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You are here: Home / VCSA / Which Platform Services Controller (PSC) is my vCenter Server pointing to?

Which Platform Services Controller (PSC) is my vCenter Server pointing to?

09.21.2015 by William Lam // 15 Comments

In vSphere 6.0 Update 1, one of the new features that is available for both the vCenter Server for Windows and vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) is the ability to "repoint" the vCenter Server to a new or existing Platform Services Controller (PSC). The process is pretty straight forward and is nicely outlined in the following KB articles: KB 2113917 and KB 2131191.

One obvious question that might come up before you decide to repoint is what is the current PSC that my vCenter Server is currently pointing to? This was actually a question that I had just received this morning from one of my readers. Though I had some of the details documented in these two articles here and here on locating all deployed PSC's and vCenter Server's, I figured it was probably worth pulling this topic out into its own blog post for ease of searching.

Note: The solution below is applicable to both vSphere 6.0 and vSphere 6.0 Update 1, but the ability to repoint is only available in Update 1.

There are two methods in which you can quickly identify the PSC that your vCenter Server is currently pointing to.

Option 1: Using the vSphere Web/C# Client

Under the vCenter Server's Advanced Setting, there is a property called "config.vpxd.sso.admin.uri" which specifies the PSC it is currently configured with. This is the most simplistic approach if you want to do it using the vSphere UI. Also note this is available through the vSphere API, so you can also query this from the command-line

which-psc-is-my-vcenter-server-connected-to-2
Option 2: Using vmafd-cli command-line

The second option is to use the handy vmafd-cli utility which is avialable on the vCenter Server itself. You will need to run the following command depending on your vCenter Server platform (Windows or VCSA):

VCSA:

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vmafd-cli get-ls-location --server-name localhost

Windows VC:

C:\Program Files\VMware\vCenter Server\vmafdd\vmafd-cli get-ls-location --server-name localhost

Here is a screenshot of running the command on the VCSA:

which-psc-is-my-vcenter-server-connected-to-0

More from my site

  • vCenter Server 6.0 Tidbits Part 2: What is my SSO Domain Name & Site Name?
  • Generating vCenter Server & Platform Services Controller deployment topology diagrams
  • How to change the default ports on the vCenter Server Appliance in vSphere 6.0?
  • VMworld Session VCSA INF5975 & INF4528 available to public
  • vCenter Server 6.0 Tidbits Part 10: Automating SSO Admin configurations

Categories // VCSA, vSphere 6.0 Tags // platform service controller, psc, vCenter Server, vcenter server appliance, VCSA, vcva, vmafd-cli, vSphere 6.0, vSphere 6.0 Update 1

Comments

  1. *protectedGanadmin says

    09/21/2015 at 5:49 pm

    Thanks it helped me lot..

    Reply
  2. *protectedDavei says

    09/21/2015 at 5:59 pm

    I was given this just today for VCSA 6.0.0 by support -

    /opt/likewise/bin/lwregshell ls "[HKEY_THIS_MACHINE\Services\vmafd\Parameters]" | grep DCName | awk '{print $2,$NF}'

    Reply
  3. *protectedSuresh Dhanaraj says

    09/22/2015 at 5:14 am

    Nice article as you always do

    Reply
  4. *protectedRajeev says

    10/02/2015 at 11:21 am

    Is there a way to know new VCs which join the already setup PSC/SSO domain?

    Reply
    • William Lam says

      10/02/2015 at 2:22 pm

      Yes, take a look at these two articles:
      http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2015/04/vcenter-server-6-0-tidbits-part-4-finding-all-deployed-vcenter-servers.html
      http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2015/05/vcenter-server-6-0-tidbits-part-7-connecting-to-ssopsc-using-jexplorer.html

      Reply
  5. *protectedLloyd says

    03/21/2016 at 4:51 am

    There is a Typo in the line:
    Under the vCenter Server's Advanced Setting, there is a property called "config.vpx.sso.admin.uri" which specifies.... etc...

    Missed the d out of vpxd

    Should be property called "config.vpxd.sso.admin.uri" which....

    Reply
    • William Lam says

      03/21/2016 at 6:24 am

      Thanks for the catch. Typo fixed

      Reply
  6. *protectedSuma says

    04/22/2016 at 12:16 am

    Thanks it helped me. Simple & clear

    Reply
  7. *protecteda says

    06/10/2016 at 9:58 am

    Thank you!! Keep the good work going, I like your work a lot

    Reply
  8. *protectedPratik says

    09/01/2016 at 2:00 am

    Hello William;

    Your blog was really helpful. But I would like to understand is it possible that we can point the vCenter VCVA 6.0 to external PSC at the same time?

    Reply
  9. *protectedChnobs says

    11/18/2016 at 10:52 am

    We cannot repoint vCenter to another external PSC in vSphere 6.5

    Caution: This operation is no longer supported in vSpher 6.5 and running these steps can cause permanent damage. per KB 2113917

    Chnobs

    Reply
    • *protectedgeforce256 says

      12/09/2016 at 12:31 pm

      Only between sites. If you deploy your PSCs in the same SSO Domain it should be possible.

      Reply
  10. *protectedgeforce256 says

    12/09/2016 at 12:39 pm

    With PowerCLI:

    $vCenterServer = Get-VIServer vCenter.mydomain
    Get-AdvancedSetting -Entity $vCenterServer -Name config.vpxd.sso.admin.uri

    Very Nice, thank you William!

    Reply
  11. *protectedNicolas says

    07/03/2017 at 3:07 am

    Good job !

    But, do you know a solution to find which PSC is active behind a Load Balancer ?

    In my case, I have:

    PSC 1: psc1.domain.corp
    PSC 2: psc2.domain.corp
    VIP : vip.domain.corp
    vCenter: vcenter01.domain.corp

    I my vCenter, if I launch this command:
    vmafd-cli get-ls-location --server-name localhost

    I obtain:

    https://vip.domain.corp...

    I don't have access to my Load Balancer, it's an other service who manage it...

    Thanks !

    Nicolas

    Reply
  12. *protectedNick says

    12/01/2017 at 4:51 pm

    How to check how many vcenter's are registered on an external psc. basically need to remove the stale entry from the sso.

    Reply

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William is Distinguished Platform Engineering Architect in the VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Division at Broadcom. His primary focus is helping customers and partners build, run and operate a modern Private Cloud using the VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) platform.

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