6.7
Table Of Contents
- VMware ESXi Upgrade
- Contents
- About VMware ESXi Upgrade
- Introduction to vSphere Upgrade
- Upgrading ESXi Hosts
- ESXi Requirements
- Before Upgrading ESXi Hosts
- Upgrading Hosts That Have Third-Party Custom VIBs
- Media Options for Booting the ESXi Installer
- Download and Burn the ESXi Installer ISO Image to a CD or DVD
- Format a USB Flash Drive to Boot the ESXi Installation or Upgrade
- Create a USB Flash Drive to Store the ESXi Installation Script or Upgrade Script
- Create an Installer ISO Image with a Custom Installation or Upgrade Script
- PXE Booting the ESXi Installer
- Installing and Booting ESXi with Software FCoE
- Using Remote Management Applications
- Download the ESXi Installer
- Upgrade Hosts Interactively
- Installing or Upgrading Hosts by Using a Script
- Enter Boot Options to Start an Installation or Upgrade Script
- Boot Options
- About Installation and Upgrade Scripts
- Install or Upgrade ESXi from a CD or DVD by Using a Script
- Install or Upgrade ESXi from a USB Flash Drive by Using a Script
- Performing a Scripted Installation or Upgrade of ESXi by Using PXE to Boot the Installer
- PXE Booting the ESXi Installer
- Upgrading Hosts by Using esxcli Commands
- VIBs, Image Profiles, and Software Depots
- Understanding Acceptance Levels for VIBS and Hosts
- Determine Whether an Update Requires the Host to Be in Maintenance Mode or to Be Rebooted
- Place a Host in Maintenance Mode
- Update a Host with Individual VIBs
- Upgrade or Update a Host with Image Profiles
- Update ESXi Hosts by Using Zip Files
- Remove VIBs from a Host
- Adding Third-Party Extensions to Hosts with an esxcli Command
- Perform a Dry Run of an esxcli Installation or Upgrade
- Display the Installed VIBs and Profiles That Will Be Active After the Next Host Reboot
- Display the Image Profile and Acceptance Level of the Host
- After You Upgrade ESXi Hosts
- Using vSphere Auto Deploy to Reprovision Hosts
- Collect Logs to Troubleshoot ESXi Hosts
Figure 2‑1. Overview of High-Level vSphere Upgrade Tasks
Start vSphere upgrade
Upgrade to vSphere 6.7 complete
Back up your configuration
Upgrade vCenter Server
Upgrade ESXi hosts
Upgrade virtual machines
and virtual appliances
Upgrading vSphere includes the following tasks:
1 Read the vSphere release notes.
2 Verify that you have backed up your configuration.
3 If your vSphere system includes VMware solutions or plug-ins, verify that they are compatible with the
vCenter Server or vCenter Server Appliance version to which you are upgrading. See VMware
Product Interoperability Matrix at
http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/sim/interop_matrix.php
4 Upgrade vCenter Server.
For detailed instructions, see vCenter Server Upgrade
5 If you are using vSphere Update Manager, upgrade it. Refer to the
VMware vSphere Update Manager documentation.
6 Upgrade your ESXi hosts. See Overview of the ESXi Host Upgrade Process.
7 To ensure sufficient disk storage for log files, consider setting up a syslog server for remote logging.
Setting up logging on a remote host is especially important for hosts with limited local storage.
See Required Free Space for System Logging and Configure Syslog on ESXi Hosts.
8 Upgrade your VMs and virtual appliances, manually or by using vSphere Update Manager, to perform
an orchestrated upgrade.
See Upgrading Virtual Machines and VMware Tools
VMware ESXi Upgrade
VMware, Inc. 6