During installation or upgrading of vCenter Server 6.0, you can:

These join operations are intended for external Platform Services Controllers. However, the installer does not validate whether the Platform Services Controller is external or embedded with vCenter Server.

Though many types of join operations are possible, not all resulting configurations are recommended.

For vSphere 6.5, see Supported and deprecated topologies for VMware vSphere 6.5 (2147672).

Composition	Backup process supported
1 Single Sign-On domain 1 Single Sign-On site 1 vCenter Server with embedded Platform Services Controller	Yes Backing Up and Restoring vCenter Server
1 Single Sign-On domain 1 Single Sign-On site 1 external Platform Services Controllers 1 or more vCenter Server with external Platform Services Controllers	Yes Backing Up and Restoring a vCenter Server Environment with a Single External Platform Services Controller
1 Single Sign-On domain 1 or more Single Sign-On sites 2 or more external Platform Services Controllers 2 or more vCenter Server with external Platform Services Controller	Yes Backing Up and Restoring a vCenter Server Environment with Multiple Platform Services Controller Instances
1 Single Sign-On domain 1 Single Sign-On site 2 or more external Platform Services Controllers 1 or more vCenter Server with external Platform Services Controllers 1 third-party load balancer	Yes Backing Up and Restoring a vCenter Server Environment with Multiple Platform Services Controller Instances
1 Single Sign-On domain 2 Single Sign-On sites 2 or more external Platform Services Controllers 1 or more vCenter Server with external Platform Services Controllers 2 third-party load balancers Note: The dotted line in the image above indicates the Platform Services Controller's site that is defined at installation.	Yes Backing Up and Restoring a vCenter Server Environment with Multiple Platform Services Controller Instances
1 Single Sign-On domain 2 Single Sign-On sites 2 or more external Platform Services Controllers 1 or more vCenter Server with external Platform Services Controllers Note: The dotted line in the image above indicates the Platform Services Controller's site that is defined at installation.	Yes Backing Up and Restoring a vCenter Server Environment with Multiple Platform Services Controller Instances

Deprecated topologies

Topologies that are deprecated and will be unsupported in the future. These topologies are not recommended:

Composition	Backup process supported
1 Single Sign-On domain 1 or more Single Sign-On sites 2 or more vCenter Server with embedded Platform Services Controller	None
1 Single Sign-On domain 1 or more Single Sign-On sites 0 external Platform Services Controllers 1 or more vCenter Server with external Platform Services Controllers 1 or more vCenter Server with embedded Platform Services Controller	None
1 Single Sign-On domain 1 or more Single Sign-On sites 1 or more external Platform Services Controllers 1 or more vCenter Server with external Platform Services Controllers 1 or more vCenter Server with embedded Platform Services Controllers	None

Changing topology

When performing one of these operations:

• Joining a vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller to a Platform Services Controller during installation or upgrading
• Joining an external Platform Services Controller to a Platform Services Controller during installation or upgrading

The installer displays a warning that these types of join operations cannot be changed after the installation or upgrading process. If you have deployed one of the topologies that are not recommended, the operation cannot be undone. You are required to re-install vSphere 6.0 using one of the preceding listed recommended topologies.

For more information about migrating ESXi hosts and virtual machine to an alternative vCenter Server instance, see:

• How to move ESXi/ESX host from one vCenter Server to another (1004775)
• Moving an ESXi/ESX host with vDS from one vCenter Server to another (1029498)

Upgrades:

There are several configurations of vSphere 5.1 and 5.5 that may be upgraded to one of the topologies that are not recommended. These include, but are not limited to:

• Two or more vCenter Server and vCenter Single Sign-On (SSO) services installed on the same machine on the same SSO domain.
• An environment with these servers on the same SSO domain:
  • One or more vCenter Server and vCenter SSO installed on the same machine
  • One or more vCenter SSO installed on a dedicated machine
  • One or more vCenter Server on a dedicated machine

If you have one of the preceding vSphere 5.1 or 5.5 topologies, you may be required to do one of these options:

• Re-install the vSphere 5.1 or 5.5 using one of the recommended topologies in advance of the upgrade. For information on registering components in this method, see Re-pointing and re-registering VMware vCenter Server 5.1 / 5.5 and components (2033620).
• Install vSphere 6.0 using one of the preceding recommended topologies.

For more information about migrating ESXi hosts and virtual machine to an alternative vCenter Server instance, see:

• Moving a managed ESXi/ESX host from one VirtualCenter Server/vCenter Server to another Virtual Center Server/vCenter Server (1004775)
• Moving an ESXi/ESX host with vDS from one vCenter Server to another (1029498)