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hdoan53
Contributor
Contributor

Upgrade from ESXi 5.1 to 5.5

I have a datacenter running ESXi 5.1 and plan to build a second one.  The second site has its own VMs but also being used as a DR site if site one is completely down for a long time.  Since ESXi 5.5 is available, should I build site 2 with this release and upgrade site 1 to 5.5 later to keep both sites running the same version?

I usually don't jump on the new release right away but since site 2 is a remote location, I want to install the latest version so I don't have to make another trip.  Hardware is two Dell R620 servers.

If you have both 5.1 and 5.5 installed in your environment, I would like to get you advices.  Should I stay with 5.1 version or go ahead with 5.5 since it's a stable version at this time?

Thanks,

H Doan

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ramkrishna1
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Hi

Welcome to the communities.

Its always recommend both side should have same version to over reduce downtime .

Take care!

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lloydm618
Contributor
Contributor

Go to 5.5. There are better solutions, and with vSphere Replication, you can actually truly have a DR site. it's hard to have a DR solution when both vCenters are different major releases. I would recommend 5.5 on both sides. Unless you need a specific physical box for VC, just deploy the appliance. It's easier, less hassle, and easier to manipulate. Or use VC as a VM. 5.5 has more options, supports more features, and is stable. It also uses SSO 2.0. SSo 1.x was more hassle then it's worth. Well, now that I think about it, that should be the driving factor for you: SSO 2.0. trust me, it's easier and less buggy.

Mike Lloyd TS Engineer II
raog
Expert
Expert

+1 to what lloydm said. I would also recommend planning for upgrading the 5.1 site. 5.5 has received two refreshes anyways and with update 1 not so far away is fairly stable.

Regards

Girish

To Virtualization and beyond! PS::If you felt the answer as helpful, please mark it as helpful/answered so that it helps other users as well! Blog:: www.virtualtipsntricks.com
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hdoan53
Contributor
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Thanks for the information.  I forgot one of the features I want to use and this is the first experience I have with VSA.

Are there new features with VSA 5.5 that I should consider installing ESXi and VSA 5.5 over 5.1?

Can I install VSA with one server?  I have only one ESXi server this month, the second server arrives next month.

Thanks,

H Doan

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lloydm618
Contributor
Contributor

Don't use VSA. It's hard to configure, easy to break, and all but requires you call support when it does. I would recommend VSAN. It's an object-based, object-RAID, storage "hypervisor." It can support WAY more nodes (hosts) than VSA, and it's extremely stable. It's still in beta, so you'll have to wait a little bit, but at the same time, I've yet to be able to crash it and not have it be more than a few minutes of reconfiguring.

Mike Lloyd TS Engineer II
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