6.7

Table Of Contents
In the vSphere Client, you can upgrade virtual machines manually, or
schedule upgrades.
Manual
Upgrade
Use this procedure to upgrade one or more virtual
machines to the latest supported virtual hardware
version immediately.
Schedule VM
Upgrades
Use this procedure to schedule an upgrade of one
or more virtual machines at the next reboot of the
virtual machine, and choose from all supported
compatibility level upgrades.
vSphere Update
Manager
Automates the process of upgrading and patching virtual machines,
ensuring that the steps occur in the correct order. You can use Update
Manager to directly upgrade virtual machine hardware, VMware Tools, and
virtual appliances. You can also patch and update third-party software
running on the virtual machines and virtual appliances. See the Installing
and Administering VMware vSphere Update Manager documentation.
Note Do not use vmware-vmupgrade.exe to upgrade virtual machines.
Note Upgrading virtual machine hardware is a heavyweight operation that might cause some
applications or the operating system to stop working properly.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
Downtime for Upgrading Virtual Machines
n
Upgrade the Compatibility of a Virtual Machine Manually
n
Schedule a Compatibility Upgrade for Virtual Machines
Downtime for Upgrading Virtual Machines
During a virtual machine compatibility upgrade, you must shut down the virtual machine for all guest
operating systems. For VMware Tools upgrade, downtime is not required for many Linux operating
systems.
Table 101. Virtual Machine Downtime by Guest Operating System
Guest Operating System Upgrade VMware Tools Upgrade Virtual Machine Compatibility
Microsoft Windows Downtime to restart the guest operating
system.
Downtime to shut down and power on the virtual
machine.
Linux Downtime to restart the guest operating
system is required to load drivers.
Downtime to shut down and power on the virtual
machine.
NetWare No downtime. Downtime to shut down and power on the virtual
machine.
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
VMware, Inc. 278