VMware VirtualCenter 1.2 Release Notes

What's New in This Release

Version 1.2 patch 1 fixes the following problem:

• Virtual Machines on ESX Server 2.5 Hosts Managed by Virtual Center 1.2 Renamed When Management Server is Restarted, KB 1578

Version 1.2

• What's New in This Release
• Version Compatibility for This Release
• Revision History of This Release Note
• Installing and Upgrading Version 1.2
• Resolved Issues
• Known Issues for This Release
• Additional Troubleshooting Resources

VirtualCenter 1.2 is a minor maintenance release to improve upon VirtualCenter 1.1.1; it includes the following features:

• Additional support for ESX Server 2.5
• Expanded support for configuration and migration of virtual machines using Raw Device Mappings (RDMs)
• Enhanced reporting and data export capabilities
• New features in the Web Service SDK
• Extra logging for security auditing
• Additional performance improvements
• Updated SNMP support
• Resolved issues and bug fixes
• Documentation updates

For a brief description of the new features and enhancements, refer to the New Features Overview   (PDF ). This document also provides related links into the documentation for specific information.

Compatibility Matrix

VMware product compatibility is shown in the table:

Revision History of This Release Note

Installing and Upgrading to Version 1.2

The process for installing VirtualCenter for the first time and upgrading an existing installation of VirtualCenter is essentially the same. The installer determines whether a VirtualCenter component is installed on the local machine and then displays the appropriate opening screen. The difference is:

• For an upgrade, the installation wizard opening screen asks if you wish to perform an upgrade.
• For a first-time install, the installation wizard opening screen asks for your user name and company information.

Refer to Installing and Upgrading the VirtualCenter Product for complete information on performing an installation or upgrade of your VirtualCenter product.

In VirtualCenter 1.2, the installation or upgrade process also includes an option to install the VirtualCenter Web service component. The Web service component is installed on a machine that has the VirtualCenter server. If the VirtualCenter server is not already installed on the local machine, it will be installed when you select to install the Web service. For information on the VirtualCenter Web service refer to the VirtualCenter Web service web service.

Notes:

• Because changes have been made to both the VirtualCenter server and the VirtualCenter client, you must upgrade all machines with either component. VirtualCenter 1.1.x server cannot connect to a VirtualCenter 1.2 client, and VirtualCenter 1.2 server cannot connect to a VirtualCenter 1.1.x client.

• Microsoft Windows 98SE is no longer a supported operating system for installing the VirtualCenter client.

• If you are unable to connect to the VirtualCenter remote database during the installation, please make sure that the Workstation service (lanmanworkstation) is up and running. Also, verify that the VirtualCenter database server is up and running and that it is connected to the network.

If you are upgrading VirtualCenter, perform the following as needed:

• If you are using an Oracle database: Prior to upgrading, make sure that shared_pool_size parameter is set to no less than 100 MB. This ensures that the upgrade performs reasonably. The shared_pool_size parameter is in the init.ora file. Have your Oracle database administrator check and set this.

• If you are upgrading a large database: This may take a significant amount of time from several minutes to more than an hour, depending upon the size of your database.
• Errata to the VirtualCenter User's Manual: When upgrading your VirtualCenter server be sure to answer No to the prompt An existing [name] database already exists. Do you want to overwrite the data?