Specifications

During a vCenter Server upgrade, the existing agent software is uninstalled and the updated agent software
is installed in its place. If the upgrade fails, the updated agent software might not be installed and the host
might become unreachable by VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6 or later, vCenter Server 4.x, or by
vCenter Server 5.0. To avoid this condition, you can run the vCenter Host Agent Pre-Upgrade Checker
before you try to upgrade to vCenter Server 5.
The vCenter Host Agent Pre-Upgrade Checker checks to make sure that the agent software is ready to be
upgraded. Some of the checks include checking to make sure that the host is reachable, the disk space is
sufficient, the network is functioning, the file system is intact, and required patches are applied. Each time
you run the tool, the system queries VMware.com and downloads any new updates for the tool. This action
ensures that as new upgrade issues are discovered, the tool remains as useful as possible.
IMPORTANT A successful vCenter Host Agent pre-upgrade check does not guarantee a successful upgrade to
vCenter Server 5. An upgrade to vCenter Server involves multiple components, and the tool checks only one
component: the vCenter Host Agent. Also, the tool checks only known issues. Other issues might be present
that the tool does not check.
The vCenter Host Agent Pre-Upgrade Checker does not fix the reported issues. You must resolve the
reported issues manually and rerun the tool to verify that the issues are resolved.
For the procedure to run the vCenter Host Agent Pre-Upgrade Checker, see “Run the vCenter Host Agent
Pre-Upgrade Checker,” on page 37.
Run the vCenter Host Agent Pre-Upgrade Checker
The vCenter Host Agent Pre-Upgrade Checker reports known issues that might prevent a successful
upgrade of the vCenter Host Agent software.
For more information about the vCenter Host Agent Pre-Upgrade Checker, see “About the vCenter Host
Agent Pre-Upgrade Checker,” on page 36.
Prerequisites
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Verify that VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6 or later or vCenter Server is installed on a Windows machine
that is supported by vCenter Server 5.
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Verify that the VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6 or vCenter Server machine has a DSN configured that is
compatible with vCenter Server 5.
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Verify that the VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6 or vCenter Server database is supported by vCenter Server 5.
If necessary, upgrade the database to work with vCenter Server 5. The MSDE database was supported
in experimental mode in VirtualCenter Server 2.0.x, but is not supported in vCenter Server 5. The
vCenter Host Agent Pre-Upgrade Checker will not detect the database. Upgrade to a supported
database before using the tool. See “Supported Database Upgrades,” on page 34.
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Verify that the ESX/ESXi hosts are managed by VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6 or later or by vCenter
Server.
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Verify that VirtualCenter Agent or vCenter Host Agent software is running on each managed ESX/ESXi
host.
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Verify that Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0 is installed on the VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6 or later
system.
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Verify that you have Internet connectivity from the VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6 or later or vCenter
Server system. This allows new updates to be applied to the tool and allows you to view the reports and
the Knowledge Base (KB) articles associated with the reports.
Procedure
1 On the VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6 or later or vCenter Server system you are upgrading from, download
the vCenter Server 5 installation package or insert the vCenter Server 5 installation DVD.
Chapter 4 Upgrading to vCenter Server 5.0
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