Installing the VMM Server

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Applies To: Virtual Machine Manager 2008, Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2, Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 SP1

For System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) 2008 or VMM 2008 R2, before installing the VMM server, ensure that the computer meets the minimum hardware requirements and that all prerequisite software is installed. For more information about hardware and software requirements, see System Requirements: VMM Server.

When you install the VMM server, you also set up your VMM database and your default library server.

VMM database

VMM uses a Microsoft SQL Server database to store the information that you view in the VMM Administrator Console, such as virtual machines, virtual machine hosts, virtual machine library servers, and their properties.

During VMM server setup, you must select one of the following VMM database options:

  • Have Setup install a new instance of SQL Server 2005 Express Edition and create a new database locally. You can have VMM 2008 Setup install SQL Server 2005 Express Edition SP2 and VMM 2008 R2 Setup install SQL Server 2005 Express Edition SP3.

  • Use an existing instance of a supported version of SQL Server, either local or remote, and use an existing database or create a new database. For more information about supported versions of SQL Server, see System Requirements: VMM Database.

Important

If you use a remote instance of SQL Server, there are additional configuration steps you must perform. For more information about configuring and using a remote instance of SQL Server for the VMM database, see Configuring a Remote Instance of SQL Server for VMM (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=134060).

Note

To use an existing local instance of SQL Server Express, its SQL Server service must be running under the network service account, not under the local system account.

To make the VMM database highly available, you can use an SQL Server instance that is deployed on a failover cluster. For more information about configuring a highly available instance of SQL Server for the VMM database, see Planning for High Availability (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=145068).

Default VMM library server

VMM uses library servers and library shares to store file-based resources, such as ISO images and virtual hard disks that can be used to create virtual machines. The VMM library also makes available virtual machine templates, guest operating system profiles, and hardware profiles that reside in the VMM database. You can also store virtual machines in the library when they are not in use

When you install the VMM server, Setup also adds the computer as the default library server, and you have the option to either create a new default library share on the VMM server or use an existing share on the VMM server as a library share. After setup is complete, you can add other library shares to the default library server or other library servers on separate computers.

Important

You cannot remove or relocate the default library server or its library share. Give careful consideration to the location of the default library share before installing the VMM server.

Use the following procedure to install the VMM server. To perform this procedure, you must have administrator privileges on the computer.

To install the Virtual Machine Manager server

  1. On the product media or network share, right-click setup.exe, and then click Run as administrator.

    Important

    If you set up a network share to install VMM components, you should apply the appropriate security to the share to ensure that no unauthorized or unauthenticated users can access or alter the contents of the share.

  2. On the Setup menu, click VMM Server.

  3. On the Microsoft Update page, indicate whether or not you want to use Microsoft Update.

    Note

    If you have previously chosen to use Microsoft Update on this computer, the Microsoft Update page does not appear.

  4. On the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) page, click Yes to participate in, or No to opt out of, the CEIP.

  5. On the Prerequisites Check page, review any alerts or warnings about hardware that does not meet the minimum or recommended requirements, or missing software prerequisites. You can continue the installation if you receive warnings, but you must resolve all alerts before you can proceed with the installation. For more information, see System Requirements: VMM Server.

  6. On the Installation Location page, type an installation path for the program files or click Next to use the default path.

  7. On the SQL Server Settings page, select the appropriate Microsoft SQL Server settings for your VMM database.

    Important

    If you specify a remote SQL Server instance, there are additional configuration steps you must perform. For more information, see Configuring a Remote Instance of SQL Server for VMM (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=134060).

    Note

    • The database name cannot exceed 128 characters.

    • To use SQL Server 2008 for the VMM database, SQL Server Management Tools must be installed on the VMM server.

    • If you have a 32-bit version of SQL Server installed on a 64-bit computer, the database instance name will not appear automatically in the instance list. You must enter the instance name manually.

  8. On the Library Share Settings page, select the option to either create a new default library share on the VMM server or use an existing share on the VMM server as a library share. The default library share created by VMM is named MSSCVMMLibrary and its folder is located at %SYSTEMDRIVE%\ProgramData\Virtual Machine Manager Library Files.

    Important

    After setup is complete, you can add other library shares to the default library server or other library servers on separate computers; however, you cannot remove or relocate the default library server or its library share. So give careful consideration to the location of the default library share before installing the VMM server.

  9. On the Installation Settings page, do the following:

    1. In the Ports area, enter the ports that you want to use for the VMM server connections.

      Important

      It is a best practice to not use the default port settings. The port settings that you assign during the VMM server installation cannot be changed without uninstalling and reinstalling VMM server. The ports that you assign during setup must identically match the port settings that you assign when installing the related VMM components that the VMM server communicates with. For more information, see VMM Ports and Protocols (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=128912).

      Note

      The value of the File transfers to agents on hosts and library servers port cannot exceed 32768.

    2. In the VMM service account area, do one of the following:

      • To use the local system account for the VMM service account, click Local system.

      • To use a different domain account, click Other account, and then type the credentials for a domain account that is a local Administrator on the computer that you are installing VMM server on.

      Important

      Before you specify an account, understand the following:

      • It is not supported to change the identity of the VMM service account after installation. This includes changing from the local system account to a domain account, from a domain account to the local system account, or changing the domain account to another domain account. To change the VMM service account after installation, you must uninstall VMM (selecting the Retain data option if you want to keep the SQL Server database), and then reinstall VMM by using the new service account.

      • If you use a domain account for the VMM service account, we strongly recommend that you create an account that is specifically designated for this purpose. When a host is removed from the VMM server, the account that the VMM service is running under is removed from the local Administrators group of the host. If the same account is used for other purposes on the host, this can cause unexpected results. You also should not use the same account for the VMM service account that you use for configuring a remote SQL Server for the VMM database. For more information, see Hardening the VMM Server (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=145055).

      • If you plan to use shared ISO images with Hyper-V virtual machines, you must use a domain account for the VMM service account.

      • If you are using a disjointed namespace, you must use an account other than the Local System account. A disjointed namespace occurs when one or more computers have a primary Domain Name System (DNS) suffix does not match the DNS name of the Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) domain of which the computers are members. For example, a member computer that uses a primary DNS suffix of corp.fabrikam.com in an AD domain named na.corp.fabrikam.com is using a disjointed namespace. For more information about a disjointed namespace, see Naming conventions in Active Directory for computers, domains, sites, and OUs (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=123886).

  10. On the Summary of Settings page, review the settings that you chose and do one of the following:

    • Click Previous to change any settings.

    • Click Install to install the VMM server.

  11. On the Installation page, do one of the following:

    • To close the wizard and automatically check for the latest VMM updates, click Close.

    • To close the wizard without checking for the latest updates, clear the Check for the latest Virtual Machine Manager updates check box, and then click Close.

Note

When you install the VMM server, all accounts in the local Administrators security group are automatically added to the VMM Administrator user role. If you want to add or remove user accounts from the VMM Administrator user role, see Managing User Roles (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=125951).

See Also

Concepts

New Installation of VMM
Reinstalling VMM with a Retained Database
System Requirements: VMM Server
Uninstalling VMM Components