At one point, the vSphere Replication 6.0 compatibility matrix said that it was compatible with vCenter 5.5. I believe this was around mid-March. Now, it seems to have changed and says vSphere Replication 6.0 is only compatible with vCenter 6.0. Is this true? Are there any plans to make vSphere Replication 6.0 backwards-compatible with vCenter 5.5?
Bill,
A decision was reached not to support backwards-compatibility between vSphere Replication 6.0 and vCenter Server 5.5 going forward. This comes as a result of extensive and careful considerations related to providing quality and consistent end-user experience for our customers using vSphere Replication 6.0.
Thus, vSphere Replication 6.0 is officially supported with vCenter Server 6.0 only (SSO 6.0, PCS 6.0, Web Client 6.0). This is reflected accordingly in the public VMware Product Interoperability Matrix.
vSphere Replication can use vCenter 5.5 as long as the vCenter is registered to SSO which is 6.0 version.
Is this documented somewhere? Also, are there any issues with upgrading SSO 5.5 to PSC 6.0, while keeping vCenter at v5.5 for a few months?
Hi Bill, indeed, it was originally posted on the VMware Product Interoperability Matrices that vSphere Replication 6.0 is compatible with vCenter Server 5.5. However, we are currently working on a KB document designed to provide clarity and guidance to users on the limitations of this interop pair and the actual scenarios that are supported.
Regarding the upgrading question, please let me check internally and I'll get back to you on this.
Best Regards,
Rumen
Yes, I would love to know if VMware supports running vCenter 5.5 with SSO 6.0 (Platform Services Controller 6.0) for several months. There are quite a few third party products that do not support vCenter 6.0, so it would be nice to at least be able to upgrade SSO to 6.0, and then hold off on upgrading vCenter for a few months.
Bill,
A decision was reached not to support backwards-compatibility between vSphere Replication 6.0 and vCenter Server 5.5 going forward. This comes as a result of extensive and careful considerations related to providing quality and consistent end-user experience for our customers using vSphere Replication 6.0.
Thus, vSphere Replication 6.0 is officially supported with vCenter Server 6.0 only (SSO 6.0, PCS 6.0, Web Client 6.0). This is reflected accordingly in the public VMware Product Interoperability Matrix.
Thanks for the official reply - that really helps!