Installation guide

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Determine the version of the virtual hardware by selecting the virtual machine and clicking the
Summary tab. The VM Version label displays the virtual hardware version.
IMPORTANT VMware recommends that before you upgrade the virtual hardware, first upgrade VMware Tools
on the virtual machine. This is especially important for virtual machines with Microsoft Windows guest
operating systems. On Microsoft Windows virtual machines, if you upgrade the virtual hardware before you
upgrade VMware Tools, the virtual machine might lose its network settings.
To automate this process, consider using vCenter Update Manager for virtual machine upgrades. vCenter
Update Manager ensures that upgrade procedures happen in the correct order. See the vCenter Update Manager
Administration Guide.
Procedure
1 Power off the virtual machine.
2 From the vSphere Client, right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Upgrade Virtual
Hardware.
The software upgrades the virtual hardware to the latest supported version.
The Upgrade Virtual Hardware option appears if the virtual hardware on the virtual machine is not the
latest supported version.
3 Click Yes to continue with the virtual hardware upgrade.
4 Power on the virtual machine.
If the virtual machine has a Microsoft Windows guest operating system, the operating system detects a
new device, configures the device, and prompts you to reboot the guest operating system. If any unknown
devices are recognized, the operating system prompts you to configure the device manually.
5 For Windows guest operating systems, reboot the guest operating system to make the changes take effect.
The virtual hardware version is 7 on the VM Version label on the virtual machine Summary tab.
Upgrade Virtual Hardware on Multiple Virtual Machines
You can upgrade virtual hardware on multiple virtual machines by using the Virtual Machines tab.
Prerequisites
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Create backups or snapshots of the virtual machines. See Basic System Administration.
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Upgrade VMware Tools.
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Make sure that all .vmdk files are available to the ESX/ESXi host on a VMFS3 datastore.
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Make sure that the virtual machines are stored on VMFS3 or NFS datastores.
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Make sure that no suspend files exist.
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Make sure that at least one virtual disk exists for each virtual machine.
Procedure
1 Start the vSphere Client and log in to the vCenter Server.
2 Select Inventory > Hosts and Clusters.
3 Select the host or cluster that contains the virtual machines to upgrade.
4 Click the Virtual Machines tab.
5 Select the virtual machines to upgrade and power them off.
6 Right-click your selections, select Upgrade Virtual Hardware and click Yes.
vSphere Upgrade Guide
96 VMware, Inc.