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VMware ESX 4.0 - UPGRADE GUIDE UPDATE 1 Update Manual

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Download this manual See also: Installation Manual
vSphere Upgrade Guide
Update 1
ESX 4.0
ESXi 4.0
vCenter Server 4.0
vSphere Client 4.0
This document supports the version of each product listed and
supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced
by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this
document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
EN-000259-02

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Summary of Contents for VMware ESX 4.0 - UPGRADE GUIDE UPDATE 1

  • Page 1 Server 4.0 vSphere Client 4.0 This document supports the version of each product listed and supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs. EN-000259-02...
  • Page 2 VMware products are covered by one or more patents listed at http://www.vmware.com/go/patents. VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Requirements for Creating Virtual Machines 36 Required Ports 36 Supported Remote Management Firmware Versions 38 Preparing for the Upgrade to vCenter Server 39 About the vCenter Server 4.0 Upgrade 39 vCenter Server Upgrade Summary Prerequisites for the vCenter Server Upgrade 40 VMware, Inc.
  • Page 4 List of Preserved Configuration Components Back Up the ESX Host Configuration 75 Back Up the ESXi Host Configuration 75 Release Upgrade Support for ESX/ESXi 76 Upgrade to ESX 4.0 or ESXi 4.0 79 Upgrade ESX Hosts 79 Upgrade ESXi Hosts 81 VMware, Inc.
  • Page 5 Perform an Interactive Upgrade of VMware Tools on a Microsoft Windows Guest 92 Perform an Interactive Upgrade of VMware Tools on a Linux Guest in an X Terminal 93 Perform an Interactive Upgrade of VMware Tools on a Linux Guest with the RPM Installer 94...
  • Page 6 Upgrade Guide VMware, Inc.

  • Page 7: Updated Information

    Changed support for ESX 3.0.0 and 3.0.1 to "Limited Support" in Table 10-2 in the section “Release Upgrade Support for ESX/ESXi,” on page 76. Added section “Upgrading from ESX 3.0.0 and 3.0.1,” on page 77. EN-000259-00 Initial release. VMware, Inc.
  • Page 8 Upgrade Guide VMware, Inc.

  • Page 9: About This Book

    Guide. If you have legacy versions of ESX, ESXi, and VirtualCenter, and you want to migrate to VMware vsphere™ 4.0 by performing fresh installations that do not preserve existing data, see the following manuals: ESX and vCenter Server Installation Guide...
  • Page 10 Upgrade Guide VMware vSphere Documentation The vSphere documentation consists of the combined VMware vCenter Server and ESX/ESXi documentation set. Technical Support and Education Resources The following technical support resources are available to you. To access the current version of this book and other books, go to http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

  • Page 11: Changes To The Upgrade Process

    Changes to the Upgrade Process VMware vSphere introduces many changes to the upgrade process for vCenter Server and ESX/ESXi. This chapter includes the following topics: “vCenter Server Upgrade,” on page 11 “Host Upgrade,” on page 11 “Datastore Upgrade,” on page 12 “Virtual Machine Upgrade,”...

  • Page 12: Datastore Upgrade

    ESX host to ESX 4.0, a virtual machine upgrade baseline to upgrade the virtual machine hardware to the latest version, and VMware Tools to the latest version. To do this, you use wizard-based workflows to first schedule host upgrades for an entire cluster and then schedule a virtual machine upgrade for all the virtual machines.

  • Page 13: Licensing

    On the VMware Web site, log in to your account page to access the license portal. From the license portal, upgrade your legacy licenses. After you upgrade to vCenter Server and ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0, use the vSphere Client to assign the upgraded license keys to your assets.
  • Page 14 Upgrade Guide VMware, Inc.

  • Page 15: Example Upgrade Scenarios

    Upgrading is a multistage process in which procedures must be performed in a particular order. If you follow the suggested process, you can help ensure a smooth upgrade with a minimum of system downtime. VMware recommends that you read about the upgrade process before attempting to upgrade. If you AUTION do not follow appropriate safeguards, you might lose data and lose access to your servers.

  • Page 16: Upgrading Environments With Host Clusters

    After the upgrade, the ESX hosts are automatically reconnected to vCenter Server 4.0. Your VMware High Availability (HA) and VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) clusters are automatically reconfigured.

  • Page 17: Upgrading Environments Without Host Clusters

    Use vCenter Update Manager to upgrade your virtual machines. vCenter Update Manager ensures that the VMware Tools upgrade and the virtual hardware upgrade happen in the correct order to prevent loss of your network connectivity. vCenter Update Manager also performs automatic backups of your virtual machines in case you need to roll back after the upgrade.

  • Page 18: Upgrading By Moving Virtual Machines Using Vmotion

    The virtual machine upgrade process has changed in this release. In earlier releases, the virtual hardware upgrade came before the VMware Tools upgrade. For this release, you must upgrade the VMware Tools before you upgrade the virtual hardware.
  • Page 19 After the upgrade, the ESX hosts are automatically reconnected to vCenter Server 4.0. Your VMware High Availability (HA) and VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) clusters are automatically reconfigured.

  • Page 20: Upgrading By Moving Virtual Machines Using Upgrade Vmotion

    If they are not already powered on, power on the virtual machines and upgrade to the latest version of VMware Tools. This upgrade allows you to use the new features of ESX 4.0./ESXi 4.0. Power off the virtual machines and upgrade to the latest version of virtual hardware to take advantage of the new virtual hardware.
  • Page 21 If they are not already powered on, power on the virtual machines and upgrade to the latest version of VMware Tools. This upgrade allows you to use the new features of ESX 4.0./ESXi 4.0. Power off the virtual machines and upgrade to the latest version of virtual hardware (version 7) to take advantage of the new virtual hardware.

  • Page 22: Upgrading By Moving Powered Off Or Suspended Virtual Machines (With Vcenter Server)

    After the upgrade, the ESX hosts are automatically reconnected to vCenter Server 4.0. Your VMware High Availability (HA) and VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) clusters are automatically reconfigured.

  • Page 23: Upgrading By Moving Powered Off Or Suspended Virtual Machines (Without Vcenter Server)

    If they are not already powered on, power on the virtual machines and upgrade to the latest version of VMware Tools. This upgrade allows you to use the new features of ESX 4.0./ESXi 4.0. Power off the virtual machines and upgrade to the latest version of virtual hardware to take advantage of the new virtual hardware.

  • Page 24: Upgrading To Vcenter Server On A New Machine

    If they are not already powered on, power on the virtual machines and upgrade to the latest version of VMware Tools. This upgrade allows you to use the new features of ESX 4.0./ESXi 4.0. Power off the virtual machines and upgrade to the latest version of virtual hardware to take advantage of the new virtual hardware.
  • Page 25 Copy the SSL folder onto the destination machine. Run the vCenter Server installer on the destination machine. This process is described in detail in Chapter 7, “Upgrading to vCenter Server on a Different Machine and Keeping the Existing Database,” on page 53. VMware, Inc.
  • Page 26 Upgrade Guide VMware, Inc.

  • Page 27: Changing Host Types

    You might choose to replace ESXi Embedded with ESX. Prerequisites You must have an ESXi Embedded host. An ESXi Embedded host is a physical server that contains an ESX image preinstalled as firmware in the factory or burned onto an external USB key. VMware, Inc.

  • Page 28: Change Esxi Embedded To Esxi Installable

    If you can remove the ESXi Embedded USB device, remove it. If the USB device is internal, clear or overwrite the USB partitions. Removing or overwriting ESXi Embedded is required so that the ESXi host can be upgraded in the future. VMware, Inc.

  • Page 29: System Requirements

    ESX Hardware Requirements Using ESX requires specific hardware and system resources. 64-Bit Processor VMware ESX 4.0 will only install and run on servers with 64-bit x86 CPUs. Known 64-bit processors: All AMD Opterons support 64 bit. All Intel Xeon 3000/3200, 3100/3300, 5100/5300, 5200/5400, 7100/7300, and 7200/7400 support 64 bit.
  • Page 30 ATA and IDE disk drives – ESX supports installing and booting on either an ATA drive or ATA RAID is supported, but ensure that your specific drive controller is included in the supported hardware. IDE drives are supported for ESX installation and VMFS creation. VMware, Inc.
  • Page 31 Before you install ESX, you might need to burn the ESX installation ISO image onto DVD or USB media. Review the firmware and software that VMware has tested and has confirmed works. VMware has tested these combinations, however, other combinations might work as well.

  • Page 32: Esxi Hardware Requirements

    You need the following hardware and system resources to install and use ESXi 4.0: Supported server platform (for a list of supported platforms, see the Systems Compatibility Guide) VMware ESXi 4.0 will only install and run on servers with 64-bit x86 CPUs. Known 64-bit processors: All AMD Opterons support 64 bit.
  • Page 33 USB devices – Supported for installing ESXi 4.0. For more information, refer KB 1010574 at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1010574. Recommendation for Enhanced ESXi Performance To enhance performance, VMware recommends that you install ESXi on a robust system with more RAM than the minimum required and with multiple physical disks. Consider the following recommendations for enhanced performance: RAM –...

  • Page 34: Vcenter Server And Vsphere Client Hardware Requirements

    Memory – 3GB RAM. Memory requirements might be higher if the database runs on the same machine. vCenter Server includes a service called VMware VirtualCenter Management Webservices. This service requires 128MB to 1.5GB of additional memory. The VirtualCenter Management Webservices process allocates the required memory at startup.

  • Page 35: Vcenter Server Software Requirements

    (optional), and Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable 375MB for the custom drive directory %temp% vCenter Server Software Requirements Make sure that your operating system supports vCenter Server. See the Compatibility Matrixes on the VMware vSphere documentation Web site. VMware, Inc.

  • Page 36: Vsphere Client Software Requirements

    The vSphere Client requires the Microsoft .NET 3.0 SP1 Framework. If your system does not have it installed, the vSphere Client installer installs it. For a list of supported operating systems, see the Compatibility Matrixes on the VMware vSphere documentation Web site.
  • Page 37 Chapter 4 System Requirements VMware uses designated ports for communication. Additionally, the managed hosts are listening for data from the vCenter Server system on designated ports. If a firewall exists between any of these elements and Windows firewall service is in use, the installer opens the ports during the installation. For custom firewalls, you must manually open the required ports.

  • Page 38: Supported Remote Management Firmware Versions

    1.6.0_11 2,1,0,14 1.6.0_11 2,1,0,14 1.45 (09.01.16) 1.6.0_11 2,1,0,14 1.6.0_11 2,1,0,14 1.33 1.6.0_11 2,1,0,13 DRAC 4 1.4.2_06 2,1,0,14 1.6.0_11 2,1,0,14 1.4.2_19 Not applicable ILO2 1.91 (07/26/2009) 1.6.0_07 2,1,0,14 1.29 (2/28/2007) 1.4.2_13 Not applicable 1.09 1.6.0_11 2,1,0,14 1.06 1.6.0_11 2,1,0,14 VMware, Inc.

  • Page 39: Preparing For The Upgrade To Vcenter Server

    The upgrade to vCenter Server impacts other software components of your datacenter. Table 5-1 summarizes the impacts on your datacenter components. Table 5-1. Upgrading vCenter Server Components Product Component Description vCenter Server VI Client 1.x Not supported VirtualCenter Server 1.x Not supported vSphere Client 4.0 Install VMware, Inc.

  • Page 40: Prerequisites For The Vcenter Server Upgrade

    The following items are prerequisites for completing the upgrade to vCenter Server: VirtualCenter Server 2.x installed on a machine that supports vCenter Server 4.0. VMware vCenter Server 4.0 installation media. License keys for all purchased functionality. If you do not currently have the license key, you can install in evaluation mode and use the vSphere Client to enter the license key later.
  • Page 41 Make sure that the computer name has no more than 15 characters. vCenter Server 4.0 uses TCP/IP Ports 80 and 443 for the VMware vSphere Web client. You cannot run vCenter Server on the same machine as a Web server using TCP/IP port 80 (HTTP) or port 443 (HTTPS) because doing so causes port conflicts.

  • Page 42: Vcenter Server Database Patch And Configuration Requirements

    After you choose a database type, make sure you understand the configuration and patch requirements for the database. vCenter Update Manager also requires a database. VMware recommends that you use separate databases for vCenter Server and vCenter Update Manager. If your VirtualCenter 2.x database is not supported for upgrade to vCenter Server 4.0 Update 1 and later, first upgrade your database (or import your database into a database that is supported for upgrade to vCenter Server) and then upgrade vCenter Server.

  • Page 43: Database Scenarios

    VirtualCenter 2.x and with vCenter Server. This is not a list of supported database versions. For a list of supported database versions, see the Compatibility Matrixes on the VMware vSphere documentation Web site. The purpose of Table 5-3 is to describe the vCenter Server upgrade scenarios for each database type.

  • Page 44: Configure Vcenter Server To Communicate With The Local Database After Shortening The Computer Name To 15 Characters Or Fewer

    The name change has no impact on communication with remote databases. You can skip this procedure if your database is remote. The name-length limitation applies to the vCenter Server system. The data source name (DSN) and remote database systems can have names with more than 15 characters. VMware, Inc.

  • Page 45: Back Up Virtualcenter 2.X

    Make a full backup of the VirtualCenter 2.x database. See your database documentation. Back up the VirtualCenter 2.x SSL certificates. Copy the SSL certificate folder under %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\ Paste it at the backup location. Take notes on the existing VirtualCenter installation regarding the selections, settings, and information used.
  • Page 46 Each time you run the tool, the system queries VMware.com and downloads any new updates for the tool. This action ensures that as new upgrade issues are discovered, the tool remains as useful as possible.

  • Page 47: Downtime During The Vcenter Server Upgrade

    Expect downtime for vCenter Server as follows: VMware estimates that the upgrade requires vCenter Server to be out of production for 10 minutes, plus 15 to 20 minutes for the database schema upgrade, depending on the size of the database. This estimate does not include host reconnection after the upgrade.
  • Page 48 Upgrade Guide VMware, Inc.

  • Page 49: Upgrading To Vcenter Server 4.0

    If the upgrade fails, there is no automatic rollback to the previous VirtualCenter version. Prerequisites The prerequisites for upgrading to vCenter Server include requirements for the vCenter Server system and requirements for the database. See “Prerequisites for the vCenter Server Upgrade,” on page 40. VMware, Inc.
  • Page 50 Upgrade Guide Procedure Select Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services > VMware VirtualCenter Server to stop the service. This step is recommended, especially if the VirtualCenter database is on a remote system. As Administrator on the Windows system, insert the VMware vCenter Server Installation CD or double- click autorun.exe...
  • Page 51 2.x. The vCenter Server installer begins installing vCenter Server 4.0. Click Finish to complete the upgrade to vCenter Server. VirtualCenter 2.x is upgraded to vCenter Server 4.0. What to do next To view the upgrade log, open %TEMP%\VCDatabaseUpgrade.log VMware, Inc.
  • Page 52 Upgrade Guide VMware, Inc.

  • Page 53: Upgrading To Vcenter Server On A Different Machine And Keeping The Existing Database

    Consult your database administrator or see your database documentation about backing up and restoring databases. The machine with the VirtualCenter 2.x database is referred to as the source machine. The machine on which the vCenter Server 4.0 database will reside is referred to as the destination machine. VMware, Inc.

  • Page 54: Detach And Attach A Microsoft Sql Server Database

    You must have a VirtualCenter 2.x system running with a local or remote Microsoft SQL Server database. You must have Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio installed on the source machine and the destination machine. The Express versions ( SQLServer2005_SSMSEE.msi ) are free downloads from Microsoft. SQLServer2005_SSMSEE_x64.msi VMware, Inc.

  • Page 55: Back Up And Restore An Oracle Database

    Chapter 7 Upgrading to vCenter Server on a Different Machine and Keeping the Existing Database Procedure On the source machine, stop the VirtualCenter service. Selecting Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services > VMware VirtualCenter Server. Right-click VMware VirtualCenter Server and select Stop.

  • Page 56: Create A 32-Bit Dsn On A 64-Bit Operating System

    Suppose, for example, that you have VirtualCenter 2.x on a 32-bit machine (source machine) and you want vCenter Server to be on a 64-bit machine (destination machine). VMware recommends that you back up your VirtualCenter database before you perform this procedure. Prerequisites The prerequisites for upgrading to vCenter Server include requirements for the vCenter Server system and requirements for the database.
  • Page 57 The DSN must be 32-bit. On the source machine, stop the VirtualCenter service by selecting Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services > VMware VirtualCenter Server. On the destination machine, start the vCenter Server 4.0 installer. When prompted by the installer, select the DSN that you configured on the destination machine.
  • Page 58 Upgrade Guide VMware, Inc.

  • Page 59: Postupgrade Considerations For Vcenter Server

    Update Manager, vCenter Converter, and vCenter Guided Consolidation, for example. On the VMware Web site, log in to your account page to access the license portal. From the license portal, upgrade your VirtualCenter 2.x license. Using the vSphere Client, assign the upgraded license key to the vCenter Server 4.0 host.

  • Page 60: Upgrade To The Vsphere Client

    Server 4.0 does not require a license server to manage ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 hosts. vCenter Server 4.0 requires a license server to manage ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 hosts. If you do not have a license server installed and you need one, download the VMware License Server from the VMware Web site.

  • Page 61: License Server Scenarios

    Before you join a Linked Mode group, review the Linked Mode prerequisites and considerations. See the Installation Guide. Procedure From the Start menu, select All Programs > VMware > vCenter Server Linked Mode Configuration. Click Next. Select Modify linked mode configuration and click Next.

  • Page 62: Set The Maximum Number Of Database Connections After A Vcenter Server Upgrade

    You might want to decrease this number if the database is shared and connections to the database are costly. VMware recommends that you not change this value unless your system has one of these problems.

  • Page 63: Restore Virtualcenter 2.X

    Follow your company disaster recovery guidelines for storage and handling of these items. Installation media for the same version of VirtualCenter you are restoring VMware Infrastructure 3 license file or a running license server Database backup files SSL files found in:...
  • Page 64 Upgrade Guide VMware, Inc.

  • Page 65: Upgrading Datastore And Network Permissions

    Read-only privilege. If the Read-only privilege is nonpropagating (not inherited by child objects), VMware assumes access privileges should not be assigned to datastores and networks. In such cases, you must update your roles to include the new datastore and network privileges desired.

  • Page 66: Datastore Privileges

    68 Datastore Privileges In VMware vSphere 4.0, datastores have their own set of access control privileges. As a result, you might need to reconfigure your permissions to grant the new datastore privileges. This is required if you have nonpropagating Read-only permission set on the datacenter for users.

  • Page 67: Update Datastore Permissions

    Read-only for users who need to attach CD/DVD-ROM ISO images to a datastore. Select Propagate to Child Objects. In the Users and Groups pane, click Add. Select the users and groups for whom to add the role. To select multiple names, control-click each additional name. VMware, Inc.

  • Page 68: Update Network Permissions

    In the Users and Groups pane, click Add. Select the users and groups for whom to add the role. To select multiple names, control-click each additional name. Click OK. All users are added to the Users and Groups list for this role. 10 Click OK. VMware, Inc.
  • Page 69 New networks that you create are added under the datacenter by default. You need to set up permissions for new networks that you create. By default, new networks are created under the datacenter folder in the inventory. You can move it into a network folder, as appropriate. VMware, Inc.
  • Page 70 Upgrade Guide VMware, Inc.

  • Page 71: Preparing For The Upgrade To Esx 4.0/Esxi 4.0

    Preparing for the Upgrade to ESX 4.0/ ESXi 4.0 After completing the upgrade to vCenter Server, upgrade legacy VMware ESX/ESXi hosts to ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0. These topics are intended for administrators who are upgrading ESX, ESXi, and virtual machines from ESX 3.x/ ESXi 3.5 hosts to ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0.

  • Page 72: Vsphere Host Update Utility

    For example, you can define a host upgrade baseline to upgrade an ESX host to ESX 4.0, a virtual machine upgrade baseline to upgrade the virtual machine hardware to the latest version, and the VMware Tools to the latest version. To do this, you use wizard-based workflows to first schedule host upgrades for an entire cluster and then schedule a virtual machine upgrade for all the virtual machines.

  • Page 73: Recommendation For Static Ip Addresses

    You can perform orchestrated upgrades of hosts at the folder, cluster, or datacenter level. Recommendation for Static IP Addresses VMware recommends that you use static IP addresses for ESX/ESXi hosts. During host upgrade, static IP addresses are a requirement. DHCP IP addresses can be problematic during host upgrades. Suppose, for example, a host loses its DHCP IP address during the upgrade because the lease period configured on the DHCP server expires.

  • Page 74: List Of Preserved Configuration Components

    Specifically, the upgrade to ESX 4.0 preserves the following files from the ESX 3.x file system. /etc/logrotate.conf /etc/localtime /etc/ntp.conf /etc/syslog.conf /etc/sysconfig/ntpd /etc/sysconfig/xinetd /etc/sysconfig/console /etc/sysconfig/i18n /etc/sysconfig/clock /etc/sysconfig/crond /etc/sysconfig/syslog /etc/sysconfig/keyboard /etc/sysconfig/mouse /etc/ssh /etc/nsswitch.conf /etc/yp.conf /etc/krb.conf /etc/krb.realms /etc/krb5.conf /etc/login.defs /etc/pam.d /etc/hosts.allow VMware, Inc.

  • Page 75: Back Up The Esx Host Configuration

    .iso Back Up the ESXi Host Configuration Back up the host configuration before you begin a host upgrade. For more information about the VMware vSphere Command-Line Interface and the vicfg-cfgbackup command, see the vSphere Command-Line Interface Installation and Reference Guide.

  • Page 76: Release Upgrade Support For Esx/Esxi

    VMFS datastore to another location or partition. You can upgrade most versions of VMware ESX/ESXi to the ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 version. You cannot perform an in-place upgrade from ESX to ESXi (or from ESXi to ESX). To upgrade virtual machines from ESX to ESXi (or from ESXi to ESX), you must perform a migration upgrade.
  • Page 77 Direct, in-place upgrade from ESX 3.0.0 and 3.0.1 to ESX 4.0 Update is not supported. You can perform a standalone host upgrade by upgrading to a later version of ESX 3.x or 4.0 as an intermediary step. For information about upgrading ESX 3.0.0 and 3.0.1 to a later version of ESX 3.x, see the VMware Infrastructure 3 documentation.
  • Page 78 Upgrade Guide VMware, Inc.

  • Page 79: Upgrade To Esx 4.0 Or Esxi 4.0

    ESX 3.5, and tries to upgrade the host. The vSphere Host Update Utility does not report that an upgrade is already in progress. VMware supports and recommends that you perform one upgrade at a time when you use vSphere Host Update Utility. If you do upgrade multiple hosts simultaneously and the upgrade fails for one of the hosts, you must close and restart vSphere Host Update Utility to retry the upgrade on the host that failed.
  • Page 80 The vSphere Host Update Utility might appear to stop working. If this happens, wait several minutes to see if the utility starts working again. VMware recommends that you do not cancel the upgrade at any point during the upgrade process. The host might appear to successfully boot into ESX 4.0. If this happens, continue to wait until the utility displays the message: Upgrade Succeeded before you close the utility.

  • Page 81: Upgrade Esxi Hosts

    ESXi 3.5, and tries to upgrade the host. The vSphere Host Update Utility does not report that an upgrade is already in progress. VMware supports and recommends that you perform one upgrade at a time when you use vSphere Host Update Utility. If you do upgrade multiple hosts simultaneously and the upgrade fails for one of the hosts, you must close and restart vSphere Host Update Utility to retry the upgrade on the host that failed.
  • Page 82 Host Update Utility might appear to stop working. If this happens, wait several minutes to see if the utility starts working again. VMware recommends that you do not cancel the upgrade at any point during the upgrade process. The host might appear to successfully boot into ESXi 4.0. If this happens, continue to wait until the message Upgrade Succeeded appears before you close the utility.

  • Page 83: Postupgrade Considerations For Hosts

    Client to configure licensing. On the VMware Web site, log in to your account page to access the license portal. From the license portal, upgrade your ESX/ESXi license. Use the vSphere Client to assign the upgraded license key to the ESX/ ESXi host.

  • Page 84: Restore Vsphere Web Access On Esx Hosts

    “Clean Up the ESX Bootloader Menu After Upgrade,” on page 85 “About the esxconsole.vmdk,” on page 86 “Uninstalling the VMware License Server,” on page 86 “vSphere Host Update Utility Support for Rolling Back ESX/ESXi Upgrades,” on page 87 “Roll Back an ESX Upgrade,”...

  • Page 85: Evaluation Period Countdown

    ESX/ESXi machine from evaluation mode to licensed mode, the evaluation timer does not stop counting down. To prevent losing the availability of the evaluation mode, VMware recommends that before (or shortly after) you power on your ESX/ESXi machine for the first time, decide whether you want to use evaluation mode.

  • Page 86: About The Esxconsole.vmdk

    AUTION folder or the VMDK file, the ESX host cannot reboot. VMware recommends that you allow only administrators to modify datastores and make certain that users who have permission to modify datastores are aware of the problems that occur when the folder or the file is renamed.

  • Page 87: Vsphere Host Update Utility Support For Rolling Back Esx/Esxi Upgrades

    ESXi for two versions of VMware Tools and two versions of the vSphere Client. vSphere Host Update Utility must delete the previous versions before writing the new versions to disk. After the roll back, upgrade to ESXi 3.5 Update 4 to obtain the latest version of ESXi 3.5 firmware, VMware Tools and the VI Client.

  • Page 88: Roll Back An Esxi Update, Patch, Or Upgrade

    (including the vSphere CLI virtual appliance) must be powered off. For more information, see the ESXi and vCenter Server Setup Guide. For more information about the VMware vSphere Command-Line Interface and the vicfg-cfgbackup command, see the vSphere Command-Line Interface Installation and Reference Guide.

  • Page 89: Upgrading Virtual Machines

    After you perform an ESX/ESXi upgrade, VMware recommends that you upgrade all the virtual machines that reside on the host. The first step in upgrading virtual machines is to upgrade VMware Tools. If the virtual machines do not have VMware Tools installed, you can use the VMware Tools upgrade procedure to install VMware Tools. After you install or upgrade VMware Tools, upgrade the virtual machine hardware.

  • Page 90: About Vmware Tools

    ESX/ESXi as ISO image files. An ISO image file looks like a CD-ROM to your guest operating system and even appears as a CD-ROM disc. You do not use an actual CD-ROM disc to install VMware Tools, nor do you need to download the CD-ROM image or burn a physical CD-ROM of this image file.

  • Page 91: Planning Downtime For Virtual Machines

    During the VMware Tools upgrade, the virtual machine remains powered on. For Microsoft Windows operating systems, you must reboot the guest operating system at the end of the VMware Tools upgrade procedure. For Linux, Netware, and Solaris guest operating systems, no reboot is required at the end of the procedure.

  • Page 92: Perform An Interactive Upgrade Of Vmware Tools On A Microsoft Windows Guest

    In the virtual machine console, do one of the following: If autorun is enabled, click OK to confirm that you want to install VMware Tools and start the InstallShield wizard. If autorun is not enabled, manually start the VMware Tools installer, by clicking Start > Run and...

  • Page 93: Perform An Interactive Upgrade Of Vmware Tools On A Linux Guest In An X Terminal

    From the desktop, double-click the VMware Tools CD icon or the file manager window and double- click the RPM installer. If the VMware Tools CD icon or file manager window does not appear, install VMware Tools from the command line.

  • Page 94: Perform An Interactive Upgrade Of Vmware Tools On A Linux Guest With The Rpm Installer

    (Recommended) Upgrade the virtual machine hardware to version 7. Perform an Interactive Upgrade of VMware Tools on a Linux Guest with the RPM Installer Upgrade VMware Tools to the latest version to enhance the performance of the virtual machine's guest operating system and improve virtual machine management. Prerequisites Back up your virtual machines to prevent data loss.
  • Page 95 -rf /tmp/vmware-tools-distrib The default location of this directory is: /tmp/vmware-tools-distrib 10 List the contents of the directory and note the filename of the VMware Tools RPM installer: /mnt/cdrom/ ls /mnt/cdrom 11 Install the VMware Tools RPM package. rpm -Uhv /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-4.0.0-<xxxxxx>.i386.rpm Here is the build or revision number of the ESX/ESXi version.

  • Page 96: Perform An Interactive Upgrade Of Vmware Tools On A Linux Guest With The Tar Installer

    Upgrade Guide Perform an Interactive Upgrade of VMware Tools on a Linux Guest with the Tar Installer Upgrade VMware Tools to the latest version to enhance the performance of the virtual machine's guest operating system and improve virtual machine management. Prerequisites Back up your virtual machines to prevent data loss.

  • Page 97: Perform An Interactive Upgrade Of Vmware Tools On A Solaris Guest

    (Recommended) Upgrade the virtual machine hardware to version 7. Perform an Interactive Upgrade of VMware Tools on a Solaris Guest Upgrade VMware Tools to the latest version to enhance the performance of the virtual machine's guest operating system and improve virtual machine management.

  • Page 98: Perform An Interactive Upgrade Of Vmware Tools In A Netware Virtual Machine

    (Recommended) Upgrade the virtual machine hardware to version 7. Perform an Interactive Upgrade of VMware Tools in a Netware Virtual Machine Upgrade VMware Tools to the latest version to enhance the performance of the virtual machine's guest operating system and improve virtual machine management. Prerequisites Back up your virtual machines to prevent data loss.

  • Page 99: Perform An Automatic Upgrade Of Vmware Tools

    Perform an Automatic Upgrade of VMware Tools When you start an automatic upgrade of VMware Tools, you do not need to perform any operations in the guest operating system that is running on the virtual machine. The automatic upgrade uninstalls the previous version of VMware Tools, installs the latest version that is available for your ESX/ESXi host, and if necessary, reboots the virtual machine.

  • Page 100: Upgrade Vmware Tools On Multiple Virtual Machines

    /s /v "/qn" /l "<Microsoft Windows_location\filename.log>" of VMware Tools and creates a log file in the specified location on the guest operating system. (Optional) For Linux guest operating systems only, you can enter values in the Advanced Options field.

  • Page 101: Configure A Virtual Machine To Automatically Upgrade Vmware Tools

    In the Advanced pane, select Check and upgrade Tools before each power-on and click OK. The next time you power on the virtual machine, it checks the ESX/ESXi host for a newer version of VMware Tools. If a newer version is available, it is installed and the guest operating system is restarted (if required).

  • Page 102: Upgrade Virtual Hardware On Multiple Virtual Machines

    For those virtual machines with Microsoft Windows guest operating systems that have static IP addresses, VMware also recommends that you configure your DNS server such that these virtual machines do not have write access to their A records for their fully qualified domain name. This ensures that the DNS records for these virtual machines remain intact during the upgrade process.
  • Page 103 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. VMware, Inc.
  • Page 104 Upgrade Guide VMware, Inc.

  • Page 105: About Host Updates And Patches

    About Host Updates and Patches Host updates are for maintenance releases. Software patches address critical security issues or urgent bug fixes. An update or patch can include a new build of firmware, an update of VMware Tools, or an update of the vSphere Client.
  • Page 106 Prerequisites The host must be reachable. Procedure Select Start > Programs > VMware > vSphere Host Update Utility 4.0. Select Host > Add Host. Enter the host name or IP address and click Add. vSphere Host Update Utility verifies that the selected host is reachable and adds the host to the list.
  • Page 107 These behaviors are expected and are managed by vSphere Host Update Utility as needed. If you install a patch, do not be concerned if vSphere Host Update Utility installs multiple patches. Procedure Select Start > Programs > VMware > vSphere Host Update Utility 4.0. Select a host. In the Host Details pane, click Scan for Patches.

  • Page 108: About The Vihostupdate Command-Line Utility

    Upgrade Guide Directory where user settings are stored. UserSettingsDirectory Display a confirmation prompt to download patches from the VMware patch AskBeforeDownload repository. Can be True or False. By default, the value is set to True. About ESXi Boot and Standby Builds ESXi hosts can store a boot build and a standby build.
  • Page 109 Before you can update or patch an ESX/ESXi host from the command line, you must have access to a machine on which you can run the VMware vSphere Command-Line Interface (vSphere CLI). You can install the vSphere CLI on your Microsoft Windows or Linux system or import the VMware vSphere Management Assistant (vMA) virtual appliance onto your ESX/ESXi host.
  • Page 110 (Optional) Remove individual bulletins. <server> --remove --bulletin bulletin1 vihostupdate.pl --server Use this option only for removing bulletins that are third-party or VMware extensions. Do not remove bulletins that are VMware patches or updates. can remove only one bulletin at a time.
  • Page 111 Before you can uninstall an update or patch from an ESX/ESXi host from the command line, you must have access to a machine on which you can run the VMware vSphere Command-Line Interface (vSphere CLI). You can install the vSphere CLI on your Microsoft Windows or Linux system or import the VMware vSphere Management Assistant (vMA) virtual appliance onto your ESX/ESXi host.
  • Page 112 Upgrade Guide VMware, Inc.

  • Page 113: Index

    ESX/ESXi 110 DB2 43 AskBeforeDownload 107 depot, for patching ESX/ESXi 110 ATA disks 29 device.map 83 automatic upgrades, VMware Tools 101 DHCP 73 automatic VMware Tools upgrade 99 directory 61 disks back up, ESX host configuration 75...
  • Page 114 86 port 389 36 licensing, vCenter Server 59 port 443 36 licensing upgrades 13 port 636 36 Linked Mode group 59, 61 port 80 36 Linux guest, VMware Tools upgrade (on X) 93 ports 443 40 VMware, Inc.
  • Page 115 RSA 38 upgrade VMotion 20 upgrade VMware Tools, automatic 99 SAS disks 32, 33 upgrade VMware Tools, Linux (on X) 93 SATA disks 29, 32, 33 upgrade VMware Tools, Linux (rpm installer) 94 scan hosts 107 upgrade VMware Tools, Linux (tar installer) 96...
  • Page 116 VMware Tools upgrade, downtime 91 vCenter Agent Preupgrade Check 11 VMware Tools upgrade, automatic 99 vCenter Server VMware Tools upgrade, Linux (on X) 93 database upgrade 51 VMware Tools upgrade, Linux (rpm installer) 94 hardware requirements 34 VMware Tools upgrade, Linux (tar installer) 96...

This manual is also suitable for:

Esxi 4.0Vcenter server 4.0 - upgrade guide update 1Vsphere client 4.0 - upgrade guide update 1Esx 4.0Vcenter server 4.0Vsphere client 4.0

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