6.7

Table Of Contents
Procedure
1 Right-click a virtual machine and select Compatibility > Schedule VM Compatibility Upgrade.
2 In the Schedule VM Compatibility Upgrade dialog box, confirm that you want to schedule a
compatibility upgrade by clicking Yes.
3 From the Compatible with drop-down menu, select the compatibility to upgrade to.
The virtual machine compatibility is upgraded the next time you restart the virtual machine.
4 (Optional) To upgrade the compatibility when you do regularly scheduled guest maintenance, select
Only upgrade after normal guest OS shutdown.
The virtual machine compatibility is upgraded and the new version appears on the virtual machine
Summary tab.
Change the Default Virtual Machine Compatibility Setting
The virtual machine compatibility determines the virtual hardware available to the virtual machine. You
can schedule a compatibility upgrade to make a virtual machine compatible with newer versions of ESXi.
Prerequisites
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Create a backup or snapshot of the virtual machines. See Using Snapshots To Manage Virtual
Machines.
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Upgrade to the latest version of VMware Tools. If you upgrade the compatibility before you upgrade
VMware Tools, the virtual machine might lose its network settings.
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Verify that all .vmdk files are available to the ESXi host on a VMFS3, VMFS5, or NFS datastore.
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Verify that the virtual machines are stored on VMFS3, VMFS5 or NFS datastores.
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Verify that the compatibility settings for the virtual machines are not the latest supported version.
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Determine the ESXi versions that you want the virtual machines to be compatible with. See Virtual
Machine Compatibility.
Procedure
1 (Optional) To determine the compatibility setting of a virtual machine, select the virtual machine in the
inventory and click the Summary tab.
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
VMware, Inc. 83