If you’re running a vCenter server in combination with the free SQL 2005 Express Edition which is installed by default, there are a few drawbacks. The first problem is sizing, the SQL 2005 express database cannot grow above the 4 Gb limit. You can use the database calculator to check if the number of ESX servers and virtual machines will fit into the 4 Gb. The second drawback is the absence of an SQL agent which can be used to create a scheduled backup for your vCenter database. I’ve found a little free tool which is capable of creating a scheduled backup of the vCenter database even though it’s hosted on the SQL 2005 Express edition.
The SQLScheduler v0.2.0.0 – Beta is a fully functional client/server application written in C# that allows administrators to schedule various SQL jobs for SQL Server Express and other versions of SQL Server. The server component (SQLScheduler.WindowsService.exe) is a Windows service that is responsible for executing jobs and sending success or failure notifications to server operators. SQLScheduler.exe is a graphical front-end that allows to easily schedule different jobs.
