VMware vCenter Server 5.0 Update 1a Release Notes

VMware vCenter Server 5.0 Update 1a Release Notes:
http://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere5/doc/vsp_vc50_u1a_rel_notes.html

If you plan to take it out for a spin, you'll need entitlement for vSphere, then the actual code to download from here:

http://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/info/slug/datacenter_cloud_infrastructure/vmware_vsphere/5_0

vCenter Server 5.0 Update 1a | 12 July 2012 | Build 755629
vSphere Client 5.0 Update 1a | 12 July 2012 | Build 755629
vCenter Server 5.0 Update 1a Installation Package | 12 July 2012 | Build 757163
vCenter Server Appliance 5.0 Update 1a | 12 July 2012 | Build 759855
Last updated: 12 July 2012

I find the following pieces of the release notes to be the most interesting (see below), having had some scrapes with vCenter appliance database corruption myself. I will be curious to see if recovery from shutdown (hard power off) transgressions are now more robust, and/or handling of timezone tweaks before the database is initialized. 

• vCenter Server Appliance Database Support: The DB2 express embedded database provided with the vCenter Server Appliance has been replaced with VMware vPostgres database. This decreases the appliance footprint and reduces the time to deploy vCenter Server further.
• The embedded database provided with the vCenter Server Appliance supports an inventory with a maximum of 5 hosts and 50 virtual machines
  The embedded database is not configured to manage an inventory that contains more than 5 hosts and 50 virtual machines. If you use the embedded database with the vCenter Server Appliance, exceeding these limits can cause numerous problems, such as causing vCenter Server to stop responding.
• The vSphere Web Client does not load the vCenter Server inventory if the vCenter Server host name cannot be resolved
  If the vSphere Web Client cannot resolve the vCenter Server system's host name and the vCenter Server is registered with the vSphere Client using an IP address, the vSphere Web Client cannot load the inventory tree.
  Workaround: Ensure that the vCenter Server's host name can be resolved in one of the following ways:
  • Add the vCenter Server system to your name server.
  • Add the vCenter Server system to the C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts file on the system that runs the vSphere Web Client
• The vSphere Web Client does not load the vCenter Server inventory if the vCenter Server host name cannot be resolved
  If the vSphere Web Client cannot resolve the vCenter Server system's host name and the vCenter Server is registered with the vSphere Client using an IP address, the vSphere Web Client cannot load the inventory tree.
• Workaround: Ensure that the vCenter Server's host name can be resolved in one of the following ways:
  • Add the vCenter Server system to your name server.
  • Add the vCenter Server system to the C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts file on the system that runs the vSphere Web Client
• vSphere Web Client does not load in Internet Explorer 9 on Windows Server 2008
  When you attempt to load the vSphere Web Client in Internet Explorer 9 on a Windows Server 2008 system, you see a blue background in the Web browser window and no further activity.
  Workaround: On Windows Server 2008 systems, use Internet Explorer 7 or 8 or Mozilla Firefox 3.6 or later to access the vSphere Web Client.