System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) 2008 and VMM 2008 R2 require a Microsoft SQL Server database to store the information that you view in the VMM Administrator Console.

When you install the VMM server, you can do the following:

• Specify an existing local instance of a supported version of SQL Server.
  
  
• Specify an existing remote instance of a supported version of SQL Server.
  
  

  Important
  If you specify a remote instance of SQL Server for the VMM database, there are important additional steps you need to perform, as described later in this topic.

• Have the Setup Wizard install SQL Server 2005 Express Edition locally on the VMM server. You can have VMM 2008 Setup install SQL Server 2005 Express Edition SP2 and the VMM 2008 R2 Setup install SQL Server 2005 Express Edition SP3.
  
  

  Note

  The SQL Server 2005 Express Edition database size is limited to 4 GB and is not supported for integrating VMM with System Center Operations Manager 2007 for Reporting and Monitoring features in VMM. Therefore, it is recommended that you use a full version of SQL Server when you are managing more than 150 hosts or when you want to integrate VMM with Operations Manager. For more information about integrating VMM with Operations Manager, see Configuring Operations Manager Integration with VMM (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=125948).

Before installing the VMM database, review the prerequisite hardware and software for installation. For more information, see System Requirements: VMM Database.

Configuring a Remote Instance of SQL Server

Before running the VMM Server Setup Wizard and specifying a remote instance of SQL Server for your VMM database, you must perform the configuration steps listed in the following table.

 

Configuration step	Notes
Enable remote connections on the remote database	By default, some versions of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008, such as the Express Edition and the Evaluation Edition, are configured to allow only local connections by default. For more information about configuring remote connections for SQL Server 2008, see Connecting to the SQL Server Database Engine (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=127719) and Configuring the Windows Firewall to Allow SQL Server Access (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=128365). For more information about configuring remote connections for SQL Server 2005, see How to configure SQL Server 2005 to allow remote connections (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=119974).
Ensure that the remote SQL Server is running under the Local System account	Important If remote SQL Server is running under the Network Service account or a domain account, you must create a Service Principal Name (SPN) for the SQL service as described in article 811889 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=88057.
Enable Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption	To enhance the security of your SQL Server connection, it is recommended that you enable SSL encryption by modifying the connection string as described in article 316898 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=89722.

Specifying a Remote Database in the VMM Server Setup Wizard

To specify a remote instance of SQL Server in the VMM Server Setup Wizard, you must do the following:

• Ensure that the user account you enter is a member of the sysadmin server role on the remote instance of SQL Server that you specify.
  
  
• Use an account that is different than the VMM service account.
  
  
• Ensure that TCP port 445 is not blocked on the remote server that is running SQL Server. VMM uses port 445 to populate the database instances from the remote server. If port 445 is blocked, you can enter the name of the SQL instance manually.
  
  
• Ensure that the SQL Server name and SQL instance name that you enter are accurate, and that the SQL Server name does not contain more than 15 characters.
  
  
• If the remote SQL Server is using a port other than the default port (1433), you must append the port number after the instance name using the following syntax: instance name, port.
  
  

Note
If you specify an IP address for the Server name that is hosting a remote database, you must modify the connection string in your registry after installing the VMM server by using the following procedure.

Caution
Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

To modify the connection string to connect to the remote VMM database

1. In the registry, navigate to the following subkey: \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager Server\Settings\Sql

2. Right-click ConnectionString, click Modify, and then change the Server= value data by deleting the IP address and replacing it with the name for the remote SQL Server-based computer.