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Upgrading vCenter 4.1 to 5 that uses remote SQL DB and 3rd party plugins
So I am about ready to start upgrading my 4.1 U1 datacenter to v5. And I have a couple last questions.
My DB is SQL 2008, but it's not local; we have a DB server that hosts a number of DBs for various applications. The 2 days "What's new in v5" class I took used local DBs. Having it non-local should not be an issue, I don't think. It should Just Work, right? (presuming I tell it to upgrade the database, as I should)
My vCenter currently runs as a LOCALSYSTEM account; should I change it to use a domain account? (we run Win 2008 AD) If so, are there special access rights I should grant to it (such as Local Administrator)? I have an account I use, that is a member of the AD group "ESX Admins", to run PowerCLI scripts with, etc.
Also, the v4 vSphere client should connect to the newly upgraded vCenter? It's installed on a number of our employee's machines; will they still be able to connect, or will they need to upgrade their client before accessing the new v5 vCenter?
Also, we have one 3rd party vCenter plugin, from Emulex, for upgrading the firmware on the FC cards. Do I need to uninstall this before upgrading, or will the upgrade process just automatically disable any 3rd party plugins it finds? (I realize I will have to go get the v5 plugin and install it, after the upgrade is done)
OK, so that was a bit more than a "couple".
Just want to be thorough ...
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I do not know if you have reviewed the upgtrade - it should answer most of your questions http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-50-upgrade...
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Hi,
Check out here, you might be benefit of what I did.
http://communities.vmware.com/thread/345105?tstart=0
Upgrading vCenter 4.1 to vCenter 5.0 what about SQL Express 2005
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Thanks, but I don't use SQL Express; it's SQL 2008 R2 Enterprise (64bit), so it's definitely a supported SQL version for upgrading. And it's not a database in-place upgrade, as the database is not on the vCenter server.
I did what you did (upgrade from in-place SQL 2005 Express to remote SQL 2008 Enterprise) last year.
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Hi
can you please install sql Express componnent , because I have seen some times it create problem once installed component or after activating service problem solved.
_______________________________
Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.![]()
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"can you please install sql Express componnent , because I have seen some times it create problem once installed component or after activating service problem solved."
Sorry, no, I can not. We don't use local SQL installations except for specific large database needs. So we will be using our current database, which is hosted on another server.
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Michael,
We have the exact same setup as you: seperate SQL 2008 server, vCenter 4.1, both vm's.
I tried upgrading in place and it failed. My Virtual center service wont start.
I hasd to revert back to my snaps and start over.
So far I haven't had any luck.
I also tried uninstalling vCenter completely from my VC Server (which is also 2008 r2). Installing vCenter 5 from scratch. Still fails although it says Finished.
Again my VC service doesnt start.
Have you had any luck with your upgrade?
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I haven't done my upgrade yet; I have an important production database server to virtualize this weekend, so I won't be trying to upgrade until next week.
I used to have my vCenter as a VM, but we had weird problems, so I migrated it to a physical machine, and the problems went away. Don't know if they were related, or if I had just screwed up my original install as a VM, but now my vCenter is a physical box. And the SQL 2008 server is also a physical box (as it also hosts other databases for other apps).
As for the 3rd party plugin (Emulex OneCommand), I uninstalled it, on advice of Emulex Tech Support (who are very helpful, BTW, even on support via email). So now I have a "clean" installation, to try upgrading.
I will report back, when I have more results.
Have you called VMware about your problems?
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I just did my update this morning. Went exactly as the seminar showed, and the documents list. Personally, I was shocked.
I stopped the vCenter services, than ran the upgrade, and it all Just Worked. Then I updated the vSphere client, then updated the Update Manager. All this was on the vCenter server.
Then I updated the vSphere client, and Update client, on my workstation, and it all Just Worked.
Downtime was under 30 minutes, probably under 20 ...
Had a little bit of trouble, as the update manager was giving an error that it could not download patch definitions, but that turned out to be a problem with Internet access on the vCenter server; once I resolved that, the check for new patches Just Worked.
So it looks like I am good to go. I will give it a week or so, to continue running with my ESX 4.1 U1 servers, before I start planning the final steps, about upgrading to ESXi v5.
Then I get to do the fun parts about migrating to new SAN storage, formatted as VMFS v5, etc.
Good times ahead!
I would suggest running that pre-upgrade host checker. Luckily, mine ran clean.
And keep Support's phone number handy, just in case. ![]()
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Mike.... this is the craziest thing.
My fix was to run queries on the vCenter database.
After VMWare plowed through my logs a few times, they found some issues that were in a KB artilcle
2007231
After running the queries and rebooting both SQL and vCenter server, all was well
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hi MichaelLeone
were you using vDS? I want to upgrade my vCenter to 5.0 that has vDS but I am not sure it the vDS during the upgrade won't work and communication for VMs will be down.
any idea thanks
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No, I am not using any distributed switches. I wish I was, it can make adding a new host a lot easier. ![]()