Migrating VMs from ESX 3.5 to 4.1

[Arkady]

Hello,

We are planning to migrate VMs from ESX 3.5 to 4.1.

Is it a valid point to ask applications vendors if their software is supported on ESX 4.1.

Anybody experienced problems with application after migration?

Thank you in advance!

[Troy_Clavell]

Is it a valid point to ask applications vendors if their software is supported on ESX 4.1

ask and you shall receive an answer you may not always like.  We like to tell the application owner we are moving our platform, what adjustments do you(they) need to make to support the application.

Another good thing is that, in all honesty, the OS and applications running within that OS, have no idea of the underlying hardware.  I would say, if the guest was performing well in a VI3 environment, it will perform just as well, if not better in a vSphere4 environment.

[a_p_]

I agree with Troy. I did not have any issues with applications when migrating from 3.x to 4.x. The only issues I could think of are e.g. licensing issues, where licensing is based on the underlying hardware.

André

[nkrishnan]

The application should work as  it was working in VI3. As Andre mentioned if it is Hardware based license and if you are not looking for Hardware version 7 features, please dont upgrade the VM hardware from ver 4 to ver 7. But upgrade vmtools for getting best performance.

[bulletprooffool]

A VM is simply a set of files / configuration.

If you move a VM from one ESX host to another and chose to not upgrade to version 7 hardware etc, you will have exactly the same VM presented as before.

As such, you should get no licensing issues and no compatibility issues.

If you are concerned, migrate the VM by duplication of the files, so you can roll back if you need to.

[Arkady]

Andre,

You meant licensing is based on MAC address?

[a_p_]

Some applications generate a unique identifier - based on hardware components, e.g. the MAC address - when you install them on a system. Then you would use this unique identifier to activate the software or request the license key.

Think of Windows for example. If you modify too many parts of the system you need to re-activate it.

André