Upgrade from ESXi 4.0 to Hypervisor 5.1

[Rizwan79]

Hey, I want to upgrade one of our hosts running ESXi 4.0.0 to Hypervisor ESXi 5.1 (free version). Do you have any idea will it work and how?

Thanks

[vmroyale]

Hello and welcome to the communities.

Yes, this will work. What more can you tell us about your environment?

Also, check out http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2032756 for more info.

[a_p_]

Welcome to the Community,

this depends on whether the hardware is supported by ESXi 5.1 and also whether the host has previously been upgraded from 3.x!?

Basically an upgrade can be done interactively using the ESXi 5.1 CD.

André

[Rizwan79]

Thank you both for welcoming me in VM world

Well the machine is Dell R610 and it was the fresh install not upgraded from 3.x. So for this upgrade I just need to insert the 5.1 cd and start the upgrade and enter the free license key after install?

Thank you

[vmroyale]

So for this upgrade I just need to insert the 5.1 cd and start the upgrade and enter the free license key after install?

Basically, but I would recommend reading the best practices and upgrade guide documents. Also, like André stated, make sure your hardware and cards are compatible in the HCL. Also, make sure you have good backups of your VMs - just in case.

[Rizwan79]

What would be the best way to take backups? VM copy on any other host or...............?

[vmroyale]

What do you use to backup the VMs now?

You can use Export to OVF from the vSphere Client or use the Datastore Browser to copy them off to disk. The Datastore Browser will likely result in larger files, than using the Export to OVF option. There are also third party tools like Veeam Backup Free Edition that could be used.

[Rizwan79]

Thank you, I will try/update if I face any issue in this.