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vikd
Contributor
Contributor

Direct upgrade from ESXi 3.5 to ESXi 4.1

Hi, I am preparing to do a direct upgrade from ESXi 3.5 to ESXi 4.1. i have read through quite a few posts however am very confused and would appreciate a bit of help in determining how to do this upgrade step-by-step. Here is what I have gathered so far from blogs and posts on the forum (Thx to all) and these are the exact steps I plan to follow (nothing before or after) unless I get feedback that this procedure will not work or is incomplete/incorrect.

Question 1 (even before I start)

Which ESXi do I downoad. On this page "https://www.vmware.com/tryvmware/index.php" there is Essentials section, Essentials Plus, Standard, Advanced and than there is ESXi installable and some other type that I cannot see at this time. What is "installable" and is that the one I should select?

1. Download and Install vSphere CLI (Use this on a windows xp workstation).

Question 2: I currently do not have any vshpere client app installed. Only install I have is Vmware Infrastructure client that I use to manage ESXi 3.5. Do I need to install some sort of client update and if so how do I do it for ESXi 4.1.

2. Download the Upgrade Package for upgrading from ESXi 3.5 to ESXi 4.1 and store it locally on the WinXP Workstation in the c:\temp directory

3. Connect to the existing ESXi 3.5 host machine via the VMware Infrastructure Client and ensure that all VMs are shutdown. Put this host in maintainace mode

4. Shutdown the VMware Infrastructure Client app on the workstation.

5. Launch the vSphere CLI application that I installed in step 1 above

6. At the prompt type c:\Program Files\..vSphere CLI\bin>" vihostupdate.pl --server 1.1.1.1 -i -b c:\temp\upgrade-from-ESXi3.5-to-4.1.0-0.0.260248-release.zip -B ESXi410-GA"

Question 3 What is the difference between the command above and the command that adds -esxupdate to the end as follows " vihostupdate.pl --server 1.1.1.1 -i -b c:\temp\upgrade-from-ESXi3.5-to-4.1.0-0.0.260248-release.zip -B ESXi410-GA-esxupdate"

7. After this upgrade is complete I assume that I have upgraded to ESXi 4.1 and all my VM's etc are intact and I can start using them the same way going forward as I was doing on ESXi 3.5.

Confused about how I am going to access the new ESXi 4.1 srv since I don't think I can do it with the Old VM Infrastructure Client hence I asked Question 1 above.

I am going to please ask a confirmation about if any other steps besides these are needed either before/after like do i need to install vmware tools on all the guest VM's after the upgrade or do I need to install perl on my workstation before starting this procedure. Apologize for asking these questions but I am a newbie and do not know much about this stuff. Thx

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4 Replies
weinstein5
Immortal
Immortal

Really does not matter which ESXi you download software is the same it is the license key you enter that will set what features you get -however you should choose the installable version -

Once you have installed ESXi 4.1 you will be able to download the vSphere client from the new ESXi host via web browser

IN terms of the upgrade steps I just follow VMware's Upgrade Guide - http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_upgrade_guide.pdf

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vikd
Contributor
Contributor

Hi David,

Thx for your help. Could you please advise on the following

1. Does perl need to be installed in order to run the vihostupdate.pl command?

2. What is the difference between the command above and the command that

adds -esxupdate to the end as follows " vihostupdate.pl --server 1.1.1.1

-i -b c:\temp\upgrade-from-ESXi3.5-to-4.1.0-0.0.260248-release.zip -B

ESXi410-GA*-esxupdate"

3. Once upgrade is complete do I need to do anything else in order for my vm's to work like install new vmtools etc

4. Do I keep VI Client running and connected to ESXi host while performing this upgrade?

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vikd
Contributor
Contributor

Pls help. I am planning on upgrading today so want to ensure that I am not missing anything. Thx

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vikd
Contributor
Contributor

Anyone? Thx

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