Specifications

For most basic vCenter Single Sign-On deployments, if all components are on the same host machine, you
can upgrade vCenter Single Sign-On, the vSphere Web Client, Inventory Service, and vCenter Server
together on a single host machine using the vCenter Server Simple Install option.
See “Use Simple Install to Upgrade vCenter Server and Required Components,” on page 65.
NOTE vCenter Server 5.5 supports connection between vCenter Server and vCenter Server components by
IP address only if the IP address is IPv4-compliant. To connect to a vCenter Server system in an IPv6
environment, you must use the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or host name of the vCenter Server.
The best practice is to use the FQDN, which works in all cases, instead of the IP address, which can change if
assigned by DHCP.
Prerequisites
n
Review Chapter 3, “Preparing for the Upgrade to vCenter Server,” on page 31.
n
See “Prerequisites for the vCenter Server Upgrade,” on page 48
Procedure
1 Install the First or Only vCenter Single Sign-On Instance in a vCenter Server Deployment on page 70
Create the only vCenter Single Sign-On instance in a basic vCenter Single Sign-On installation or the
first vCenter Single Sign-On instance in a deployment with multiple vCenter Single Sign-On instances.
2 (Optional) Install an Additional vCenter Single Sign-On Node at an Existing Site on page 72
Create an additional vCenter Single Sign-On node at an existing vCenter Single Sign-On installation.
An additional vCenter Single Sign-On node might be useful if your deployment includes multiple
vCenter Server instances.
3 (Optional) Install an Additional vCenter Single Sign-On Node at a New Site on page 73
Create an additional vCenter Single Sign-On node for a multisite vCenter Single Sign-On installation.
An additional node can be useful if you need multiple vCenter Server instances in different locations.
Authentication information is replicated between vCenter single Sign-On instances that are related.
4 Install or Upgrade the vSphere Web Client on page 74
The vSphere Web Client lets you connect to a vCenter Server system to manage your vSphere
deployment through a browser.
5 Upgrade vCenter Inventory Service Separately by Using Custom Install on page 75
You can use Custom Install to upgrade vCenter Single Sign-On, vCenter Inventory Service, and
vCenter Server separately to customize the location and configuration of the components.
6 Upgrade vCenter Server Separately by Using Custom Install on page 76
You can upgrade vCenter Server separately after installing vCenter Single Sign-On, and upgrading
Inventory Service.
Install the First or Only vCenter Single Sign-On Instance in a vCenter Server
Deployment
Create the only vCenter Single Sign-On instance in a basic vCenter Single Sign-On installation or the first
vCenter Single Sign-On instance in a deployment with multiple vCenter Single Sign-On instances.
These instructions let you install or upgrade vCenter Single Sign-On only. You must install or upgrade
vCenter Single Sign-On and upgrade Inventory Service before upgrading vCenter Server. For most
deployments, you can install vCenter Single Sign-On, the vSphere Web Client, vCenter Inventory Service,
and vCenter Server together on a single host machine by using vCenter Server Simple Install. See “vCenter
Single Sign-On Deployment Modes,” on page 33 and “Use Simple Install to Upgrade vCenter Server and
Required Components,” on page 65.
vSphere Upgrade
70 VMware, Inc.