Specifications

Contents
About vSphere Upgrade 7
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Overview of the Upgrade Process 9
How vSphere 5.x Differs from vSphere 4.x 11
Differences Between vSphere Upgrades and Updates 12
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System Requirements 13
ESXi Hardware Requirements 13
Hardware Requirements for vCenter Server, the vSphere Web Client , vCenter Inventory Service,
and vCenter Single Sign-On 17
vCenter Server Software Requirements 22
vSphere Web Client Software Requirements 22
Providing Sufficient Space for System Logging 23
Required Ports for vCenter Server 23
Required Ports for the vCenter Server Appliance 26
Conflict Between vCenter Server and IIS for Port 80 27
DNS Requirements for vSphere 27
Supported Remote Management Server Models and Minimum Firmware Versions 28
Update Manager Hardware Requirements 28
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Preparing for the Upgrade to vCenter Server 31
About the vCenter Server Upgrade 32
How vCenter Single Sign-On Affects vCenter Server Upgrades 32
vCenter Single Sign-On Deployment Modes 33
vCenter Single Sign-On and High Availability 35
vCenter Single Sign-On Components 37
Setting the vCenter Server Administrator User 37
Authenticating to the vCenter Server Environment 38
How vCenter Single Sign-On Affects Log In Behavior 38
Identity Sources for vCenter Server with vCenter Single Sign-On 39
vCenter Server Upgrade Summary 40
Required Information for Installing or Upgrading vCenter Single Sign-On, Inventory Service,
vCenter Server, and the vSphere Web Client 41
Best Practices for vCenter Server Upgrades 46
Prerequisites for the vCenter Server Upgrade 48
vCenter Server Database Configuration Notes 51
Upgrading to vCenter Server on a Different Machine 52
Supported Database Upgrades 53
Confirm That vCenter Server Can Communicate with the Local Database 53
Synchronizing Clocks on the vSphere Network 53
JDBC URL Formats for the vCenter Server Database 55
VMware, Inc.
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