Upgrade from 3.0.1

[fitzie22]

I have an old host that is 3.0.1 and has not been patched in a very long time. I know that I can't use update manager to patch it so I was just going to upgrade it to 3.5 update4. Now if I plop the iso in and boot to it and do the inplace upgrade waht issues could arrise or is that a fairly safe thing to do. This is a dev server (a very important one) so I don't care too much about teh folder structure. and this will eventually be migrated to vSphere in teh future.. Thoughts.

[RParker]

Putting a bootable CD in the drive and installing is actually the proper way to do an install. Even update manager is only good for minor updates, but any major upgrade should always be a NEW install, preserve the VMFS, and add the existing VM's to inventory.

[geddam]

3.0.1 to 3.5 U4 is a minor upgrade. However a new install is suggested and keep existing VMFS partition.

Look for compatibility guide for your server hardware and below guide if you still want to stick with upgrade option...

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_35/esx_3/r35u2/vi3_35_25_u2_upgrade_guide.pdf

Thanks,,

Ramesh. Geddam,

VCP 3&4, MCTS(Hyper-V).

Please award points, if helpful

[fitzie22]

I guess I might not have been clear. I was always told nver to do an OS upgrade but rather clear all teh vm's off the host, delete the partitions, install a fresh copy. My question is is if I put teh bootable upgrade cd in and upgrade the 3.0.1 to 3.0.3 (this changed)

[geddam]

Your question is still not clear...Can you please explain?

Thanks,,

Ramesh. Geddam,

VCP 3&4, MCTS(Hyper-V).

Please award points, if helpful

[fitzie22]

ok you have a 3.0.1 host that has 20 vm's on it. You want to upgrade it to 3.0.3. if I put the 3.0.3 media into the server adn reboot adn when it asks me to I upgrade it keeping all the vmfs file intact. Is there a big differrence from doing this or moving all the vm's off of the host (they are on local disk) boot to the 3.0.3 media and instead of upgrading I do a new install but reformatting all partitions etc.

[geddam · Accepted solution]

Your English is too difficult to understand....to answer your question, There is no difference...

1. If you select option (keep VMFS partition)...VMs will still remain on local disk and are not harmed.

2. If you move the VMs and perform a new install...Lot of additional work has to be accomplished (like moving VMs, relocating VMs etc)....

New install is suggested, as many issues have been reported with an upgrade.

Thanks,,

Ramesh. Geddam,

VCP 3&4, MCTS(Hyper-V).

Please award points, if helpful