My VMware Cloud Team colleague Max Daneri of VMTS fame was building a vSphere 4.1 environment this week. During the installation of VUM(VMware Update Manager) he ran into an issue with the database connection which I thought would be useful to share with you. After some playing around he found out that apparently VUM requires a 32-bit ODBC DSN. Which was a surprise as VUM requires a 64-bit OS.
Of course we should have read the documentation first as it is stated on page 27 of the VUM Install Guide…
IMPORTANT: Although you can install the Update Manager server only on 64-bit machines, Update Manager is a 32-bit application and requires a 32-bit DSN.
Baptista says
Ofcourse now that begs the question. Does vCenter still require a 32bit DSN?
Robert
Robert van den Nieuwendijk says
vCenter Server 4.1 requires a 64 bit DSN.
duncan says
Indeed, vCenter requires 64bit as it is a 64 bit app these days.
Michel says
I was also surpised during the Installation. Another strange thing is that SQL 2008 Standard is not anymore supported: http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_compatibility_matrix.pdf
Page 14
Tomi Hakala says
Michael, that SQL Server Standard marked as “not supported” must be error in that document, it cannot be that Express Edition is supported but Standard is not.
Ceri Davies says
Hmm, KB article 1022137 implies the opposite:
“Create new DSNs that point to the location of your vCenter Server and Update Manager databases (whether it is remote or local) on the new 64 bit vCenter Server. You must do this manually.
Note: You must use a 64 bit DSN.”
Can you get that fixed?
duncan says
@Ceri : Just dropped them an email. (but you could also leave a comment on the KB Article)
Marcel Mertens says
Allways the same on the whole world.
New technical toy for the guys, tear off the toy wrap and start playing.
After a few days full of problems start reading the manual
Brandon says
I’m just curious how the upgrade of it works. Does it do a fair job of cleaning up the old install? I am thinking about just wiping my vCenter server and starting with a fresh 2008 r2 build now that it is supported.
Jase says
Dont forget when installing vCenter 4.1 on Server 2008 x64 R2 that you need the SQL Native Client drivers installed!
http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/4/D/44DBDE61-B385-4FC2-A67D-48053B8F9FAD/sqlncli_x64.msi
gogogo5 says
On page 29 of the VUM Install/Admin PDF it states:
“IMPORTANT Update Manager does not support Windows authentication of the database when the database is located on a different machine because of local system account issues. Make sure that if the Update Manager database is located on a remote machine, the database and the system DSN use SQL
Server authentication.”
I’ve read several blog posts and even Scott Lowe’s vSphere book that says you can change the VUM service from using the local system account to a domain service account (which has appropriate rights to the VUM DB). This enables you to use Windows Authentication against a remote VUM DB (and it works).
BUT – is this supported???
Chris says
I ended up with a problem when upgrading VUM.
We have a remote SQL for the vCenter DB.
-I made a backup of the vCenter config with the datamigration toolkit. (ignored VUM) therefore scratched my VUM repository
-Reinstalled my server to 64-bit
-Installed with datamigration toolkit and updated the database.
When installing VUM, I also updated the database.
After that I can’t download definitions. I think there’s a problem with having objects in the database but not in the repository.
Here’s my real problem…
I have VC & VUM in the same database(yeah, I know!). If I choose to “overwrite database” in the VUM installation, will everyting in the DB (including VC) be overwritten?
Can’t find anything in the documentation.
Igor Sela says
Hi All,
I have vSphere 4.0 Standart and I recently formatted the vCenter 4.0 server and installed a fresh installation of Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise.
I’ve succesefully installed vCenter 4.1 but I cannot install VUM 4.1 on the same server because it says that there is something wrong with the SQL Express 32-bit ODBC DSN !
I tried to install VUM 4.1 on another 32-bit machine (WinXP SP3 & WinSever 2003 SP2) and the installation says that VUM 4.1 can be installed only on 64-bit OS.
Now i’m confused … What can I do ???
Please help
Chris says
Igor:
On your 64-bit server, create a 32-bit ODBC DSN with odbc32.exe under:
C:\Windows\System32\odbcad32.exe
/chris
DrJubal says
Igor:
I think the 32-bit ODBC on the x64 system is actually here:
%systemdrive%\Windows\SysWoW64\Odbcad32.exe
Igor Sela says
How do I create it ?
Sorry for the trouble …
robert graham says
This is what I have in the registry and was able to install on server 2008R2 with SQL2008R2. I’ve named the DSN vCenterUpdateMgr and the database vCenterUpdateManager. Since I tried a hundred different things to get here, I’m not positive how I created this, but expect it was with the odbcad32.exe in either the system32 or, more likely, sysWOW64 directories. You must use the SQL Native driver.
HKLM/Software/Wow6432Node/ODBC/ODBC.INI/ODBC DATA SOURCES
Keys are:
(default) REG-SZ(value not set)
vCenterUpdateMgr REG-SZ SQL Server
HKLM/Software/Wow6432Node/ODBC/ODBC.INI/vCenterUpdateMgr
Keys are:
(default) REG-SZ (value not set)
Database REG-SZ vCenterUpdateManager
Server REG-SZ (local)
Trusted_Connection REG-SZ Yes
Driver REG-SZ C:\Windows\system32\sqlncli10.dll
Umran says
After much confusion and various attempts I ended up doing the following in order to progress the install of VCenter 4.1 on a Windows 2008 R2 OS hooked into SQL 2005.
*Download the 64 bit SQL native client and install.
1. Create an ODBC object (64 bit) under System DSN: %systemdrive%\Windows\System32\Odbcad32.exe and use this for the VCenter installation (it claims it needs a 64 bit ODBC object).
2. Create a 32 bit ODBC object by accessing the ODBC manager from %systemdrive%\Windows\SysWoW64\Odbcad32.exe (you would think its the opposite way around!) and install VUM.
Hope this helps as both executables are named the same and associated .dll’s are labelled as 32bit?
Willie says
I have followed all of these posts and my VUM installer still cannot see any DSNs. I know it is telling me I need a 32 bit DSN, but I am unable to install the 32bit feature pack for SQL on a 64 bit OS. Not surprised it won’t let me.
Any other suggestions?
Willie says
Nevermind, I found my issue. To anyone reading this, but sure to close your regular ODBC manager before opening the 32 bit version. It will only bring your current ODBC manager to the foreground.
Rick says
This works
Create a 64 bit DSN and a 32 bit DSN for the VUM using the same name. Be sure to close de ODCB configuration as metioned before.
Use c:\Windows\SysWoW64\Odbcad32.exe to create the 32 bit DSN.
If you now install VUM you will be able to select the database.
For VCDB you only need to create a 64 bit DSN.
Elfe says
What Umran and Rick say is correct. You only need a 64 bit DSN for vCenter Serverver.
For Update Manager you will need a 32 bit DSN.
Yuo must create both of them using the SQL native client 64 bit.
For create the 32 bit one, you must use the executable c:\Windows\SysWoW64\Odbcad32.exe
Browse for it and double click.
Daniel L says
And for ORACLE (even on Windows 2008 R2) you have to download and install the 32bit clinet.
Abhishek Dadarya says
I am not able to install sql server 2005 enterprise edition on windows server 2003 X64 edition.While installing in the end i got the error “Unable to start SQL database service”.Please guide me how to install.
Bobby R says
Hi All,
When using an Oracle DB, I installed an Oracle 64-bit client, and created a 64-bit DSN for VCDB.
My question now is, if I need to install VUM on the same VC server, I need to create a 32-bit DSN, does it means that I need to install a 32-bit Oracle client? Can I install both 32- and 64-bit client on a system?
Goldy says
Bobby R did you have luck installing both the 32bit and 64bit oracle client on the same server? I am running into this issue as well and not sure its oracle best practice to install both 32 and 64bit clients on the same server.
nithin says
even though the VUM and the server on which the VUM wil be installed are 64 bits, VUM needs a 32 bit DSN. It is just for the backward compatability.
You can find this in Syswow64\odbc32…
run this and create a DSN of 32 bit.
the drivers have been installed during the installation of the OS no matter its oracle or Mysql.
Use the native client and things should be good to go…
Technical Consultant,
Hewlett-Packard
David Hesse says
OK,
I have used the native client coming with the OS (Microsoft ODBC for Oracle)and I have used the Drivers installed by the 32bit Oracle Client for 11g
and created 2 32bit System DSNs for the Update Manager DB Connection to the remote Oracle DB and ran the Update Manager Installer.
Finally the Update Manager Installer picked up my 32bit System DSN I had created using the drivers provided by the 32Bit Oracle Client, but only after a couple of additionsl steps that were not documented clearly.
Had to run the Oracle Net Configuration Assistent configuring the local net service name and specifying username and password of the Database and testing the connection. Only after this worked I was able to configure and test my ODBC connection and finally the test was successful.
David Hesse says
I am facing the same problem with VUM trying to connect to en external Oracle Database.
I created a 64bit ODBC DSN vor the vCenter Database using the Oracle drivers installed by the 64 bit Oracle Client
I had installed the 64bit and the 32bit Oracle Client. I pointed the vCenter Server Installer to the newly created 64 bit ODBC System DSN for the vCenter DB and it worked. The vCenter Server picked up the correct ODBC System DSN and connected to the Oracle Database.
After I had finished the vCenter Server Installation I ran the the istaller vor Update Manager and when it came to the point where you have to select your ODBC System DSN the VUM installer does not detect my 32bit ODBC System DSN that I had created specificly for Update Manager, using the 32bit verson located in C:\Windows\SysWoW64\Odbcad32.exe.
I am running out of ideas and patience trying to get VUM picking up the correct ODBC. The VUM installer only sees an older ODBC entry that I had previously created for vCenter Server and later deleted and which is not even existing anymore on the system, but does not see the new and correct one for VUM.
There are many contradicting documentations out there, even within the official well known VMware documentation channels and the KB. This is very frustrating! The Documentaion mess should get fixed.
Can anyone who is using an external Oracle DB for both, vCenter Server and VUM provide me with a proper step by step instruction on how to get this done? VMware apparently can’t.
Paul Maney says
@ gogogo5:
VUM installation using ODBC w/ Windows authentication
Commenting on kind of an old post, but thought I’d add a little something extra that may help someone who gets here from Google.
Yes, you can use a 32 bit Windows Authentication ODBC connection to connect to a remote VUM database by changing the account that the VUM service runs as, but what about installation? If you are logged on as username JoeAdmin and run the VUM installer it will by default try to connect to the VUM database during VUM installation as the currently logged on user (JoeAdmin), but if you’ve set the VUM and MSDB database owners to a service account (svc-vum), the installation will fail.
The workaround = browse the VUM install media to D:\VMware VIM\updateManager\VMware-UpdateManager.exe then Shift+Right Click this exe and choose “Run As Different User”. Enter the svc-vum account credentials and your VUM installation (and consequently the ODBC connection that the installer launches) will run under this user context…win!