ESXi v5.0 to v5.1 - Upgrade or Install - what and why?

[rulmer]

I am an ESXi novice in charge of three Dell Poweredge servers with two to six VMs on each host. Each host has two datastores and boot from a USB memory stick using hard drive emulation.

I am updating them interactively using a DVD with the iso burned to it.

One of the choices given is to Install (default) or Upgrade.

My past experience in the PC world, when given that choice when installing a MS OS, I would opt for a clean install vs. an upgrade, mostly to keep any ghosts out and help me to isolate any issues that may arise.

What are the differences between the two and why should I choose one over the other?

If I install, will I loose access to the existing datastores and the VMs on them? What settings, if any, am I likely to need to reapply?

What are the cons of an upgrade?

Any, and all, advise is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[a_p_]

ESXi is definitely not comparable with Windows (on which I agree with you with the clean installation) and I'd recommend you Upgrade the ESXi host rather than installing it. In case you want to install (preserving the VMFS of course) anyway, you will have to reconfigure all settings (network, NTP, users, pools, ...) and then need to re-add the VM's to the inventory by right-clicking the .vmx files in the datastore browser.

André

[rulmer]

Thank you for your prompt reply.

And I will not need to make those changes and readd VMs to the inventory etc. on an upgrade, correct?

Bob

[a_p_ · Accepted solution]

Yes, with the upgrade option the settings will be migrated to the new version.

André

[rulmer]

Thank you. You've been very helpful.

Cheers.

Bob