You can use the GUI installer to perform an interactive deployment of a vCenter Server appliance.
When you perform the GUI deployment, you download the vCenter Server installer on a network client machine, run the deployment wizard from the client machine, and provide the inputs that are required for the appliance deployment and setup.
The GUI deployment process includes a series of two stages.
The first stage walks you through the deployment wizard to choose the deployment type and appliance settings. This stage completes the deployment of the OVA file on the target server with the deployment type and appliance settings that you provide.
As an alternative to performing the first stage of the deployment with the GUI installer, you can deploy the OVA file of the vCenter Server appliance by using the vSphere Client. After the OVA deployment, you must log in to the vCenter Server Management Interface of the newly deployed appliance to proceed with the second stage of the deployment process. See "Deploy an OVF or OVA Template" in vSphere Virtual Machine Administration vSphere Virtual Machine Administration for information about deploying an OVA file using the vSphere Client.
The second stage walks you through the setup wizard to configure the appliance time synchronization and vCenter Single Sign-On. This stage completes the initial setup and starts the services of the newly deployed appliance.
As an alternative to performing the second stage of the deployment with the GUI installer, you can log in to the vCenter Server Management Interface of the newly deployed appliance, https://FQDN_or_IP_address:5480.
