Specifications
Table Of Contents
- vSphere Upgrade
- Contents
- About vSphere Upgrade
- Overview of the Upgrade Process
- System Requirements
- ESXi Hardware Requirements
- Hardware Requirements for vCenter Server, the vSphere Web Client , vCenter Inventory Service, and vCenter Single Sign-On
- vCenter Server Software Requirements
- vSphere Web Client Software Requirements
- Providing Sufficient Space for System Logging
- Required Ports for vCenter Server
- Required Ports for the vCenter Server Appliance
- Conflict Between vCenter Server and IIS for Port 80
- DNS Requirements for vSphere
- Supported Remote Management Server Models and Minimum Firmware Versions
- Update Manager Hardware Requirements
- Preparing for the Upgrade to vCenter Server
- About the vCenter Server Upgrade
- How vCenter Single Sign-On Affects vCenter Server Upgrades
- vCenter Single Sign-On Deployment Modes
- vCenter Single Sign-On and High Availability
- vCenter Single Sign-On Components
- Setting the vCenter Server Administrator User
- Authenticating to the vCenter Server Environment
- How vCenter Single Sign-On Affects Log In Behavior
- Identity Sources for vCenter Server with vCenter Single Sign-On
- vCenter Server Upgrade Summary
- Required Information for Installing or Upgrading vCenter Single Sign-On, Inventory Service, vCenter Server, and the vSphere Web Client
- Best Practices for vCenter Server Upgrades
- Prerequisites for the vCenter Server Upgrade
- vCenter Server Database Configuration Notes
- Upgrading to vCenter Server on a Different Machine
- Supported Database Upgrades
- Confirm That vCenter Server Can Communicate with the Local Database
- Synchronizing Clocks on the vSphere Network
- JDBC URL Formats for the vCenter Server Database
- DNS Load Balancing Solutions and vCenter Server Datastore Naming
- About the vCenter Host Agent Pre-Upgrade Checker
- Downtime During the vCenter Server Upgrade
- Download the vCenter Server Installer
- Microsoft SQL Database Set to Unsupported Compatibility Mode Causes vCenter Server Installation or Upgrade to Fail
- Upgrading vCenter Server
- vCenter Server Upgrade and Sign-On Process for Environments that Do Not Include vCenter Single Sign-On
- vCenter Server Upgrade and Sign-On Process for Environments with vCenter Single Sign-On
- Use Simple Install to Upgrade vCenter Server and Required Components
- Use Custom Install to Upgrade Version 5.0.x and Earlier vCenter Server and Required Components
- Install the First or Only vCenter Single Sign-On Instance in a vCenter Server Deployment
- Install an Additional vCenter Single Sign-On Node at an Existing Site
- Install an Additional vCenter Single Sign-On Node at a New Site
- Install or Upgrade the vSphere Web Client
- Upgrade vCenter Inventory Service Separately by Using Custom Install
- Upgrade vCenter Server Separately by Using Custom Install
- Use Custom Install to Upgrade a Basic vCenter Single Sign-On Deployment of Version 5.1.x vCenter Server and Required Components
- Use Custom Install to Upgrade vCenter Server from a Version 5.1.x High Availability vCenter Single Sign-On Deployment
- Upgrade the First vCenter Single Sign-On Node in a High Availability Installation
- Upgrade an Additional vCenter Single Sign-On Server for High Availability
- Reconfigure the Load Balancer After Upgrading a vCenter Single Sign-On High Availability Deployment to Version 5.5
- Install or Upgrade the vSphere Web Client
- Upgrade vCenter Inventory Service Separately by Using Custom Install
- Upgrade vCenter Server Separately by Using Custom Install
- Use Custom Install to Upgrade vCenter Server from a Version 5.1.x Multisite vCenter Single Sign-On Deployment
- Install or Upgrade the First vCenter Single Sign-On Server in a Multisite vCenter Single Sign-On Installation
- Install or Upgrade the vSphere Web Client
- Upgrade vCenter Inventory Service Separately by Using Custom Install
- Upgrade vCenter Server Separately by Using Custom Install
- Install or Upgrade an Additional Single Sign-On Server for a Multisite vCenter Single Sign-On Installation
- Install or Upgrade the vSphere Web Client
- Upgrade vCenter Inventory Service Separately by Using Custom Install
- Upgrade vCenter Server Separately by Using Custom Install
- Add a vCenter Single Sign-On Identity Source
- Migrate vCenter Server and Components from a Windows Server 2003 Host
- Install vCenter Single Sign-On in a Migration to vSphere 5.5 from a Windows Server 2003 Host
- Install or Upgrade the vSphere Web Client
- Migrate vSphere Web Client Data from a Windows Server 2003 Host
- Migrate vCenter Inventory Service Data from a Windows Server 2003 Host
- Install Inventory Service in a vCenter Server Migration from a Windows Server 2003 Host
- Migrate vCenter Server Data from a Windows Server 2003 Host
- Install vCenter Server in a Migration from a Windows Server 2003 Host
- vCenter Single Sign-On Installation Fails
- Updating vCenter Server with Service Packs
- Upgrading and Updating the vCenter Server Appliance
- Install or Upgrade vCenter Server Java Components Separately
- Install or Upgrade vCenter Server tc Server Separately
- Update the Java Components and vCenter Server tc Server with VIMPatch
- vCenter Server Upgrade Fails When Unable to Stop Tomcat Service
- After You Upgrade vCenter Server
- Install or Upgrade the vSphere Web Client
- Install or Upgrade vSphere ESXi Dump Collector
- Install or Upgrade vSphere Syslog Collector
- Install or Upgrade vSphere Auto Deploy
- Install or Upgrade vSphere Authentication Proxy
- Enable IPv6 Support for vCenter Inventory Service
- Linked Mode Considerations for vCenter Server
- Linked Mode Prerequisites for vCenter Server
- Join a Linked Mode Group After a vCenter Server Upgrade
- Configuring VMware vCenter Server - tc Server Settings in vCenter Server
- Set the Maximum Number of Database Connections After a vCenter Server Upgrade
- Upgrading Update Manager
- Upgrading and Migrating Your Hosts
- Preparing to Upgrade Hosts
- Best Practices for ESXi Upgrades and Migrations
- Files and Configuration Settings Affected by the Migration or Upgrade from ESX 4.x or ESXi 4.x to ESXi 5.x
- Networking Changes in ESXi 5.x
- Partitioning Changes from ESX 4.x to ESXi 5.x
- ESXi 5.5 Upgrade Options
- Upgrading Hosts That Have Third-Party Custom VIBs
- Supported Upgrades to ESXi 5.5.x
- Using Manually Assigned IP Addresses for Upgrades and Migrations Performed with vSphere Update Manager
- Media Options for Booting the ESXi Installer
- Download and Burn the ESXi Installer ISO Image to a CD or DVD
- Format a USB Flash Drive to Boot the ESXi Installation or Upgrade
- Create a USB Flash Drive to Store the ESXi Installation Script or Upgrade Script
- Create an Installer ISO Image with a Custom Installation or Upgrade Script
- PXE Booting the ESXi Installer
- Installing and Booting ESXi with Software FCoE
- Using Remote Management Applications
- Download the ESXi Installer
- Performing the Upgrade or Migration
- Using vSphere Update Manager to Perform Orchestrated Host Upgrades
- Configuring Host and Cluster Settings
- Perform an Orchestrated Upgrade of Hosts Using vSphere Update Manager
- Configure Host Maintenance Mode Settings
- Configure Cluster Settings
- Enable Remediation of PXE Booted ESXi 5.x Hosts
- Import Host Upgrade Images and Create Host Upgrade Baselines
- Create a Host Baseline Group
- Attach Baselines and Baseline Groups to Objects
- Manually Initiate a Scan of ESX/ESXi Hosts
- View Compliance Information for vSphere Objects
- Remediate Hosts Against an Upgrade Baseline
- Remediate Hosts Against Baseline Groups
- Upgrade or Migrate Hosts Interactively
- Installing, Upgrading, or Migrating Hosts Using a Script
- Enter Boot Options to Start an Installation or Upgrade Script
- About Installation and Upgrade Scripts
- Install, Upgrade, or Migrate ESXi from a CD or DVD Using a Script
- Install, Upgrade, or Migrate ESXi from a USB Flash Drive Using a Script
- Performing a Scripted Installation or Upgrade of ESXi by PXE Booting the Installer
- Using vSphere Auto Deploy to Reprovision Hosts
- Upgrading Hosts by Using esxcli Commands
- VIBs, Image Profiles, and Software Depots
- Understanding Acceptance Levels for VIBS and Hosts
- Determine Whether an Update Requires the Host to Be in Maintenance Mode or to Be Rebooted
- Place a Host in Maintenance Mode
- Update a Host with Individual VIBs
- Upgrade or Update a Host with Image Profiles
- Update ESXi Hosts by Using Zip Files
- Remove VIBs from a Host
- Adding Third-Party Extensions to Hosts with esxcli
- Perform a Dry Run of an esxcli Installation or Upgrade
- Display the Installed VIBs and Profiles That Will Be Active After the Next Host Reboot
- Display the Image Profile and Acceptance Level of the Host
- Errors and Warnings Returned by the Installation and Upgrade Precheck Script
- Using vSphere Update Manager to Perform Orchestrated Host Upgrades
- After You Upgrade or Migrate Hosts
- Preparing to Upgrade Hosts
- Upgrading Virtual Machines and VMware Tools
- Example Upgrade Scenarios
- Index
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ESXi supports a broad range of x64 multicore processors. For a complete list of supported processors,
see the VMware compatibility guide at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.
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ESXi requires a minimum of 4GB of physical RAM. Provide at least 8GB of RAM to take full advantage
of ESXi features and run virtual machines in typical production environments.
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To support 64-bit virtual machines, support for hardware virtualization (Intel VT-x or AMD RVI) must
be enabled on x64 CPUs.
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One or more Gigabit or 10Gb Ethernet controllers. For a list of supported network adapter models, see
the VMware Compatibility Guide at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.
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Any combination of one or more of the following controllers:
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Basic SCSI controllers. Adaptec Ultra-160 or Ultra-320, LSI Logic Fusion-MPT, or most
NCR/Symbios SCSI.
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RAID controllers. Dell PERC (Adaptec RAID or LSI MegaRAID), HP Smart Array RAID, or IBM
(Adaptec) ServeRAID controllers.
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SCSI disk or a local, non-network, RAID LUN with unpartitioned space for the virtual machines.
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For Serial ATA (SATA), a disk connected through supported SAS controllers or supported on-board
SATA controllers. SATA disks will be considered remote, not local. These disks will not be used as a
scratch partition by default because they are seen as remote.
NOTE You cannot connect a SATA CD-ROM device to a virtual machine on an ESXi 5.5 host. To use the
SATA CD-ROM device, you must use IDE emulation mode.
Storage Systems
For a list of supported storage systems, see the VMware Compatibility Guide at
http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility. ESXi 5.5 supports installing on and booting from the
following storage systems:
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SATA disk drives. SATA disk drives connected behind supported SAS controllers or supported on-
board SATA controllers.
Supported SAS controllers include:
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LSI1068E (LSISAS3442E)
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LSI1068 (SAS 5)
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IBM ServeRAID 8K SAS controller
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Smart Array P400/256 controller
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Dell PERC 5.0.1 controller
Supported on-board SATA include:
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Intel ICH9
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NVIDIA MCP55
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ServerWorks HT1000
NOTE ESXi does not support using local, internal SATA drives on the host server to create VMFS
datastores that are shared across multiple ESXi hosts.
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Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) disk drives. Supported for installing ESXi and for storing virtual machines
on VMFS partitions.
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Dedicated SAN disk on Fibre Channel or iSCSI
vSphere Upgrade
14 VMware, Inc.