VMware released vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 on 15th November 2016 with build number 4602587. vCenter Server Appliance is a preconfigured Linux-based virtual machine it is used for running vCenter Server and the associated services. Comparing to Windows based vCenter Server installation the vCenter Server Appliance became easier and reduce the deployment time of vCenter Server with associated services. Earlier versions, we have to install vSphere Update Manager separately after deploy the vCenter Server Appliance. But, In vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 is not required to install separately, it includes in deployment of vCenter Server Appliance only. In earlier version vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 having scalability up to 1000 hosts and 10,000 virtual machines. But, In vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 with embedded PostgreSQL database the scalability has been increased up to 2000 hosts and 35,000 virtual machines.
Before going to deploy the vCenter Server Appliance 6.5, we make sure minimum hardware requirement must meet for installation of vCenter Server Appliance 6.5. The minimum hardware requirement for vCenter Server Appliance will be depends on the size of your vSphere environment.
Hardware Requirements for a vCenter Server Appliance with an Embedded or External Platform Services Controller:
| vSphere Inventory Size | Number of CPUs | Memory |
| Tiny environment (up to 10 hosts or 100 virtual machines) | 2 CPUs | 10 GB |
| Small environment (up to 100 hosts or 1,000 virtual machines) | 4 CPUs | 16 GB |
| Medium environment (up to 400 hosts or 4,000 virtual machine) | 8 CPUs | 24 GB |
| Large environment (up to 1,000 hosts or 10,000 virtual machines) | 16 CPUs | 32 GB |
| X-Large environment (up to 2,000 hosts or 35,000 virtual machines) | 24 CPUs | 48 GB |
Storage Requirements for a vCenter Server Appliance with an Embedded or
External Platform Services Controller:
| vSphere Inventory Size | Default Storage Size | Large Storage Size | X-Large Storage Size |
| Tiny environment (up to 10 hosts or 100 virtual machines) | 250 GB | 775 GB
|
1650 GB
|
| Small environment (up to 100 hosts or 1,000 virtual machines) | 290 GB | 820 GB | 1700 GB |
| Medium environment (up to 400 hosts or 4,000 virtual machine) | 420 GB | 925 GB | 1805 GB |
| Large environment (up to 1,000 hosts or 10,000 virtual machines) | 460 GB | 990 GB | 1870 GB |
| X-Large environment (up to 2,000 hosts or 35,000 virtual machines) | 980 GB | 1030 GB | 1910 GB |
vSphere Web Client Software Requirements:
Make sure that your browser supports the vSphere Web Client. The vSphere Web Client 6.5 requires Adobe Flash Player 16 or later. The following supported guest operating systems and browser versions for the vSphere Web Client.
| Operating system | Browser |
| Windows | Microsoft Internet Explorer 10.0.19 to 11.0.9600
Mozilla Firefox 34 to 49. Google Chrome 39 to 53. |
| Mac OS | Mozilla Firefox 34 to 49. Google Chrome 39 to 53. |
First, download the vCenter Server Appliance ISO from VMware, its includes the UI and CLI installer for install/upgrade/migration for VMware vCenter Server Appliance, VMware Platform Services Controller, VMware vSphere Update Manager and Update Manager Download Service. In my lab environment, I will use UI installer for deploying vCenter Server Appliance 6.5. Please find the below link for download vCenter Server Appliance 6.5.
https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/details?downloadGroup=VC650&productId=614&rPId=13871
After download, mount the ISO image to machine and open the vCenter Server Appliance Setup and click vcsa-ui-installer
click win32 folder
After open win32 folder, click installer to launch the vCenter Server Appliance installer
click Install to begin the installation
The vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 consists of 2 Deployment Stages, they are
- Deploy vCenter Server Appliance 6.5
- Configure vCenter Server Appliance 6.5
Stage 1: Deploying vCenter Server Appliance 6.5
To deploy appliance, click Next
Select I accept the terms of license agreements and click Next
Select vCenter Server with ab Embedded Platform Services Controller and click Next
Enter the target ESXi host or vCenter Server name and root password, then click Next
To accept and continue, click Yes
Enter vCenter Server Appliance name, root password and confirm root password, then click Next
Select Deployment size and Storage size, then click Next
Select Storage location and Enable Thin Disk Mode, then click Next
Select Network, IP version, IP assignment and Enter System name, IP address, Subnet mask, Default gateway and DNS Servers details, then click Next
Review the settings before deploy and click Finish
Deploying the appliance is in progress
Login vSphere client, verify the vCenter Server Appliance deployment status
Deploy vCenter Server with an Embedded Platform Services Controller is complete. Click Continue to Configure vCenter Server Appliance.
Stage 2: Configuring vCenter Server Appliance 6.5
To setup vCenter Server Appliance with an Embedded PSC, click Next
Select the Time synchronization mode and SSH access Enabled, then click Next
Enter SSO domain name, SSO password, Confirm password and Site name, then click Next
Its optional, select join the VMware Customer Experience improvement program and click Next
Review the settings and click Finish
Click OK to continue the installation
vCenter Server Appliance setup is in progress
Setup the Appliance is successfully, click vSphere Web Client link to login
Click Continue to this website (not recommended)
Enter vCenter Single Sign On User name (administrator@vsphere.local) and password, click login
After login vSphere Web Client, verify all the options in vSphere Web Client
Click Appliance Getting Started Page link
Click Continue to this website (not recommended)
Click vSphere Client (HTML5) Partial functionality
Enter vCenter Single Sign On User name (administrator@vsphere.local) and password, click login
After login, verify all the options in vSphere Client (HTML5)
Login to vSphere client, select vCenter Server Appliance and right click select open console
Verify the vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller console
I had deployed and configure vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 successfully. Now, start adding the ESXi host to the vCenter Server Appliance to manage vSphere environment. Thats it, I hope this is informative for you. Thanks for reading my post……! If you feel worth please share it in social media.
