Specifications

Table 6‑3. ESX/ESXi 4.0 U3 and 4.1 U1 Third-Party VIBs That Cannot Be Migrated to ESXi 5.0.
ESX/ESXi Release Bulletin ID VIB ID
4.1 Upgrade 1 ESX410-201101224-UG cross_vmware-esx-drivers-net-
vxge_400.2.0.28.21239-1OEM
4.1 Upgrade 1 ESX410-201101223-UG cross_vmware-esx-drivers-
scsi-3w-9xxx_400.2.26.08.036vm40-1OE
M
4.0 Upgrade 3 ESX400-201105213-UG cross_vmware-esx-drivers-
scsi-3w-9xxx_400.2.26.08.036vm40-1OE
M
Supported Upgrades and Updates to ESXi 5.0.x
You can update an ESXi 5.0 host directly to ESXi 5.0.x., and in most cases, you can migrate or upgrade an
ESX 4.x or ESXi 4.x host directly to ESXi 5.0.x.
The details and level of support for an upgrade or migration from version 4.x ESX and ESXi hosts, and for
an update of version 5.0 ESXi hosts, to ESXi 5.0.x depend on the host and the upgrade or update method
that you use.
Table 6‑4. Supported Scenarios for Upgrade or Migration to ESXi 5.0.x
Scenario for Upgrade, Migration, or Update to ESXi
5.0.x Support
3.x ESX and ESXi hosts Not supported for direct upgrade.
You must upgrade version 3.x ESX and ESXi hosts to ESX
or ESXi version 4.x before you can upgrade them to ESXi
5.0. See the vSphere 4.x upgrade documentation.
Alternatively, you might find it simpler and more cost
effective to do a fresh installation of ESXi 5.0.x
4.x ESX host that was upgraded from ESX 3.x with a
partition layout incompatible with ESXi 5.0.x
Not supported.
The VMFS partition cannot be preserved. Upgrading or
migration is possible only if there is at most one VMFS
partition on the disk that is being upgraded and the VMFS
partition must start after sector 1843200. Perform a fresh
installation. To keep virtual machines, migrate them to a
different system.
4.x ESX or ESXi host, migration or upgrade with vSphere
Update Manager
Supported. See “Using vSphere Update Manager to
Perform Orchestrated Host Upgrades,” on page 99 and
the Installing and Administering VMware vSphere Update
Manager documentation.
4.x ESX or ESXi host, interactive migration or upgrade Supported. See “Upgrade or Migrate Hosts Interactively,”
on page 113.
The installer wizard offers the choice to upgrade or
perform a fresh installation. If you upgrade, ESX partitions
and configuration files are converted to be compatible with
ESXi.
4.x ESX or ESXi host, scripted upgrade Supported. See “Installing, Upgrading, or Migrating Hosts
Using a Script,” on page 114.
In the upgrade script, specify the particular disk to
upgrade on the system. If the system cannot be upgraded
correctly because the partition table is incompatible, the
installer displays a warning and does not proceed. In this
case, perform a fresh installation. Upgrading or migration
is possible only if there is at most one VMFS partition on
the disk that is being upgraded and the VMFS partition
must start after sector 1843200.
vSphere Upgrade
86 VMware, Inc.