When you uninstall the System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) 2008 R2 server, you have the option of removing or retaining your database. You can reinstall the VMM server using the retained database and resume managing virtual machines in the same host environment.

Caution
Before uninstalling a VMM server that uses a remote VMM database that you want to retain and reuse, ensure that the remote SQL service is running and that the SQL service is using an administrator account. Otherwise, the VMM server role will not be removed from the database and reinstallation will fail.

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 software and hardware requirements, see System Requirements: VMM Server.

Use the following procedure to reinstall VMM with a retained database. To perform this procedure, you must have administrator privileges on the computer.

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

   Important
   If you setup 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 Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) page, click Yes to participate in, or No to opt out of, the CEIP.

4. 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.

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

6. On the SQL Server Settings page, do the following:

   1. Ensure that the Use a supported version of SQL Server option is selected.
      
      
   2. Enter the Server name, user domain and credentials (if you are using a domain account), the SQL instance name, and the Database name of the retained database.
      
      

      Important

      If you used a domain account for the VMM database when you originally installed the VMM server, you must use the same domain account to reinstall the VMM server with the retained database. 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 (http://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.

   3. Clear the Create a new database check box, and then click Next.
      
      

7. On the Library Share Settings page, select the option to either create a new library share on the VMM server or use an existing share on the VMM server as a library share.

   Important
   After Setup is complete, you can add other library servers; 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.

8. On the Installation Settings page, in the Ports area, type the ports that you want to use for the VMM server connections, and, 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 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.
     
     

     Note

     If you use a domain account for the VMM service account, it is strongly recommended that you create an account that is specifically designated to be used 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 the same account for the VMM service account that you use for configuring a remote SQL Server for the VMM database.

     Important

     If you are using a disjointed namespace, which occurs when the computer's primary Domain Name System (DNS) suffix does not match the domain of which it is a member, you must use an account other than the Local system account. For more information about a disjointed namespace, go to Naming conventions in Active Directory for computers, domains, sites, and OUs (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=123886).

   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 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=128912).

9. 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.
     
     

10. 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.
      
      

11. Follow the instructions for installing the VMM Administrator Console, and then connect it to the new VMM server. For more information, see Installing the VMM Administrator Console.

12. In the VMM Administrator Console, perform the following steps:

    1. In Host view, click one or more hosts, and then, in the Actions pane, click Refresh. Repeat this step for all hosts.
       
       
    2. In Library view, click one or more library servers, and then, in the Actions pane, click Refresh. Repeat this step for all library servers.
       
       
    3. In Administration view, click Managed Computers. All hosts and library servers that were previously managed by VMM will have an agent version status of Access Denied.
       
       
    4. Select one or more hosts or library servers with an agent communication status of Access Denied, and then, in the Actions pane, click Reassociate.
       
       

       Note
       So that performance is not adversely affected, it is recommended that you update hosts in batches of 10 to 25.

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 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=119337).

See Also