Upgrade 6.0 to 6.5, various incompatibilities

[bhamill]

Present versions:  ESXi is 6.0 U3 (build 7967664); vCenter is 6.0 Update 1b (build 3339083); SRM is 6.1.0.11034.  Obviously, I need to update, but I'm confused by something on the product interoperability matrix.  It looks like there is a big break at SRM 6.1.2 and vCenter 6.0 U3 - basically, that vCenter 6.0U3 doesn't support any SRM less than 6.1.2, but 6.0U2 doesn't support anything greater than SRM 6.1.1, and vCenter 6.5 needs SRM 6.5 - there would appear to be no way to step up though the upgrades.

So, is the upgrade path as follows?

- Upgrade vCenter to 6.5 and just accept that SRM will stop working?

- then upgrade ESXi to 6.5, and keep praying you won't need to use SRM?

- finally, upgrade SRM to at least 6.5, hoping that the upgrade works?

Am I missing something?

[scott28tt]

Moderator: Thread moved to the SRM area (feels more like an SRM matter)

[ashilkrishnan · Accepted solution]

Hi

vCenter and SRM versions currently installed in the environment are compatible with each other- vCenter 6.0 U1b and SRM 6.1.0.

vCenter and SRM both support direct upgrade to 6.5, so yes you can upgrade the components in following order:

1. Upgrade vCenter from 6.0 to 6.5 GA (Do not upgrade to latest updates for now)

2. Upgrade SRM from 6.1 to 6.5 (Not 6.5.1 or 6.5.1.2)

3. If you wish to upgrade vCenter from 6.5 GA to U1 or U2, you can do now

4. Upgrade SRM from 6.5 to 6.5.1.x releases

5. ESXi hosts can be upgraded at the end.

If you are using SRM with MS SQL database, ensure database backups are taken prior to upgrade. Before initiating backups, ensure SRM services are stopped at both sites.

If SRM is configured with embedded postgres database, regular snapshot of SRM server should be good enough.

I hope that helps

[jordanovi]

.. and here is the official documentation you can refer for the Upgrade order procedure - Order of Upgrading vSphere and Site Recovery Manager Components

[bhamill]

Thanks to all.  That's a huge help.