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VMware vCenter Server 5.1 start up may take longer than previous versions (2034975)

Purpose

Some customers may encounter increased restart times with the newly released vCenter Server 5.1. The impact on vCenter Server start time is proportional to a factor of the number of permissions created and the number of users to whom these permissions are assigned.
 
This issue only impacts the start/restart time for vCenter Server. It does not affect the ongoing operations after vCenter Server has started. In fact, due to improvements to the vCenter Server database, the use of vSphere Web Client, the Inventory Service cache, customers will notice significant performance improvements in vCenter Server 5.1.

Resolution

This issue has been resolved in VMware vCenter Server 5.1.0a released 2012-10-25. To download this version, go to the VMware vSphere download site.

VMware vCenter Server permissions can be expressed as a 3-tuple:

<role, object, user/group>

During (re)start, vCenter Server checks each permission and for each permission checks the validity of the user or group associated that permission. This contributes to the cost of vCenter Server startup as follows:

(# of Permissions) X (# of users or groups associated with these permissions) X (time taken to check each user identity)

Why were vCenter restarts faster in 5.0?

vCenter Server used the operating system’s ability to actively cache information for all users at startup which did not have a significant impact on startup time.

Why does it slow down in 5.1?

In 5.1 there is an external service, vCenter Single Sign On, (SSO), that handles authentication to external sources of identity (such as Active Directory). This means the check for users must traverse the network. Additionally, SSO does not cache information as aggressively as the operating system did. This can increase the time needed to check each user. The total time for startup is increased by the multiplication of these factors.

What is being done to address startup times?

VMware is in the process of developing an update to improve vCenter Server startup time for customers who are likely to be impacted.

Additional Information

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Related Education

For related information see the Known Issues section in the VMware vSphere 5.1 Release Notes.

Update History

11/02/2012 - Added issue resolved with link to download site

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