6.5.1

Table Of Contents
You cannot upgrade vCenter Server and point to an older external vCenter Server database. You can
upgrade the vCenter Server 5.5 or 6.0 database to the latest version only by upgrading the
vCenter Server instance connected to that database.
Prepare an Oracle Database for Upgrading vCenter Server
Ensure that your Oracle database meets requirements, that you have the necessary credentials, and that
you complete any necessary cleanup or other preparation before upgrading vCenter Server.
Prerequisites
Verify that you have confirmed basic upgrade interoperability before preparing your Oracle database for
upgrading vCenter Server. See Database Requirements for vCenter Server on Windows.
Verify that you have backed up your database. For information about backing up the vCenter Server
database, see the Oracle documentation.
To set database permissions correctly, see Database Permission Requirements for vCenter Server
Procedure
1 Verify that your database meets the upgrade requirements. If necessary, upgrade the database to a
supported version.
2 If your database server is not supported by vCenter Server, perform a database upgrade to a
supported version or import your database into a supported version.
3 If your existing database is Oracle, and you want to upgrade to a newly supported Oracle database,
such as Oracle 11g, upgrade your Oracle database before upgrading vCenter Server.
You do not need to perform a fresh installation of vCenter Server if your existing database is Oracle.
For example, you can upgrade your existing Oracle 9i database to Oracle 11g or Oracle 12c and
upgrade vCenter Server 5.5 to vCenter Server 6.5.
4 Verify that passwords are current and not set to expire soon.
5 Ensure that you have login credentials, the database name, and the database server name that the
vCenter Server database is to use.
Look in the ODBC system for the connection name of the database source name for the
vCenter Server database.
vSphere Upgrade
VMware, Inc. 128