Let me share my views on this: 1. If you choose first option: It will upgrade DB schema which will be compatible with new vCenter you are upgrading to. It is not 2008 r2 to 2012. Database serv...
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Let me share my views on this: 1. If you choose first option: It will upgrade DB schema which will be compatible with new vCenter you are upgrading to. It is not 2008 r2 to 2012. Database server version remains same. Just schema will change. What is DB schema:A database schema is a way to logically group objects such as tables, views, stored procedures etc. Ex. Say you are on vCenter 5.1 , Now DB schema will have logical group of objects such as tables, views etc. Later when new version of vCenter comes up (say 5.5), due to new feature addition to vCenter, existing DB schema(ie. tables, views) need to be changed. In that case, you have to upgrade the DB schema. This mostly happens when you are going for major upgrade ie. From 5.1 to 5.5. Usually for minor versions schema will be same (there can be exceptions), hence for minor versions i.e. 5.5 GA to 5.5U1, most likely DB schema would be same, in this case, you can choose second option. 2. If you choose first option and if upgrade fails & if there is no backup, how will you roll back. hence DB backup need to take. 3. If we choose 2nd option and if new vCenter DB schema is not compatible with existing DB schema, you may come across issues. Choose wisely.