Creating a Virtualization Client for the VMware vCenter

Create a virtualization client for each vCenter.

To perform backup operations, each virtualization client can include multiple proxies where the Virtual Server Agent is installed. The virtualization client also enables proxy teaming, enabling proxy failovers for fault tolerant backups. Using multiple proxies for each virtualization client makes it possible to perform backups for a large number of virtual machines in a limited backup window.

Note

To support a division of responsibilities within a vCenter, you can add multiple virtualization clients for a vCenter as described in Adding a Custom User with Limited Scope.

Before You Begin

Install the Virtual Server Agent on each computer that will serve as a proxy for backups and restores.
Verify that vCenter permissions are configured as described in Permissions for Custom User Accounts.
Verify that the vSphere password for the hypervisor does not contain any of the following special characters or any non-ASCII characters: ampersand (&), semicolon (;), double quotation mark ("), single quotation mark ('), caret (^), backslash (\), percentage sign (%), left angle bracket (<), right angle bracket (>).

For more information, see the VMware KB article vSphere 5.5 Single Sign-On Issues due to Special Characters in administrator@vsphere.local password (2060637).
Verify that names of virtual machines and datastores do not contain the following special characters:
```
+   &   @   %   =   #   %   *   $   #   !   \   /   :   *   ?   "   <   >   |   ;   '
```

Procedure

From the CommCell Browser, right-click Client Computers, and then go to New Client > Virtualization > VMware vCenter.
Enter the vCenter Host Name.

To create a virtualization client for a standalone ESX server, enter the IP address and the user credentials for the ESX server.

To use a port number that is not default, append the port number to the host name. For example, if the host name is vc.commvault.com, and you want to use port number 1500, enter vc.commvault.com:1500.
To provide access to the vCenter, choose to do one of the following:
- Manually enter user credentials
  
  In the Username and Password boxes, enter the user credentials to provide administrative access to access the vCenter.
  
  Note
  
  Do not include a colon (:) character in the password.
- Use saved credential
  
  Select the Use saved credential check box, and then select a credential from the list of those available.
  
  The credentials listed are applicable to this client server.
  
  To create a new credential (with a Windows account type), beside Credentials, click Create new, and then enter a name for the new credential, the user name, and the password to provide administrative access to the client server. For more information, see Credential Manager.
From the Storage Policy list, select a storage policy to associate with the virtualization client.

The storage policy you select is also associated with the default subclient that is created automatically for the virtualization client.
Click Add to select a proxy for backup.
Add VSA proxies:

After adding a virtualization client in V11, you can only specify VSA proxies that are also V11.
1. Select one or more proxies from the Exclude list.
  
  The list displays all clients that have the Virtual Server Agent installed and all client groups. You can select one or more clients or client groups. When you select a client group, at least one client in the group must have the Virtual Server Agent installed.
2. Click Include or Include All.
  
  You can change the order of the proxies in the list by clicking the up arrow or down arrow . The first proxy in the list is the coordinator proxy.
3. Click OK.
Click OK.

Result

A VMware vCenter client is created and displayed under the Client Computers node in the CommCell Console. By default, the client display name is same as the vCenter Host Name; but you can change the client display name later.