what happens to the license when upgrading from ESX 4.0 to 5.5?

[my3cents]

So we have ESX server 4.0.0.171294 standard licnesed for 2 physical CPU. I understand with version 4.0, the highest i can go is version 5.5 U3.

1) How do i upgrade to 5.5? Do i just download the 5.5 trial version ISO and boot it up for the upgrade?

2) What happens to the license after the upgrade? Do i need new licenses?

thanks.

[daphnissov]

Be clear, is this ESX or ESXi 4.0? Two very different hypervisors so it matters.

[my3cents]

This is ESX 4.0 to ESXi 5.5.

[daphnissov]

You should be able to use the ESXi 5.5 ISO (get the vendor customized one for your hardware) and boot off of it to begin the upgrade. See this KB for supported paths. You will need a vSphere 5.x license when the upgrade is complete or else it'll operate in evaluation mode for 60 days.

[RAJ_RAJ]

Hi,

1) How do i upgrade to 5.5? Do i just download the 5.5 trial version ISO and boot it up for the upgrade?

Refer # VMware Product Interoperability Matrices

2) What happens to the license after the upgrade? Do i need new licenses?

Refer # Reapplying Licenses After Upgrading to ESXi 5.5

[my3cents]

so i can reapply my license from my current esx 4.0 installation under configuration -> licensed features-> license key and it should work correct?

[daphnissov]

No, you will need an upgraded license as I said.

[Debashish_Rath]

You can upgrade the Licence calling the VMware Licensing Team.

VMware Licencing Team should be able to help you with Licencing related query.

[daphnissov]

Or you can upgrade the licenses yourself in your own My VMware portal provided you have current support status on the target version.

[RAJ_RAJ]

You will get only 60 Days evaluation and you have to apply new upgraded license  .

I have provided link to understand more details ,  here is the details from vmware

After you upgrade to ESXi 5.5, you might need to reapply your host license.

If you upgrade from ESX/ESXi 4.x, your ESXi 5.5 software returns to the 60-day evaluation mode period until you reapply your license.

[my3cents]

once i upgrade to 5.5 u3, can i then upgrade it to 6.5? or is it best to backup the VMs, install fresh version 6.5 and reimport the VMs?

[daphnissov]

If your goal is to get to ESXi 6.5, then I don't recommend a continual upgrade from such an old version of ESX (not even i). There are tons of things that have changed since that time, and legacy settings tend to carry over. You also run into some weird happenings and bugs when you go such a leap in technology. For those reasons, I'd backup VMs, reinstall with 6.5 (provided everything is supported on that version), and restore.

[RAJ_RAJ]

HI ,

You can upgrade version to version in different ways 

First Hardware Compatibility   - Check your Hardware is Compatible with  version 6.5 or not .

Also you have consider these factors VMFS , OS Version , VM Hardware , VM Tools , RDM ,and application such as Exchange , SQL etc

Can u specify your Hardware Model 

Backup is always a best practice , if you r hardware is supported , you can directly go for fresh install  , recommend to verify above points before proceeding .

[my3cents]

we have a HP DL380 G6. Another question would be if the VMs from Version 4.0 works in 6.5?

[daphnissov]

G6 models are not supported on vSphere 6.5. The last version certified to run on that hardware is vSphere 5.5

If this is in a business environment, I'd recommend not upgrading to remain in a supported position with VMware.

[RAJ_RAJ]

Hi ,

As per VMware Hardware Compatibility  HP DL 380 Generation 6 will support up to ESXi 5.5 update 3 

VMware Compatibility Guide - System Search

If you are planning to install fresh ESXi 5.5 , Use  ESXi 5.5-U3-b​ , and later you can do patching with latest available patches .

Even if you are running ESXi 5.5 , incase you intended to use higher version of vCenter  , you may go with vCenter 6  , but VM hardware features will be available with latest VM H/W on esxi 5.5  .

[my3cents]

Is it me or browsing vmware website is so confusing? I'm trying to upgrade free esxi version to the lastest version. Where do i go? Every time i click on the download, it brings me to my downloads which does not shows the latest version only the version i have downloaded.