What does resetting the vCenter Inventory Service database do?

What does resetting the vCenter Inventory Service database mean exactly?

[Update: Additional Info added thanks to anonymous feedback]
  1. In 5.0, this simply is the search/index function in the vSphere Client, previously handled by the Tomcat service.  So going through the reset steps outlined here, should cause little to no grief.
    • You could attempt the restore steps, but I don't really see a point in doing so in 5.0
    • You usually need to go through the reset steps if the client's search begin to slow down and you get "Operation Timed Out Errors"
  2. In 5.1, this database seems to now house the 'tags' info feature.
    1. This is where it's now important that you have backups because resetting the database effectively wipes out all your entered 'tags' from existence.
Things affected by resetting inventory service database:
o vCenter tags (version 5.1+ only)
o Storage Profiles
o Storage Capabilities
o Index of which VMs have which Storage Profile assigned

This particular service was introduced in vSphere 5.0.
In 5.1 one you are able to separate it from the vCenter server.

Bottom line:
It becomes very important to begin backing up the Inventory Service database in 5.1.  If you are using Storage Profiles in 5.0, then the Inventory Service is equally important for backups.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I tested some things out, and the 5.0 Inventory Service database contains more data than you listed. This is what I confirmed, but this may be incomplete:

o vCenter tags (version 5.1+ only)
o Storage Profiles
o Storage Capabilities
o Index of which VMs have which Storage Profile assigned
November 15, 2013 at 7:52 AM
Zsoldier said…
Thanks for the additional info. :)
November 15, 2013 at 8:20 AM
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