1.1 Install and Configure vCenter Server - vCenter Server Editions

Identify available vCenter Server editions

• vcenter server for essentials
• vcenter server foundation
• vcenter server standard
• vcenter orchestrator: streamlines and automates IT processes
• vcenter server linked mode: enables a common inventory view across multiple instances of vcenter.

Management Clients for Datacenter management & Virtual Machine access:

• vSphere client: an interface that enables users to connect remotely to vCenter server or ESXi from any Windows PC.
• vSphere Web client: a web interface that enables users to connect remotely to vCenter server from a variety of web browsers and OS's.
• vSphere Command Line Interface (CLI)

***Personal Notes from failed & successful installs of vCenter Server & various components:

- when installing a new vCenter server, make sure that the computer/virtual machine that you are installing it on has already joined the domain that it will live in. Symptoms of not doing this include:

hardware management tab not appearing, and will not enable in plug-in manager

storage view tab does not appear & the plug -in will not enable.

HA fails... and will not see datastores for it's heartbeat.

Web Client detects the old generic computer name for vCenter after you've installed the client & will fail to open.

- If you are going to install the web client, and the vCenter server you are installing it on also has software for IBM Storage Manager, disable the IBM Web Manager service in Services, because this also uses the same port as the vmware web client... Symptoms include:

web client failing to open after a successful install (you may be able to access it through the https://localhost.9443..., but will not be able to access it through the registered vCenter address you create.