vSphere 5.0 U1 to U3

[JeffD201110141]

I have vSphere (and Update Manager) running v5.0 U1 with no issues right now.  I want to upgrade to U3 that just came out (we're not ready to make the leap to 5.5 yet and see no point in going to 5.1 at this point).  Is there a simple way of doing this or is it going to be a full blown reinstall/upgrade?  I would think there would be a less invasive method but I can't find anything that describes it.  Thanks in advance.

[abhilashhb]

You could just mount the new ISO on the server and go ahead with  the classic upgrade. This will be easy too. unless you specifically have a requirement of doing it in command line etc.

Of course you will have to make sure the host is free of VM before doing it. You will have to migrate the VM's to other hosts so you can do the in-place upgrade for this host. I also suggest you to check if your sever is compatible for the updated version.

Do consider awarding points by choosing correct/helpful answer

[admin]

Hello,

It is simple as you said,  you could use the update manager to upgrade to the v5,0 U3. I have upgraded using the update manager and it worked like a  charm.

once done you build will be like below.

~ # vmware -vl

VMware ESXi 5.0.0 build-1311175

VMware ESXi 5.0.0 Update 3

You can upgrade ESX/ESXi hosts to ESXi 5.0 Update 3 in several ways.

• vSphere Update Manager. If your site uses vCenter Server, use vSphere Update Manager to perform an orchestrated host upgrade or an orchestrated virtual machine upgrade from ESX/ESXi 4.0, 4.1, and ESXi 5.0. See the instructions in the vSphere Upgradedocumentation, or for complete documentation about vSphere Update Manager, see theInstalling and Administering VMware vSphere Update Manager documentation.
• Upgrade interactively using an ESXi installer ISO image on CD-ROM or DVD. You can run the ESXi 5.0 Update 3 installer from a CD-ROM or DVD drive to perform an interactive upgrade. This method is appropriate for upgrading a small number of hosts.
• Perform a scripted upgrade. You can upgrade or migrate from ESXi/ESX 4.x hosts to ESXi 5.0 Update 3 by running an update script, which provides an efficient, unattended upgrade. Scripted upgrades also provide an efficient way to deploy multiple hosts. You can use a script to upgrade ESXi from a CD-ROM or DVD drive, or by PXE-booting the installer.
• ESXCLI: You can update and apply patches to ESXi 5.x hosts using the esxcli command-line utility. You cannot use esxcli to upgrade ESX/ESXi 4.x hosts to ESXi 5.0 Update 3.

Thanks,

Avinash

[memaad]

Hi,

It does not involve re-install, First run vSphere vCenter 5.0U3 upgrade. Once this is done, upgrade Update Manager too. Before doing this , take DB back-up of vCenter server.

Then upgrade ESXI host using update manager.

Regards

Mohammed EMaad