Upgrading from 5.1 to 5.5

[ddevecka]

Just looking for information on upgrade steps from 5.1 to 5.5. Looks pretty simple, but I am very new to the VMWare world and I don't want to loose my production servers. From what I see you upgrade the host by just putting the cd in and upgrading. I need to know how to handle my production VM's running on the server.

Thanks,

Dan

[a_p_]

What needs to be done depends on your environment. In case the host are managed by vCenter Server, you need to upgrade vCenter server prior to upgrading the host (see VMware Product Interoperability Matrix). It's also important to double-check whether the hosts and their components (e.g. RAID cards, network adapters, ...) are supported by the new version (see VMware Compatibility Guide).

Btw. I usually use the downtime required for the upgrade to also upgrade the host's firmware to the latest.

André

[ddevecka]

My vCenter is already 5.5. I know the server will support 5.5 because we started with 5.5 on all new VMWare setups. The servers are all HP DL380,

Thanks,

dan

[a_p_ · Accepted solution]

Sounds good, then you should be fine with the interactive CD-ROM upgrade.

Here are two KB articles which you may want to take a look at:

VMware KB: Installing or upgrading to ESXi 5.5 best practices

VMware KB: Methods for upgrading to ESXi 5.5

André