How to Rename or Change VMware vCenter Hostname

Why Would I Change My vCenter Server Hostname

vCenter system naming standards are enforced for both Linux and Windows operating systems. When the vCenter Servers for Windows are upgraded and migrated to the VCSA, the migration process preserves the FQDN of the older Windows Server as it stands up the newly deployed vCenter Server appliance with the same name. Before and after migration, customers struggle with the requirement of updating FQDN and hostnames for the new vCenter Server as it is no longer a Windows Server and should follow different naming standards per operating system type.

You need to change your vCenter hostname in these scenarios. Since VMware vSphere 6.7 Update 3 came out, it's available to change the vCenter hostname. The feature is a time-saving tool for any IT administrator and can also be helpful to support mergers & acquisitions where server naming conventions may differ between firms.

Requisites of Changing vCenter Hostname

Before you start changing vCenter FQDN & hostname, you should know that the following requirements:

• Backup All vCenter servers that are in the SSO domain before changing vCenter hostname.
• Ensure the new DNS A record is created before starting the activity.
• If using vCenter High Availability, ensure this feature is disabled/destroyed.
• Unregister all those applications first, after your FQDN is changed, and then re-register them back with your vCenter.

How to Change vCenter Hostname (FQDN) Step by Step

The following steps are guiding you to change the FQDN of vCenter Serve.

1. Connect to the VCSA via the VAMI interface with port 5480, and login to with the ‘root’ administrator account.

2. On Summary page, access to Networking and review the hostname displayed.

3. Under Network Settings, click Edit.

4. Select the network adapter from the new wizard. Then click Next.

5. change the vCenter Server’s hostname or FQDN.

6. Enter your SSO administrator credentials for the vCenter Server.

NOTE: Do not use the ‘root’ account login for this action.

After that, make sure you have made a backup of vCenter Server since there will be some downtime during the reconfiguration process due to all the dependencies, such as the internal PostgreSQL database.

7. Review the changes to the vCenter Server’s Hostname & DNS settings. Then scroll down to check the acknowledgment that a vCenter Server backup has been taken, as well as unregistering any extensions. Please note the additional actions in Next Steps. Finally, click Finish.

The requested Network changes (FQDN/IP) will begin by stopping services, updating certificates, modifying the registry & network settings, etc.

Once complete, you'll be automatically redirected to the Virtual Appliance Management Interface (VAMI) on port 5480 within 10 seconds, and then check that everything is as expected.

Note: Changing the Hostname of the vCenter Server can have a significant impact on other services and settings if you mix up the steps or make a mistake. That's why, throughout the article, we emphasize that you should make a valid backup of your vCenter Server. Also, make sure to validate all third-party software after you have made the FQDN change.

Important: Secure Backup for vCenter VM Protection

vCenter can manage a large number of virtual machines, but to offer complete VM protection, many IT staff prefer a specialized backup software such as AOMEI Cyber Backup, a VMware backup software, which is professional and reliable for virtual machine backup.

With AOMEI Cyber Backup, you can enjoy these features easily.

✦ Agentless Backup: create complete and independent image-level backup for VMware ESXi and Hyper-V VMs.
✦ Flexible& vSphere Backup: batch backup large numbers of VMs managed by vCenter Server, or multiple VMs on a standalone ESXi host.
✦ Multiple Storage Destinations: backup to local drive, or network destinations like Windows share or NAS.
✦ Automated Execution: schedule to automate backups daily, weekly, or monthly with email notifications.
✦ Role Assignment: allows one administrator to create sub-accounts with limited privileges.

AOMEI Cyber Backup supports VMware ESXi 6.0 and later versions. Next, I will show you how to perform vSphere backup and restore via AOMEI Cyber Backup. You can click the following button to download the 30-day free trial.

*You can choose to install this VM backup software on either Windows or Linux system.

4 easy steps vCenter backup VM via AOMEI Cyber Backup

1. Bind Devices: Access to AOMEI Cyber Backup web client, navigate to Source Device > VMware > + Add VMware Device to Add vCenter or Standalone ESXi host. And then click … > Bind Device.

2. Create Backup Task: Navigate to Backup Task, + Create New Task, and then set Task Name, Backup Type, Device, Target, Schedule, and Cleanup.

• Device: batch select large numbers of VMs managed by vCenter Server for centralized backup.

• Target: select to back up to a local path, or to a network path.
• Schedule (optional): perform full, differential, or incremental backup, and automate execution according to the frequency you specified.

• Cleanup (optional): automatically delete the old backup copies that exceed the retention period you specified.

3. Run Backup: Click Start Backup and select Add the schedule and start backup now, or Add the schedule only.

Created backup tasks will be listed and monitored separately, for restoring, progress checking and schedule changing.

When restoring, you can also restore to new location to create a new VM in the same or another datastore/host directly from the backup, saving the trouble of re-configuring the new VM.

Summary

Hostname change is a popular feature in VMware. However, this feature was not supported on the previous versions of vCenter. However, you can change the FQDN from 6.7 Update 3 onwards. When changing vCenter hostname, please follow the steps in this article, as well as the notes.