Hello Sachchidanand,

If I understand you correctly, you're saying to install ESXi 7 on the new server, add it as a host in vCenter then move the VMs over to it? After that is done and everything is working correctly, then do an normal upgrade to 8 on both ESXi and VCSA/vSphere like they had been 7 all along?

I was thinking along those lines before I submitted this post. We are a small office (one host, 6 VMs) and after the VMware partner shot themselves in the foot over a Fortinet licensing issue (long story), I have been the sole support. I have had to teach myself anything needed to maintain and expand this office. After the initial support expired, the boss just wanted to keep a subscription only agreement just so we could get software updates. I have had to figure out everything by myself. I have added drives in the MSA SAN on two different occasions to add two datastores, I have upgraded from 5.5 to 6.0 to 6.5, etc so I have learned a lot. It's actually good when there are issues as that's when you have to do research and sometimes, trial and error to get to the desired outcome.

I do appreciate your help and after doing a little more research and downloading the appropriate software, I will be attempting this on next Friday.

Rusty