Installing vCenter 5.1
This recipe will focus on the steps needed to perform a fresh/new installation of vCenter Server 5.1 on a Windows machine.
Getting ready
Let's take a look at the pre-install checks that need to be performed:
Check the vCenter Server software requirements.
Check the ESX server compatibility.
Check the database compatibility.
Back up the SSL certificates.
We won't be discussing these checks here since these were discussed in the Upgrading vCenter Server section in Chapter 1, Upgrading to vSphere 5.1.
You could download the vCenter Server installation bundle from the following download page:
https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/info/slug/datacenter_cloud_infrastructure/vmware_vsphere/5_1
The download item would be listed as VMware vCenter Server 5.1 and modules. The download is available in both ISO and ZIP archives.
If you start the installation on a Windows machine that already has a previous version of vCenter Server installed, then the installation wizard will not provide you...