Setup guide

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VMware vSphere® 5.0 Upgrade

Best Practices

Preserving the ESX/ESXi Host Conﬁguration

During the upgrade, most of the ESX/ESXi host conﬁguration is retained. However, not all of the host settings

are preserved. The following list highlights key conﬁguration settings that are not carried forward during

an upgrade:

•The service console port group

• Local users and groups on the ESX/ESXi host

• NIS settings

• Rulesets and custom ﬁrewall rules

•Any data in custom disk partitions

•Any custom or third-party scripts/agents running in the ESX service console

• SSH conﬁgurations for ESX hosts (SSH settings are kept for ESXi hosts)

For a more comprehensive list of host settings that are not carried over during the upgrade, refer to the

vSphere 5.0 Upgrade Guide.

Third-Party Software Packages

Some customers run optional third-party software components on their ESX/ESXi 4.x hosts. When upgrading,

if third-party components are detected, you are warned that they will be lost during the upgrade.

If a host being upgraded contains third-party software components, such as CIM providers or nonstandard

device drivers, either these components can be reinstalled after the upgrade or you can use vSphere 5.0 Image

Builder CLI to create a customized ESXi installation image with these packages bundled. Check with the third-

party vendor to get a version of the software that is compatible with ESXi 5.0. For more information on using

Image Builder CLI, refer to the vSphere Installation and Setup Guide.