How to Upgrade to VMM on a Different Computer
Updated: May 13, 2016
Applies To: System Center 2012 SP1 - Virtual Machine Manager
In some cases, you may not want to, or you may not be able to, perform an upgrade on the management server on which System Center 2012 – Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) is currently installed. For example, you might need to move the VMM database to another computer before beginning the upgrade. In these cases, you can install VMM for System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 (SP1) on a different computer and use the VMM database from the current VMM installation.
Upgrading from System Center 2012 – Virtual Machine Manager on one computer to VMM in System Center 2012 SP1 on a different computer is not supported when data is retained from the original installation, and the following configurations apply:
The original installation uses Windows DPAPI. This is the default setting if you did not enable Distributed Key Management (DKM) during Setup.
The VMM management server is configured to use any of the following encrypted values or settings:
Application settings (encrypted value)
Service setting (encrypted value)
SQL Server deployment (product key)
Web deploy package (encryption password)
Use the following procedure to upgrade VMM to System Center 2012 SP1 on a different computer.
Warning
To avoid any loss of important data, before you upgrade VMM, we highly recommend that you perform a full backup of your VMM database.
To upgrade VMM to System Center 2012 SP1 on a different computer
Uninstall System Center 2012 – Virtual Machine Manager, while making sure on the Uninstallation Options page to select Retain data.
Install VMM for System Center 2012 SP1 on the other computer:
During the installation, on the Database configuration page, specify the VMM database that you retained from the previous VMM installation. A message will appear indicating that the selected database was created by a previous version of VMM. To upgrade the VMM database, click OK.
On the Configure service account and distributed key management page, choose your service account and distributed key management settings carefully. In some circumstances, depending on what you choose, encrypted data, such as passwords in templates and profiles, will not be available after the upgrade, and you will have to re-enter them manually.
For more information, see Choosing Service Account and Distributed Key Management Settings During an Upgrade.
For more information about installing a VMM management server, see Installing a VMM Management Server.