Overview of the vSphere Upgrade Process

This article is written by Muhammad Faisal as a note from "Master of Disaster: Prepare for The Most Chaotic Situation in vSphere Upgrade Execution" session delivered by Mahfud Azhary during the first vCendol TechFriday! back in November 1st, 2019.

vSphere is a sophisticated product with multiple components to upgrade. Understanding the required sequence of tasks is vital for a successful vSphere upgrade.

Overview of vSphere Upgrade Tasks

Upgrading vSphere includes the following tasks:

1. Read the vSphere release notes.
2. Verify that you have backed up your configuration.
3. If your vSphere system includes VMware solutions or plug-ins, verify that they are compatible with the vCenter Server or vCenter Server Appliance version to which you are upgrading. See VMware Product Interoperability Matrix at: http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/sim/interop_matrix.php
4. Upgrade vCenter Server. See Overview of the vCenter Server Upgrade Process.
5. If you are using vSphere Update Manager, upgrade it. Refer to the VMware vSphere Update Manager documentation.
6. Upgrade your ESXi hosts. See Overview of the ESXi Host Upgrade Process.
7. To ensure sufficient disk storage for log files, consider setting up a syslog server for remote logging. Setting up logging on a remote host is especially important for hosts with limited local storage. See Required Free Space for System Logging and Configure Syslog on ESXi Hosts.
8. Upgrade your VMs and virtual appliances, manually or by using vSphere Update Manager, to perform an orchestrated upgrade. See Upgrading Virtual Machines and VMware Tools.

When you upgrade vSphere, you must perform all procedures in sequence to avoid possible data loss and to minimize downtime. You can perform the upgrade process for each component in only one direction. For example, after you upgrade to vCenter Server 6.5, you cannot revert to vCenter Server version 5.5 or version 6.0. With backups and some planning, however, you can restore your original software records.

Overview of the vCenter Server Upgrade Process
VMware provides many options to upgrade to vCenter Server 6.5. [Read more]

Overview of the ESXi Host Upgrade Process
VMware provides several ways to upgrade ESXi version 5.5.x and version 6.0.x hosts to ESXi 6.5. [Read more]

Upgrading Virtual Machines and VMware Tools
After you upgrade ESXi hosts, you can upgrade the virtual machines on the host to take advantage of new features. [Read more]

vCenter Server Upgrade Compatibility
The upgrade to vCenter Server 6.5 affects other software components of the data center. [Read more]

vSphere Upgrade Path

ESX / ESXi host upgrades – Supported direct upgrades



https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/sim/interop_matrix.php#upgrade&solution=1

Update sequence for vSphere 6.x and its compatible VMware products

VMware has made available certain releases to address critical issues and architectural changes for several products to allow for continued interoperability

• vSphere 6.0 https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2109760
• vSphere 6.5 https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2147289
• vSphere 6.7 https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/53710