---
title: "Connecting VMware vSphere Servers"
description: "To collect data about VMware vSphere infrastructure objects, you must configure connections to VMware vSphere servers. Only connections to vCenter Servers are supported."
canonical: "https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vro/userguide/connecting_vsphere_servers.html"
breadcrumb: "User Guide > Configuring Veeam Recovery Orchestrator > Connecting Infrastructure > Connecting VMware vSphere Servers"
dateModified: "2026-08-26"
---

# Connecting VMware vSphere Servers

To collect data about VMware vSphere infrastructure objects, you must configure connections to VMware vSphere servers. Only connections to vCenter Servers are supported.

## Before You Begin

Before you start connecting a vCenter Server, consider the following limitations:

- To allow Orchestrator to process resource groups properly, you must connect vCenter Servers — not standalone ESXi hosts — to Veeam Backup & Replication servers orchestrated by Orchestrator. To learn how to add vCenter Servers to the backup infrastructure, see the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide, section [Virtualization Servers and Hosts](https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/userguide/add_vmware_server.html?ver=13).
- Starting from VMware vSphere version 7.0 Update 3, [vSphere Cluster Services (vCLS)](https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.resmgmt.doc/GUID-96BD6016-4BE7-4B1C-8269-568D1555B08C.html) is activated by default. Before you connect to a vCenter Server version 7.0 Update 3, you must configure vCLS datastore placement in the vSphere Client as described in [VMware vSphere documentation](https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.resmgmt.doc/GUID-6C11D7F9-4E92-4EA8-AA63-AABAD4B299E7.html).

## How to Connect vCenter Servers

To configure a connection to a vCenter Server:

 1. Switch to the **Administration** page.
 2. Navigate to **Infrastructure** > **VSphere**.
 3. Click **Add**.
 4. Complete the **Connect vCenter Server** wizard:

     1. At the **Settings** step of the wizard, specify the following connection settings:

         1. Enter the DNS name or IPv4 address of the vCenter Server that will be connected to the Orchestrator agent. The maximum length of the location name is 256 characters; the following characters are not supported: * : / \\ ? @ [ ] ; : = + " < > | .

            If you want to add a vCenter Server that is part of a [backup infrastructure already connected](connecting_backup_servers.md) to Orchestrator, you must add the server using the same DNS name or IPv4 address as in the backup infrastructure to avoid synchronization issues.

            ::: note

            If the IPv4 address of the connected vCenter Server changes, you will not be able to update the address of the server in the Orchestrator infrastructure — you will need to remove the item and add it again with the new IP address. For this reason, it is recommended that you specify a DNS name instead of an IPv4 address.

            :::

         2. From the **Credentials** drop-down list, choose the necessary account for connecting to the server. For an account to be displayed in the **Credentials** list, it must be added to the configuration database as described in section [Adding Credentials](adding_credentials_manually.md). If you have not set up an account beforehand, click **Add** and follow the steps of the **Add Credential** wizard. For more information on the required account permissions, see [Permissions](permissions.md).
         3. If required, change the port number used for communication with the server.

        If an untrusted security certificate is installed on the vCenter Server, you will get a security warning. You can view the certificate and click **Remember and Continue** — in this case, Orchestrator will remember the certificate thumbprint and will further trust the certificate when connecting to the server. Otherwise, you will not be able to add the server.

        [![Connecting VMware vSphere Server](images/connect_vmware_server.png "Connecting VMware vSphere Server")](images/connect_vmware_server.png){.toggle scale=65}

     2. At the **Summary** step of the wizard, review the connection details and click **Finish**.

        [![Connecting VMware vSphere Server](images/connect_vmware_server_finish.png "Connecting VMware vSphere Server")](images/connect_vmware_server_finish.png){.toggle scale=65}

Note that after you configure a connection to a vCenter Server or perform any infrastructure configuration changes, the changes may not appear in the Orchestrator UI immediately — the data synchronization process between Orchestrator and VMware vSphere may take up to 15 minutes to complete.

## Related Topics

[Removing VMware vSphere Servers](removing_vsphere_servers.md)