VCENTER 6.5 upgrade to 6.7

[MST3751]

Hello,

I have VCENTER 6.5 appliance and wonder if I have to upgrade hosts - ESX 6.6 first or first VCENTER 6.5 to 6.7 and then hosts?  But some Dell Hosts do not support 6.7 yet so I have to leave them on 6.5. Is it still ok to have vcenter upgarded to 6.7 and some hosts while other left on 6.5 ?

[daphnissov]

If you want to manage ESXi 6.7 hosts, you must upgrade vCenter first to 6.7. If some hosts are not compatible with 6.7 and must remain at 6.5, a vCenter 6.7 can still manage those hosts.

[a_p_]

In addition what has already been said, please remember that the latest vCenter Server 6.5 builds are not supported for an upgrade to vCenter Server 6.7!

André

[MST3751]

wow wow to the latest reply:

"In addition what has already been said, please remember that the latest vCenter Server 6.5 builds are not supported for an upgrade to vCenter Server 6.7"

Correct me if I am wrong, so the VCENTER 6.5 cannot be upgraded to 6.7 ???

this is what I have currently:

Current version details

Check Updates Settings

Vendor

VMware, Inc.

Appliance name

VMware vCenter Server Appliance

Update version

6.5.0.15000 Build Number 8024368

Description

vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller

Release date

March 20, 2018

[sk84]

The Upgrade Guide for vSphere and the Product Compatibility Matrix would have had the answer. 😉

vSphere Upgrade (6.7) | VMware

VMware Product Interoperability Matrices

And one more thing to note:

If you are mixing the ESXi version within a cluster, you should consider the vm hardware version. This means that you should set the hardware version of all VMs to the versions supported by ESXi 6.5. Otherwise, if you have a VM on an ESXi 6.7 host and it uses the highest possible VMX version, it cannot be moved to an ESXi 6.5 host.

[sk84]

Correct me if I am wrong, so the VCENTER 6.5 cannot be upgraded to 6.7 ???

There is no upgrade path from 6.5 U2 to 6.7 (GA).

Only from 6.5 (GA) and 6.5 U1 to 6.7

or

from 6.5 U2 to 6.7 U1.

[a_p_]

Just to  complete this:

or

from 6.5 U2 to 6.7 U1.

"... Upgrade from 6.5 patches post 6.5 U2, dated November 2018 or after, to 6.7 U1 are unsupported as it is considered back-in time"

For vCenter Server build numbers, and release dates, see https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2143838​

André

[MST3751]

OK based on what I have :

Version:

6.5.0.15000

I can upgrade to any of these:

6.7 U1	6.7.0	6.5 U2	6.5 U1

[a_p_]

Yes, since you are sunning "6.5.0.15000 Build Number 8024368", you can upgrade to vCenter Server 6.7 Update1, and later (the current version is v6.7 U1a)

André

[MST3751]

Thank you Andre,

Knowing now I can upgrade to 6.7.0U1 what is the best approach? Download ISO and upgrade from installing the ISO or use UPDATE in VCSA? Currently, I have updates disabled.

thank you

[a_p_]

Download ISO and upgrade from installing the ISO or use UPDATE in VCSA?

You'll have to use the "Upgrade" option from the installation ISO image (the current release is VMware-VCSA-all-6.7.0-11338176.iso)

André

[MST3751]

I see then I will follow this guide for upgrading VSCA using ISO:

https://vmiss.net/2018/10/17/upgrade-vmware-vcenter-server-appliance-vcsa-vsphere-6-7-u1/

using an upgrade with ISO is a bit more complex since it uses multiple stages .....

[a_p_]

It may require some more inputs (like passwords, temp. IP address, ...) but the upgrade process itself does everything for you. It will deploy the new VM, copy all settings from the old one, shutdown the old one, and finally assume the old vCSA's identity.

André

[MST3751]

I recall the last time I did 5.5 to 6.5 so this one would be similar. Upgrading VCSA to 6.7U1 is not going to mess up with existing ESX 6.5 hosts in current vCENTER correct?

Should I pay attention to some settings?

[a_p_]

Upgrading VCSA to 6.7U1 is not going to mess up with existing ESX 6.5 hosts in current vCENTER correct?

Hopefully not. The Upgrade will take over the settings, and shut down the old vCSA. However, depending on the installation state (in case of issues) you may need to rejoin the old vCSA to your AD again if you need to revert.

Should I pay attention to some settings?

Make sure that DNS, and Reverse DNS resolution works for the vCSA's name, and IP address?

Make sure that the root password on the old vCSA has not expired.

Set DRS to manual during the upgrade.

Select an ESXi host (rather than vCenter Server) as the target for the new vCSA's deployment.

In case you are using distributed virtual switches, you need an "Ephemeral" port group for the deployment (or a VM port group on a standard vSwitch).

André

[MST3751]

Cool looks like I have all needed and useful information needed for the upgrade, thank you so much for your help

[christophercoop]

VMware released an update to 6.7 U1 on December 20th. This make it no longer "back in time" and I was able to successfully upgrade from 6.5 U2 to the latest 6.7 U1 using this latest release. Just an FYI.

But yes, vcenter first, then hosts. When you upgrade to vcenter 6.7, it will support any versions 6.0 and above. We had a few at 5.5 and had to upgrade those first before we can finish the vcenter upgrade.

[MikeStoica]

This blog series The vSphere Upgrade Blog Series (Wrap-Up) - VMware vSphere Blog might help you during the upgrade.