How to migrate from standard ESXi 6 to an HP customized ESXi 6

[Maelz]

I have a DL360 G7 that I installed the standard free version of ESXi 6 on about 8 months ago. At the time I didn't realize there was an HP customized version that was available. Is it possible to upgrade my standard ESXi 6 to the HP version without completely rebuilding everything from scratch? Currently all the ESXi storage comes off a RAID 10 array using the internal HP RAID controller.  Please keep in mind that I only have one ESXi server in my environment, so I cannot move the VM's to another server during the upgrade.

Anyone have advice how I can move to the HP version of ESXi 6?

[MBrownWFP]

Boot to the HPE custom image as if you were doing a normal ESXi install. When prompted select "Upgrade ESXi, preserve VMFS datastore". ESXi will be upgraded without touching anything in the datastore or losing previous settings.

This is not a live process so you will downtime for VMs on the host while the upgrade is completed.

[Maelz]

Thanks for the quick response. This sounds very promising. I do have a couple of questions about this approach.

1) Will I need a new license key if I move from the standard to HP version?

2) Will all my existing ESXi configurations be carried over for things like hardware pass-though and other settings?

3) Can I do this as part of an upgrade from ESXi 6.0 to 6.0 U2?

[Mattallford]

‌1. Nope, no new license key is required. As long as you have a license for the version of ESXi you are upgrading to, you will be fine. So if going from 6 to 6u2, and your host is currently licensed, you'll be fine.

2. Yep. Consider this an 'in place' upgrade. All configs are carried across

3. Yep, you sure can

Hope this helps!

Cheers, Matt.

[Maelz]

Thanks everyone. This is easier then I thought it would be. I'll give it a try tomorrow.

[evpretorious]

How's that HPE customized ESXi image working for you, Maelz?

What about patches: Have you been applying the patches available from the VMware? Or have you been using some other method of applying the patches?