_of_destination_node --dest-domain-name destination_PSC_domain
    See Syntax of the Domain Repoint Command for argument definitions for the cmsso-util domain-repoint command.