vsphere upgrade 5.5U3B to 6.5 U1g- Approach for updating vmware tools and hardware

[mahesh14584]

Hi there,

We preparing for upgrade from vSphere 5.5 U3b to 6.0. Following is our vSphere set-up;

* ESXi host hardware is HP DL380 Gen 8

* 1 DRS cluster with 7 ESXi hosts,

* Apprx 400 VMs

* Cluster resources configured sustain for 1 host failure

Our plan is to upgrade to vSphere 6.5 U1g with as minimum downtime as possible during upgrade.

Questions:

1. Though I have tested vCenter 6.5 U1g in test environement and found working fine, are there any issues with vCenter or PSOD complatints with ESXi with this update? is it stable?

2. We are plannig to upgrade 6 ESXi hosts during 1 weekend by vMotioning the VMs another and perform upgrade one host by another. What the best pratice to upgrade vmware tools and virtual hardware? is it ok update tools and virtual hardware 1 week later? so that If any issues observed I somthing to lay by by running VMs on 1 esxi host still runing on 5.5 U3b? will it cause any performace issues running vms with outdated tools on esxi 6.5 hosts? What would be the best way to handle this?

[a_p_ · Accepted solution]

I'm currently doing similar upgrades to v6.5 U1g (vCSA as well as ESXi) for my customers too, and didn't experience any issues with that version.

With DL380p Gen8 hosts, remember that you'll have to user HPE's Pre-Gen9 custom ESXi image.

To save time during the upgrade, I created a customized ESXi bundle (HPE Pre-Gen9 v6.5U1 image + ESXi patches for Build 7967591). The main reason why I still stick with U1 is the missing compatibility for the backup.

In addition to the ESXi update, consider to upgrade the hosts' firmware. HPE offers a Gen8.1 SPP ISO image, which however doesn't yet contain the latest BIOS, and iLO firmware.

André

[mahesh14584]

Hi Andre

Thanks for your respons. Yes I have used HPE customized ISO. we are using windows based vcenter with external database, we shall upgrade to VCSA during our next upgrade cycle.

could you please also advise on my second question as well? upgrdaing esxi hosts in DRS cluster without downtime for VMs,and upgrading VMware tools and virtual hardware later stage in more controlled way taking down time from application owners or possibly schedule during next month patch cycle etc? do you think it’s a good idea? Will it negatively impact on the performance during that time ? What is best practice?

[a_p_]

Sorry, I completely forgot to answer this.

VMware Tools and Virtual Hardware versions (unless you are using a really old version) are backward compatible, so there's no urgent need for an upgrade.

Since it is required to power-cycle (power off - power on) all VMs to make them aware of new CPU features (Meltdown/Spectre), you may schedule the upgrades at a later time.

For details about the "Hypervisor-Assisted Guest Mitigation" see https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/52085​. Please note that this KB article is about the January Microcode patches, but it describes the steps, and requirements.

André

[mahesh14584]

Good to know that we can hold on upgrading VMware tools and hardware temporarily without impacting the performance of VMs. do You also follow the same where you have multiple hosts in drs cluster running thousands of vms ?

[a_p_]

Yes, I guess that the majority of people does it this way. In most cases I only do the vSphere environment updates/upgrades, and the customers' admins on site do the VM updates (Virtual Hardware, VMware Tools) within the following days/weeks, because this requires proper planning for downtime (as you also mentioned).

If performance is crucial for you (e.g. for some of the VMs), you may consider to upgrade them as soon as possible in this special case, to avoid possible performance issues due to the Microcode patches.

André

[mahesh14584]

Thanks for your prompt response Andre!, and apologize for my delayed response.

With your vast field experice, would you be so kind to answer on the following?

All our hardwares are HP Proliant DL380 Gen8 or HP Proliant DL380 Gen9. connected with SAN storage (Hitachi VSP G200 / HUS110) via Fibre channel. Plan is to migrate these hosts to newly built vCenter 6.5 U1G Windows vCenter server and then upgrade the hosts to 6.5 using HPE customized image.

1. Is there a need to reconfigure or present the again the storgae to hosts when I migrate the hosts from old vCenter server (5.5) to new vCenter server 6.5?
2. Is there a need to reconfigure or present the again the storgae to hosts when I upgrade the hosts to ESXi 6.5?
3. HP Proliant DL380 Gen8 or HP Proliant DL380 Gen9 are compatible with vSphere version 6.5. Since I am using HPE custom image for upgrading the ESXi, drivers update for HBA, Multipathing are taken care by HPE image?
4. I see some users posting issues like SAN datore disappeared post upgrade ESXi host to 6.5? are there any possible issues?
5. Is it supported to run few ESXi hosts in a cluster with license assigned (5.5 license) and few unlicensed (for temporary period) during upgrade phase.
6. I have followed vmware instructions to install/configure new 6.5 Windows vCenter server (https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-installation-setup-guid... ). Are there any other parameters that I need to consider as a best practice w.r.t performance?

Thanks in advance

[a_p_]

Are you aware of Farewell, vCenter Server for Windows - VMware vSphere Blog​?

I' suggest you consider this, and go with the vCenter Server Appliance 6.5, to which you can migrate from your current vCenter Server 5.5, so that all settings are maintained.

Answers to your questions:

1. No, hardware configurations are done by host, not by vCenter.
2. No, WWNs for the hosts' FC adapters do not change, so there' no need for changing the presentation.
3. If the FC HBAs are supported by the custom image (should be the case for HPE labeled HBAs) they should work after the upgrade, and since this is an upgrade, then multipath configuration shouldn't change.
4. This may happen, if the image doesn't contain the required drivers.
5. It's the hardware that needs to be supported. You can run the hosts with, or without a license during the evaluation period. A license however may be required if you need/request support from VMware.
6. See my comment about the vCSA

Note: Keep in mind that HPE provides two different ESXi images, one for Pre-Gen9 hosts, and one for Gen9+ hosts!

André

[mahesh14584]

Hi Andre,

Thanks again for your quick response.

When I initally tested VCSA I noticed some peformance issues and little bit instebility. After consulting with others experience, we decided go with Windows based vCenter server and migrate to VCSA when we upgrade to 6.7 or 7.0. Since the we are already in the upgrade phase, we do not wish to revisit the applianace at this stage.

Could let me know performance / configuration tips for vCenter windows server?

[a_p_]

The last time I used the Windows version was with v5.5, and only because a customer needed a plugin which wasn't available for the VCSA at that time.

I can't unfortunately give you tips based on my own experience, but I think if you follow the recommendations - depending on the size of your environment - from the installation guide (CPU, RAM, DB, ...) you shouldn't run into performance issues.

ANdré

[mahesh14584]

Thanks Andre for all your inputs. I really appreciate all your help so far.