VMware vCenter 5.1 Installation: Part 10 (Create VUM DSN)

In Part 9 of the vCenter 5.1 Installation series we performed some optional SSO configuration. Now that vCenter 5.1 is installed and you can access it via the Web Client, it is now time to install VUM. VUM, known as VMware Update Manager, lets you automate the patching process of ESXi hosts, update VMware tools, and also update some VM appliances.

You still have to manage VUM via the legacy Windows vSphere client, as VMware did not make a plug-in for the Web Client. I would strongly suspect vSphere .Next will have a web integrated VUM client.

The first step to get VUM working is creating the ODBC DSN that the installer will use to connect to the database. Unlike vCenter which uses a 64-bit DSN, VUM uses a 32-bit DSN. So the PowerShell script below has been modified from the vCenter script to create a 32-bit DSN, otherwise the script is the same as the one I presented for vCenter. Note: Windows Server 2012 does not support 32-bit DSNs, so VMware will have to finally upgrade VUM to 64-bit when they decide to support Windows Server 2012. Hopefully that's in vSphere v.Next.

1. The 32-bit VUM DSN can be created manually through the 32-bit ODBC GUI, but for consistency I like to script it, so I've included a sample PowerShell script below. I saved the script as VUM-DSN.ps1. The script requires two arguments, the first one is the FQDN of the SQL server and the second is the VUM database name, enclosed in quotes if it has spaces in it. Run the script from an elevated PowerShell command window. Back when we created the vCenter database, the script I provided also created the VUM database.

NOTE: If you have configured your SQL server to allow encrypted connections you can change the Encrypt value to YES. If want a quick guide on configuring SQL transport encryption you can check out my article here. Again, for security I would strongly suggest you use SQL SSL encryption.

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## Creates a 32-bit System DSN for VUM

$DSNName = $args[1]
$DBName = $args[1]

If($args[0] -eq $NULL) { echo "Must specify FQDN of SQL server."; Exit}
If($args[1] -eq $NULL) { echo "Must specify Database name."; Exit}

$HKLMPath1 = "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\ODBC\ODBC.INI\" + $DSNName
$HKLMPath2 = "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\ODBC\ODBC.INI\ODBC Data Sources"

md $HKLMPath1 -ErrorAction silentlycontinue
set-itemproperty -path $HKLMPath1 -name Driver -value "C:\WINDOWS\system32\sqlncli10.dll"
set-itemproperty -path $HKLMPath1 -name Description -value $DSNName
set-itemproperty -path $HKLMPath1 -name Server -value $args[0]
set-itemproperty -path $HKLMPath1 -name LastUser -value "Administrator"
set-itemproperty -path $HKLMPath1 -name Trusted_Connection -value "Yes"
set-itemproperty -path $HKLMPath1 -name Encrypt -value "No"
set-itemproperty -path $HKLMPath1 -name Database -value $DBName

md $HKLMPath2 -ErrorAction silentlycontinue
set-itemproperty -path $HKLMPath2 -name "$DSNName" -value "SQL Server Native Client 10.0"

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2. I would recommend you validate that the ODBC connector is working before starting the VUM installer. To launch the 32-bit (not 64-bit) ODBC Source Administrator open an elevated command prompt and type:

c:\windows\syswow64\odbcad32.exe


3. When the ODBC Administrator appears click on System DSN and you should see the VUM DSN the script created.

Click on the Configure button and run through the wizard (without changing any settings) and you should arrive at the summary screen below. In my case I require data encryption, so that option is set to Yes. Since most people probably don't have SQL setup for encryption (you should!) this will be a No for you.

Click on Test Data Source.. and you should see a successful connection message. If you have configured SQL transport encryption it will also note that the connection was encrypted and that the server certificate was validated (not self-signed).

Congratulations! You are now ready to start the installation process for VUM, which is covered in Part 11.