Upgrade from 5.0 to 6.0 insights

[bwatson1148]

I have a customer that has requested assistance in this upgrade scenario, and am looking for any feedback on my thought process.

Current:

VSphere 5.0 Standard environment

5 ESXi 5.0 hosts

1 vCenter Server 5.0 (Windows platform)

No additional or ancillary VMWare solutions deployed in this environment

Upgrade goals::

1) Replace each ESXi host with a new hardware resource.  The hardware will be equivalent in terms of CPU resources.for the purposes of licensing.

2) Upgrade each ESXi host from 5.0 to 6.0

3) Upgrade vCenter Server from 5.0 to 6.0 and any other components to compatible versions (of course).

My thought process in terms of process:

1) Upgrade vCenter Server 5 to vCenter Server 6

2) vMotion any vms from existing ESXI 5 host-1 to other existing ESXI 5 hosts

3) Remove ESXi 5 host-1 from environment

4) Shut down now vacated ESXi 5 host-1 to be replaced

5) Set up new hardware host resource with ESXi 6

6) Add new ESXi 6 host-1 to environment and configure appropriately for storage, etc.

7) vMotion any vms from existing ESXi 5 host-2 to other existing ESXi 5 and newly deployed ESXi 6 host-1

😎 Remove ESXi 5 host-1 from environment

9) Shut down now vacated ESXi 5 host-2 to be replaced

10) Set up new hardware host resource with ESXi 6

11) Add new ESXi 6 host-2 to environment and configure appropriately for storage, etc.

12 and on...)  repeat steps 7-11 until all ESXi 5 hosts are replaced with ESXi 6 hosts

Any feedback, thoughts, advice, etc.; on anything I might be missing here?  Any input appreciated.

Cheers and Thanks

[daphnissov]

Your upgrade goals are a little conflicting when you say:

1) Replace each ESXi host with a new hardware resource.

but then the next line

2) Upgrade each ESXi host from 5.0 to 6.0

So are you replacing all existing ESXi 5.0 hosts with new hardware installed fresh on 6.0, or are you upgrading some of them or all? This is an important distinction. The answer to that question dictates the flow of the proposed order.

[bwatson1148]

Good point.  Probably didn't phrase that as clearly as intended...

Each of 5 ESXi 5 hosts (total of 5 in this environment) is to be decommissioned and replaced with an ESXi 6 host on a new piece of hardware.  That is, ultimately swap out 5 ESXi 5 hosts for 5 ESXi 6 hosts.

so "So are you replacing all existing ESXi 5.0 hosts with new hardware installed fresh on 6.0" is the course.

[bwatson1148]

The general flow of my logic is, after upgrading the vcenter server to a version that's interoperable with both...  swap out each ESXi 5 host with a fresh ESXi 6 install on a new piece of hardware.

[daphnissov]

Ok, makes sense. Then here's my commentary on your proposed process provided inline to yours.

My thought process in terms of process:

1) Upgrade vCenter Server 5 to vCenter Server 6

I'd suggest the upgrade/migrate path to the vCSA 6 and not an in-place Windows upgrade as that platform is going away.

2) vMotion any vms from existing ESXI 5 host-1 to other existing ESXI 5 hosts

3) Remove ESXi 5 host-1 from environment

Is there any reason why you can't build the new ESXi 6.0 hosts and introduce them in the same cluster as the old 5.0 hosts, then perform migrations to them? Or are you trying to preserve the exact host names of the old ESXi hosts?

4) Shut down now vacated ESXi 5 host-1 to be replaced

5) Set up new hardware host resource with ESXi 6

Ensure you use the correct vendor-customized ISO for the hardware in use. This may be thought of as a "duh" moment, but you'd be surprised how many forget/don't know to do this.

6) Add new ESXi 6 host-1 to environment and configure appropriately for storage, etc.

Depending on what type of shared storage this is, ensure that storage's microcode is compatible with vSphere 6.0 as an upgrade may be necessary. Also, check to ensure any ESXi customizations that might have been different between ESXi 5.0 and 6.0 are applied.

7) vMotion any vms from existing ESXi 5 host-2 to other existing ESXi 5 and newly deployed ESXi 6 host-1

😎 Remove ESXi 5 host-1 from environment

9) Shut down now vacated ESXi 5 host-2 to be replaced

10) Set up new hardware host resource with ESXi 6

11) Add new ESXi 6 host-2 to environment and configure appropriately for storage, etc.

12 and on...)  repeat steps 7-11 until all ESXi 5 hosts are replaced with ESXi 6 hosts

Before doing any of this, double check to make sure any integrations that speak to either vCenter or ESXi are fully compatible with 6.0. If you have extensions registered, plug-ins, etc., all need to be checked for compatibility. See my blog here for other ideas on those integrations.

[bwatson1148]

Good insights daphnissov

Good call on the vcenter (1).  I know the march is on to nudge the Windows platform off the cliff, so a worthy consideration.  I was thinking in terms of as it exists now, but probably a good opportunity to do that.

Also, may consider the (3) migration path.  Not for sure how they want to approach it though in terms of host names.  Something yet to be fully hammered out.

That (5) can get you every time.  I've observed with sadness others struggle through that one trying to figure out why the hardware platform and software aren't jiving... 

(6) is a good catch also.  I haven't checked out the storage situation yet but that is next on my list.

They'll probably give me a fair amount of latitude on this.  I actually set this environment up a few years ago, and left it to them.  Now the hardware and software is out of date, and it's something in their queue to "update".  Trying to organize my thoughts on the process, and get some other eyes on it.

Again, thanks for your insights on this.