Stage 2 - Set up the Newly Deployed vCenter Server Appliance with an Embedded Platform Services Controller

When the OVA deployment finishes, you are redirected to stage 2 of the deployment process to set up and start the services of the newly deployed vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded Platform Services Controller.

Procedure

Review the introduction to stage 2 of the deployment process and click Next.

Configure the time settings in the appliance, optionally enable remote SSH access to the appliance, and click Next.

Option	Description
Synchronize time with the ESXi host	Enables periodic time synchronization, and VMware Tools sets the time of the guest operating system to be the same as the time of the ESXi host.
Synchronize time with NTP servers	Uses a Network Time Protocol server for synchronizing the time. If you select this option, you must enter the names or IP addresses of the NTP servers separated by commas.

Create a new vCenter Single Sign-On domain or join an existing domain.

Option	Description
Create a new Single Sign-On domain	Creates a new vCenter Single Sign-On domain. Enter the domain name, for example `vsphere.local`. Note: Ensure that the domain name does not contain any upper-case letters. Set the password for the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator account. This is the password for the user administrator@`your_domain_name`. Confirm the administrator password, and click Next.
Join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain	Joins a new vCenter Single Sign-On server to an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain. You must provide the information about the vCenter Single Sign-On server to which you join the new vCenter Single Sign-On server. Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of the vCenter Single Sign-On server to join. Enter the HTTPS port to use for communication with the vCenter Single Sign-On server. Enter the domain name for the vCenter Single Sign-On you are joining, for example `vsphere.local`. Enter the password of the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator account. Click Next.

Option

Description

Create a new Single Sign-On domain

Creates a new vCenter Single Sign-On domain.

Enter the domain name, for example vsphere.local.
Note: Ensure that the domain name does not contain any upper-case letters.
Set the password for the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator account.
This is the password for the user administrator@your_domain_name.
Confirm the administrator password, and click Next.

Join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain

Joins a new vCenter Single Sign-On server to an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain. You must provide the information about the vCenter Single Sign-On server to which you join the new vCenter Single Sign-On server.

Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of the vCenter Single Sign-On server to join.
Enter the HTTPS port to use for communication with the vCenter Single Sign-On server.
Enter the domain name for the vCenter Single Sign-On you are joining, for example vsphere.local.
Enter the password of the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator account.
Click Next.

When you select to join an existing vCenter Single Sign-On domain, you enable the Enhanced Linked Mode feature. The infrastructure data is replicated with the joined vCenter Single Sign-On server.

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.
On the Ready to complete page, review the configuration settings for the vCenter Server appliance, click Finish, and click OK to complete stage 2 of the deployment process and set up the appliance.
(Optional) After the initial setup finishes, enter the URL from the browser with https://vcenter_server_appliance_fqdn/ui to go to the vSphere Client and log in to the vCenter Server instance in the vCenter Server appliance, or click the https://vcenter_server_appliance_fqdn:443 to go the vCenter Server appliance Getting Started page.
Click Close to exit the wizard.
You are redirected to the vCenter Server appliance Getting Started page.

What to do next

You can configure high availability for the vCenter Server appliance. For information about providing vCenter Server appliance high availability, see vSphere Availability.