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ron001
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upgrading from 4.1 to 5.5 cluster / 5 esx hosts.

Currently we have 4 esx host .running 4.1.0 . (esx 1,2,3 (older hosts) and 4 (new purchase) and a vcenter server running 4.1

We have purchased another host esx 5.

i want to upgrade all the hosts in the cluster with version 5.5, however i dont think esx 1 and 2 meet the hardware requirements. Therefore only 3/4 can be upgraded.

I think we can get budget to replace host 1 laster this year and host 2 , next year.

what should be the best way to upgrade the cluster ( we can purchase another host this year and one more next year).  Can i run both 4.1 and 5.5 in same cluster (i gather its not recommended).

thanks in advance.

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ron001
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^

thanks,, yeh ,i check host 1/2 can only support upto esxi 5 version.

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weinstein5
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I would first confirm if the hosts do not support 5.5 which you can check here - http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php

And yes you are correct it is not recommended to run a mixed cluster - so you might check the feasibility of upgrading to 5.1 and when budget permits buy new hardware and go to 5.5

Also I would recommend reviewing the upgrade guide - http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-55/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-55-upgrade...

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ron001
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^

thanks,, yeh ,i check host 1/2 can only support upto esxi 5 version.

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lloydm618
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Just as a head's up, you can't have 5.5 hosts with a 4.1 vCenter. It's a functionality limitation. There are features in 5.5 ESXi that aren't supported or even able to really talk to a 4.1 vCenter. You would have to have your vCenter upgraded to 5.5 in order for it to manage the 5.5 host. You can have a 5.5 standalone host, but not one that's managed by vCenter. Whatever version your vCenter is, that's the highest version that can be managed by it. Just some food for thought, my friend.

Mike Lloyd TS Engineer II
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ron001
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yep, i understand that vcenter needs to be upgraded first to latest.

thinking if i can upgrade host 1 and 2 to 5.0 and host 3 /4 and 5 to 5.5.

can they all coexist in same cluster or still not recommended.

vcenter 5.5

esx 5

host 1

host 2

esx 5.5

host 3

host 4

host 5

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lloydm618
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Yes, they can, but functionality exists at the lowest ESXi version. So you can only use the lowest level functionality. At this stage, the only true difference is VSAN. You can, but I personally would put them in different clusters if I could. Less hassle in the long run, less confusing.

Mike Lloyd TS Engineer II
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raffic_ncc
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Create 2 different cluster one for ESX5 and other one for ESXi 5.5.....on your vCenter 5.5....

Mohammed Raffic VCP4,VCP5,VCAP4-DCA,VCAP5-DCA,VCP-Cloud, MCSA.MCTS,CCA http://www.vmwarearena.com
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