Query Regarding Updating Vcenter

[bully79]

Hi,

I am currently looking at upgrading our Vcenter. We are currently on 6.5u2f and the latest is 6.5u3e.

We went from 5.5 earlier on in the year and had numerous guest VM'S on vmwaretools 9355, which looking at the build numbers points to 5.5 tool version.

I was worried initially and updated many of the guests tools. Some are now on 102xx and some 103xx.

My question is, will this cause the VM'S an issue having mismatched tool versions when i upgrade Vcenter (especially the ones that were on 9355 originally).

Also i presume that Vcenter updates are cumulative. So i can jump straight from 6.5.u2f to 6.5u3e. Or do i have to do incremental upgrade steps?.

I hope I'm clear on my concerns, and i am very much grateful to hear from the experts.

Thanks guys

[scott28tt]

Moderator: Moved to vCenter Server

[AhmedIbrahimVMw · Accepted solution]

Hi,

You can run different versions of VMware Tools in your environment as long as they're supported. So there's not need to worry about having some VMs with version 102xx and others with 103xx.

Refer to the following official blog post for more information regarding this topic:

Updates to VM Compatibility and VMware Tools with vSphere 6.7 Update 2 - VMware vSphere Blog

Also refer to this useful blog post:

What Every vSphere Admin Must Know About VMware Tools - VMware vSphere Blog

Regarding the vCenter Server updates, they're cumulative. And since you're on vCenter Server 6.5.x and trying to update to the same branch (i.e.: 6.5.x), this is called patching, so you only need to apply the latest patch to this vCenter Server instance; i.e.: there's no need to do a full upgrade by downloading the full ISO and running the installer and selecting the Upgrade option.

To patch vCenter Server, you'll need to download the correct patch ISO, whose filename include FP suffix, (not ALL), and then mount this ISO on the vCenter Server virtual machine.

If it is a Windows vCenter Server, then just run the msi file.

If it is a vCenter Server Appliance, then log into the VAMI page (https://VCSA-IP-Address:5480/) using the root credentials, click on the Update tab, click on Check for Updates and select CD-ROM, and finally apply the update.

There are other methods to apply the vCenter Server patches, refer to the official documentations for more details.

[a_p_]

My question is, will this cause the VM'S an issue having mismatched tool versions when i upgrade Vcenter (especially the ones that were on 9355 originally).

You will find supported VMware Tools versions in the VMware Product Interoperability Matrices.​ Although a bunch of older versions is supported, it's still recommended to keep the VMware Tools current. The Interoperability Matrices have entries for VMware Tools <-> ESXi Hosts as well as VMware Tools <-> vCenter Server, but from my knowledge they are more tied to the ESXi host on which the VMs are running, than to vCenter Server.

So i can jump straight from 6.5.u2f to 6.5u3e

Unless there's anything in the release notes regarding a required upgrade/patch path, it should be possible to use the latest full patch ("fp" bundle), which includes previous patches.

André

[bully79]

As always, yo guys are a great resource of knowledge and help. I really appreciate your quick repsonses.

Sorryt just one thing. We use the appliance so i will be using VAMI. Do i have to use th iso option or can i just use the repositroy IE download the update instead?

Thanks again

[a_p_]

Either way will work. I usually use the "...-FP.iso" to eliminate any possible issues with online downloads.

André