Troubleshooting vCenter 5.1 Single Sign On Installation Problems

During the installation of vmware vCenter 5.1 Single Sign On i couldn't get past the step requesting the database information. I was installing SSO in a development environment using sql server 2008 express with the default instance name of vim_sqlexp. During the install i kept getting errors saying it couldn't find the instance of sql server. Below are the steps i used to resolve this issue.

1. Open SQL Server Configuration Manager and make sure the TCP/IP protocol is enabled and make sure that the port is listed as 1433.
2. On the SSO Database Information Screen do not specify the instance name. Even if you are using a database instance only type the server name, make sure the port and database is correct and click next.
3. The install script should automatically find the instance that contains the RSA database that is required by the Single Sign On Service.