Make sure to have a reverse DNS zone configured for the domain controllers, vCenter, and the SQL server. While this doesn’t have to be a Windows hosted DNS zone, that’s what I normally see and use.
During the install process, the installer does a reverse lookup when you enter the FQDN of a server. If that fails, a box warns about a failed nslookup of the IP (reverse lookup). This is a good clue that your reverse lookup zone is either not configured or does not contain PTR entries for the servers.
Avoid the Simple Install OptionThe Simple Install process is used to turn the now three step update process (SSO, Inventory Service, and vCenter Server) into a one click operation. I tried it for the first time because my lab is small enough to host all of these services on a single VM. However, I found that it’s sort of like a train that keeps on flying down the tracks regardless of any issues. My vCenter server was a smoking crater that was so goobered up that I wasn’t even able to log back in with anything short of my vCenter local Administrator account. I ended up restoring my database from backup and rolling back my snapshot on the VM.
Note: Make sure to take a database backup and snapshot (or backup) your vCenter server
On the next attempt I used the three installers in a serial fashion: first the SSO installer, then Inventory Service, and finally the vCenter Server. This allowed more granular control over the process even though I was doing it all to the same server.
