How to Perform VMM Upgrade
Updated: May 13, 2016
Applies To: System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine Manager
Use the following procedure to upgrade a Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) management server to System Center 2012 R2. During this procedure, you retain the data from the System Center 2012 SP1 database.
Membership in the local Administrators group, or equivalent, on the computer that you are configuring is the minimum required to complete this procedure.
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 a VMM management server
On the current VMM management server in System Center 2012 SP1, start the Microsoft System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager Setup Wizard by double-clicking setup.exe in your product media or on your network file share.
On the main setup page, click Install.
On the Select features to install page, select the VMM management server check box, and Client if you want to upgrade the client, and then click Next.
Note
If you are installing the VMM management server on a computer that is a member of a cluster, you will be asked whether you want the VMM management server to be a high availability server. For more information about installing a high availability VMM management server, see Installing a Highly Available VMM Management Server.
On the Product registration information page, provide the appropriate information, and then click Next. If you do not enter a product key, VMM will be installed as an evaluation version that expires in 180 days after installation.
On the Please read this license agreement page, review the license agreement, and if you agree with it, select the I have read, understood, and agree with the terms of the license agreement check box, and then click Next.
On the Join the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) page, select the option of your choice, and then click Next.
On the Installation location page, use the default path or type a different installation path for the VMM program files, and then click Next.
The computer that you are upgrading is checked to ensure that the appropriate hardware and software requirements are met. If a prerequisite is not met, a page appears with information about which prerequisite has not been met and how to resolve the issue. If all prerequisites have been met, the Database configuration page appears.
For information about hardware and software requirements for VMM, see System Requirements for System Center 2012 R2 and see Preparing your environment for System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine Manager.
On the Database configuration page, do the following:
Specify the name of the computer that is running SQL Server. If you are installing the VMM management server on the same computer that is running SQL Server, in the Server name box, type the name of the computer (for example, vmmserver01), or type localhost.
If you are upgrading a database that was configured with AlwaysOn Availability Groups, enter the name of the availability group listener.
Specify the port to use for communication with the computer that is running SQL Server, if all of the following conditions are true:
SQL Server is running on a remote computer.
The SQL Server Browser service is not started on that remote computer.
SQL Server is not using default port 1433.
Otherwise, leave the Port box empty.
Select or type the name of the instance of SQL Server to use. If you are upgrading a database that was configured with AlwaysOn Availability Groups, leave the text box for the instance of SQL Server empty.
Select Existing Database, and then select the database that you backed up from your System Center 2012 SP1 installation.
Check Use the following credentials, provide the user name and password of an account that has the appropriate permissions to access the database, and then click Next.
When you are prompted whether to upgrade the database that you specified, click Yes.
On the Configure service account and distributed key management page, specify the account that will be used by the System Center Virtual Machine Manager service.
Under Distributed Key Management, select whether to store encryption keys in Active Directory Domain Services, and then click Next.
Warning
Choose your service account and distributed key management settings carefully. Depending on what you choose, encrypted data, like passwords in templates and profiles, may 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.
On the Port configuration page, provide unique port numbers for each feature as appropriate for your environment, and then click Next.
On the Library configuration page, chose whether to use an existing library share, or to create a new one, and then enter the library configuration information.
On the Upgrade compatibility report, review the information and do one of the following:
Click Cancel to exit the upgrade and resolve the noted issues.
Click Next to proceed with upgrade.
On the Installation summary page, review your selections and do one of the following:
Click Previous to change any selections.
Click Install to upgrade the VMM management server.
After you click Install, the Installing features page appears and the upgrade progress is displayed.
On the Setup completed successfully page, click Close to finish the installation.
To open the VMM console, ensure that the Open the VMM console when this wizard closes check box is selected. Alternatively, you can click the Virtual Machine Manager Console icon on the desktop.