Upgrade from ESXi 3.5 to 4.0 - questions

[mbhatia]

Experts,

I have VMWare ESX Server 3i (Version 3.5.0, build - 123629) running on a server. I am planning to upgrade it to ESXi 4.0. Can someone please help providing answers to these questions:

1. Is the upgrade from ESXi 3.5 to 4.0 free?

2. Is the license available for free or do we need to purchase a license for ESXi 4.0? If it is free, where can we get it?

3. Would the upgrade impact/delete the VMs (GUEST OSs) running currently on the ESXi 3.5?

4. Can the upgrade be done from VMWare Infrastrcuture client 2.5 or do we need to download something else for the upgrade?

5. What is the upgrade process? Could someone provide a document?

Thanks a lot for the help.

[Troy_Clavell]

1. Is the upgrade from ESXi 3.5 to 4.0 free?

yes

2. Is the license available for free or do we need to purchase a license for ESXi 4.0? If it is free, where can we get it?

you need to register again for the ESXi4 download. You will receive a confirmation email as to how to get your key

https://www.vmware.com/tryvmware/index.php?p=free-esxi&lp=1

3. Would the upgrade impact/delete the VMs (GUEST OSs) running currently on the ESXi 3.5?

no, but the guests need to be powered down or evacuated from the host

4. Can the upgrade be done from VMWare Infrastrcuture client 2.5 or do we need to download something else for the upgrade?

you need the vSphere4 client

5. What is the upgrade process? Could someone provide a document?

http://www.vm-help.com/esx40i/ESXi40_upgrade_without_virtualcenter.php

[mbhatia]

Thanks a lot for the replies.

How long does the upgrade process takes from 3.5 to 4.0? And, is it a smooth upgrade or I should be prepared for issues?

[Troy_Clavell]

you should give yourself 1 hour, but it probably won't take that long. And if you follow the procedures you shouldn't run into any issues.

keep this handy too, page 81

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40_u1/vsp_40_u1_upgrade_guide.pdf

[mbhatia]

Ok, so regarding the license from the link you provided above - will this be a permament license or an evaluation copy?

[Troy_Clavell]

Ok, so regarding the license from the link you provided above - will this be a permanent license or an evaluation copy?

permanent. You will receive a confirmation email with a link to the key. Once you apply that key, the license will be set to "never expire"

[mbhatia]

Ok, great.

I looked at the installation manual ( http://www.vm-help.com/esx40i/ESXi40_upgrade_without_virtualcenter.php ) - where do we get the 'ESXi-4.0.0-0.4.164009-upgrade-release.zip' file to start with?

[Troy_Clavell]

https://www.vmware.com/mysupport/download/

[mbhatia]

Hi,

I'm trying to download the ESXi 4.1 (upgrade ZIP from ESXi 3.5) from the following link:

https://www.vmware.com/tryvmware/index.php?p=free-esxi&lp=1

But, when I start the download in the download manager, I get the following error message in a pop up window:

"The requested file is not available for download. Contact the author of the page that contains the link. The download will be canceled."

Can someone please provide me the correct link to upgrade the ESXi 3.5 to 4.1?

Thanks in advance.

[DSTAVERT]

I would try again. I would try the download without using the download manager (link directly below)

[mbhatia]

Thanks. I tried again from the 'manually download' option, and it did work. But, it downloaded a zipped file (VMware-tools-linux-8.3.2-257589.iso) with an .iso extension and when I try to upgrade the host from the VMware vSphere Host Update Utility, it is asking for a zipped file and not this one. Is this the correct file?