Advise needed for migrating from Vsphere 6.0U3 to 6.7U3

[comatose316]

Good Morning All,

We are running Windows VCENTER 6.0 Update 3 and ESXi 6.0 Update 3 in our environment. These products are END OF SUPPORT and we are looking to migrate them at the earliest to either of the below:

• VCENTER 7.0 / ESXi 7.0 U2
• VCENTER 6.7U3 / ESXi 6.7U3. 

I have done a fair amount of research on this topic so if any of my below assumptions are wrong please let me know:

• We cannot migrate our Windows VCenter 6.0U3 to VCSA 7.0U2
• We can migrate our Windows VCenter 6.0U3 to VCSA 6.7U3 and then to VCSA 7.0U2
• When you migrate a Windows VCenter to VCSA, the migration utility will shutdown the Windows server because the hostname and IP address is preserved on the VCSA.
• VCSA7.0U3 can only reside on hosts ESXi 6.5 and above.
• VCSA7.0U3 cannot manage ESXi 6.0 hosts
• ESXi 6.0U3 can be upgraded to ESXi 6.5 or ESXi 6.7.
• A cluster can have mixed versions of ESXi such as 6.0U3 and 6.7U3. Just need to ensure the VM version and HW version of the virtual machines are not upgraded.

Our first VCENTER has following setup:

Cluster 1 with six HPE servers running ESXi 6.0U3.

• These servers are compatible with ESXi 7.0u2 and ESXi 6.7U3
• This cluster is using a Distributed Switch

Cluster 2 with two HPE servers running ESXi 6.0U3.

• These servers are compatible with ESXi 7.0u2 and ESXi 6.7U3
• This cluster is also using its own Distributed Switch

Migration process for first VCENTER process:

1. We will install ESXi 6.7U3 on three new servers that have been purchased. These servers have different specs so cannot be joined to existing cluster.
2. Migrate Windows VCENTER 6.0U3 to VCSA 6.7U3 (which will be hosted on ESXi 6.7U3 hosts)
3. Create new cluster “Cluster 3” with ESXi 6.7U3 hosts
4. Migrate virtual machines from Cluster 1 to Cluster 3. We will move resource intensive machines to the new cluster 3 to take advantage of the new host performance.
5. Upgrade / rebuild three host in Cluster 1 with ESXi 6.7U3. Remaining three hosts will move to second VCENTER below
6. Upgrade / rebuild each host in Cluster 2 with ESXi 6.7U3.
7. Once everything is on 6.7U3 then we will upgrade to 7.0U2 (or latest)

Our second VCENTER has the following setup:

Cluster 1 with four HPE servers running ESXi 6.0U3.

• None of these servers are compatible with ESXi 7.0U2, ESXi 6.7U3 or ESXi 6.5U3
• This cluster is using a Distributed Switch

Single Server with one HPE DL server running ESXi 6.0U3.

• This server is not compatible with ESXi 7.0u2 and ESXi 6.7U3 but it is compatible with ESXi 6.5U3
• This server is using a vSphere Standard switch.

Migration process for second VCENTER process:

1. Add 1 new compatible host (from first VCENTER) and install ESXi 6.7 U3 on it
2. Migrate Windows VCENTER 6.0U3 to VCSA 6.7U3 (which will be hosted on the new host from above step)
3. Add ESXi 6.7 host to existing cluster. Thus this cluster will have hosts running ESXi 6.0U3 and ESX 6.7U3
4. Add additional hosts (from first VCENTER) to existing cluster
5. Shutdown all VM’s on single server and remove from inventory
6. Upgrade single server from ESXi 6.0 to ESXi 6.5. Then add the VM’s back to inventory.
7. Once everything is on 6.7U3 then we will upgrade to 7.0U2 (or latest)

Does the migration processes above look acceptable or is there anything I have missed out? Due to budget, we can only buy limited servers which will go to our FIRST VCenter. We will move some old hosts from FIRST VCENTER to the SECOND VCENTER.

Thanks!

[e_espinel]

Hello.
The plans are very good and clear, I assume that is also considered the full backup of the VMs and have detailed configurations of vCenter Server and ESXi hosts in each scenario (this is very obvious).

I attach links with additional information to validate compatibility and upgrade path, it is not superfluous to see them and use them.
https://interopmatrix.vmware.com/#/Upgrade

https://interopmatrix.vmware.com/#/Interoperability

Personally I prefer to start from fresh installations of vcenter Server (VCSA) when you do not need the history of events, logs, users and others for auditing purposes.

Personally I would stay a while longer  (until your EOS) on versions 6.5 or 6.7. Unfortunately there have been serious problems with version 7.0.

A VCSA 6.7U2 is compatible with ESXi 6.5 and ESXi 6.0 at all Update levels

A VCSA 6.5U2 is compatible with ESXi 6.5 and ESXi 6.0 at all Update levels.

When all our infrastructure is running smoothly for a long time, you can plan to install the latest patches available.

It is always advisable to validate all the information yourself, for any errors in good faith. Even certified specialists and supports are sometimes wrong.