VMware Upgrade Plan help

[softnum]

I am planning an upgrade to my ESX install, and would like some tips. I have ESX 3.0.3 installed on 2 Servers, each pointing to an iSCSI MSA 1510i SAN. There is no vCenter server installed at this point in time. I only have licenses of 'Standard' not 'Enterprise', and no plans to upgrade for some time, so I won't have access to Storage VMotion, or VMotion.

I plan on:

• Installing a new SAN (FC or iSCSI) to replace the current SAN.

• Upgrading to ESX 3.5 U3

• Installing VCenter

Any tips on what order I should do this in? I'm moving away from using my MSA 1510i for this project because it's still not very stable, it looses connection with the VMs periodically, which as you can imagine causes some concern. Therefore, my inclination is to go in the order listed above. Is there any reason I should upgrade to 3.5 first? Or put in vCenter then do the rest?

Thanks,

-- Brendan

[khughes · Accepted solution]

If you're going to put in a VirtualCenter, I take it you're upgrading and going to utilize VMotion? If you're not going to be able to VMotion I would install the new SAN, migrate the VMs to the new SAN and off the host you want to upgrade. upgrade the hosts then install the VirtualCenter. You can install VirtualCenter in sync with the host upgrades and not connect any hosts to them so its up and ready as well.

• Kyle

[softnum]

I'm putting in vCenter to utilize HA and Backup for now. I hot to get budget for VMotion and DRS eventually, but that's probably in 2010.

Although, you did remind me of the possibility of using vCenter to move the VMs while I upgrade ESX, which I hadn't thought of before. Thanks!

[khughes]

Just make sure you don't upgrade the vmtools until you're done upgrading all your hosts. The older vmtools will run fine until all your hosts are on 3.5, if you install the new tools on a VM then have to move it back onto a 3.0.3 box, nothing good will come from it.

• Kyle

[TonyCoffman]

I just went through this and had some of the same constraints as you.

Here's the order I recommend.

Install vCenter first

Hook up vCenter to your hosts

Evacuate one host - you need to take the guests offline but you can user the vCenter migrate command to move them without an Enterprise license.

Upgrade the evacuated host

Move the VM back to the upgraded hosts (again using offline migrate)

Upgrade the next hosts

Add the SAN after you have upgraded the hosts - you'll be able to format them using VMFS 3.31 this way and be able to take advantage of the metadata locking improvements.

You can use the vCenter offline migrate feature to move the VMs from the old SAN to the new SAN when you are ready.

Having vCenter helps a lot more than you think even when you don't have a license for all the bells and whistles.

If you can't fully evacuate a host for whatever reason - just do the upgrade in place.

Make sure you have good backups!