Installation guide

Table 8-1. Upgrade Support to ESX 4.1 (includes support to ESX 4.1 updates) (Continued)
From ESX Version File Name Upgrade Tools Supported
ESX 4.0 (offline bundle) These files are .zip files such as the following:
n
upgrade-from-esx4.0-to-4.1VersionInfo.zip
n
pre-upgrade-from-esx4.0-
to-4.1VersionInfo.zip
Install the pre-upgrade bulletin if you plan to use
the vihostupdate utility or the esxupdate
utility to get the new installer on the ESX server.
n
vCenter Update Manager 4.1 - host
upgrade baseline
n
vihostupdateutility
n
esxupdate utility
ESX 4.1 (offline bundle) This file is a.zip file such as the following:
n
update-from-esx4.1-4.1_VersionInfo.zip
n
vCenter Update Manager 4.1 - patch
baseline
n
vihostupdate utility
n
esxupdate utility
ESX 4.1 (online patch) This file is a roll up bulletin such as the following:
n
ESX410-VersionInfo
n
vCenter Update Manager 4.1 - patch
baseline
Table 8-2 provides details of upgrade support for ESXi. Upgrade support for a version of ESXi usually includes
all associated update releases. For example, where upgrading from ESXi 4.0 is supported, upgrades from
ESXi 4.0 Update 1, ESX 4.0 Update 2, and so on are included. However, check the release notes of the ESXi
version to which you are upgrading for greater detail on ESXi upgrade support.
Table 8-2. Upgrade Support to ESXi 4.1 (includes support to ESXi 4.1 updates)
From ESXi Version Upgrade Tools Supported
ESXi 3.5 (offline bundle)
Support applies to ESXi 3.5
Update 5 only.
This file is a .zip file such as the following:
n
upgrade-from-esxi3.5-
to-4.1_VersionInfo.zip
n
vCenter Update Manager 4.1 - host
upgrade baseline
ESXi 4.0 (offline bundle) This file is a .zip file such as the following:
n
upgrade-from-esxi4.0-
to-4.1_VersionInfo.zip
n
vCenter Update Manager 4.1 - host
upgrade baseline
n
vihostupdate utility
ESXi 4.1 (offline bundle) This file is a .zip file such as the following:
n
update-from-esxi
4.1-4.1_VersionInfo.zip
n
vCenter Update Manager 4.1 -
patch baseline
n
vihostupdate utility
ESXi 4.1 (online patch) This file is a roll up bulletin such as the following:
n
ESXi410-VersionInfo
n
vCenter Update Manager 4.1 -
patch baseline
vCenter Update Manager
Orchestrated upgrades allow you to upgrade the objects in your vSphere inventory in a two-step process: host
upgrades followed by virtual machine upgrades. You can configure the process at the cluster level for higher
automation, or you can configure it at the individual host or virtual machine level for granular control.
For example, you can define a host upgrade baseline to upgrade an ESX 3.5 host to ESX 4.1, or you can define
a virtual machine upgrade baseline to upgrade the VMware Tools and the virtual machine hardware to the
latest version. To do this, you use wizard-based workflows to first schedule host upgrades for an entire cluster
and then schedule a virtual machine upgrade for all the virtual machines.
Built-in best practices in the wizard workflows preclude erroneous upgrade sequences. For example, the
wizard prevents you from upgrading virtual machine hardware before you upgrade hosts in a cluster.
You can use Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) to prevent virtual machine downtime during the upgrade
process.
Chapter 8 Preparing for the Upgrade to ESX 4.1/ESXi 4.1
VMware, Inc. 57