vCenter Server Fell Out of Linked Mode

In prepping for the vCO book, one of the things I tested out was Linked-Mode vCenters. Once I discovered the vCO plug-in would not support linked-mode vCenters in the way I was expecting, I deleted the VM that was hosting vCenter02… this lead to the following in my vSphere client:

vCenter Server not connected

What? But I am connected to vCenter?! When clicked, you’ll see a message like this:

Fixing it

Unfortunately, the VMware installer for vCenter & Linked-Mode will only remove a defunct vCenter while said vCenter is still online. Thankfully, VMware provides this KB on the matter.

1. Log into vCenter (in my case the first one)
2. Start ADSI Edit
1. Start > All Programs > Admin Tools > ADSI Edit
   
2. Connect to
   
3. Use this string to connect:
   dc=virtualcenter,dc=vmware,dc=int
4. Use the server name, for a connection settings window that looks like this:
   
5. Drill to OU=Instances:
   
6. Right click a CN=, click properties, select filter, then “Show only attributes that have values”
   
7. Then, for each CN till you find the broken one, repeat step 6. When you find it:
   
8. Delete it, close ADSI Edit, restart VI Client.