Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
SQL Server Permissions
Not only will most database administrators cringe at the thought of overextending privileges to
an SQL Server computer, but also it is not good practice to do so. As a strong security practice, it is
best to minimize the permissions of each account that accesses the SQL Server computer. h erefore,
in the case of the vCenter Server installation procedure, you will need to grant an SQL Server user
account to the db_owner membership on the MSDB database. However, after the installation is
complete, this role membership can and should be removed. Normal day-to-day operation of and
access to the vCenter Server database does not require this permission. It is a temporary require-
ment only needed for the installation of vCenter Server.
Configuring the IDBC DSN
After your database is set up, you can create the ODBC DSN to be used with the vCenter Server
installation wizard. SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 require the use of the SQL Native
Client. Because vCenter Server requires SQL Server 2005 or 2008, you're required to use the
SQL Native Client. If you do not i nd the SQL Native Client option while creating the ODBC
DSN, you can download it from Microsoft's website or install it from the SQL Server installation
media.
After the SQL Native Client has been installed—if it wasn't installed already—then you are
ready to create the ODBC DSN that vCenter Server uses to connect to the SQL Server instance
hosting its database. This ODBC DSN must be created on the computer where vCenter Server
will be installed.
Do I Need a -bit Data Source Name or a !-bit Data Source Name?
vCenter Server 5.5 requires a supported 64-bit version of Windows and also requires the use of a
64-bit DSN.
Perform the following steps to create an ODBC DSN to an SQL Server 2005/2008 database:
1.
Log onto the computer where vCenter Server will be installed later.
You need to log on with an account that has administrative permissions on that
computer.
2.
Open the Data Sources (ODBC) applet from the Administrative Tools menu.
3.
Select the System DSN tab.
4.
Click the Add button.
5.
Select the SQL Native Client from the list of available drivers, and click the Finish button.
If the SQL Native Client is not in the list, you can download it from Microsoft's website or
install it from the SQL Server installation media.
Go back and install the SQL Native Client; then restart this process.
