VMware ESX 4.0 - UPGRADE GUIDE UPDATE 1 Update Manual page 21

Before you begin this procedure, complete the following tasks:
1 Install vCenter Server 4.0. You cannot upgrade VirtualCenter 1.4.x to vCenter Server 4.0. You must perform
a fresh installation.
For the supported operating systems, database types, and other prerequisites, see the Compatibility
Matrixes and the Installation Guide on the VMware vSphere documentation Web site.
2 Install the vSphere Client 4.0.
You can install the vSphere Client on the same machine with your previous version of the VI Client. You
must have the previous version of the VI Client to connect to previous versions of VirtualCenter and ESX/
ESXi.
For the supported operating systems and other prerequisites, see the Compatibility Matrixes and the
Installation Guide.
Procedure
1 Install ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0.
2 Create a VMFS3 datastore with a capacity that is greater than or equal to the VMFS2 datastore on the
ESX 2.5.x host.
3 Add the ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 host to vCenter Server.
4 Remove the ESX 2.5.x host from VirtualCenter 1.4.x and add it to vCenter Server 4.0.
For upgrade VMotion to work, the ESX 2.5.x and ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 hosts must be managed by the same
vCenter Server.
5 Expose the VMFS2 volume to the ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 host.
Upgrade VMotion requires that both the VMFS2 and VMFS3 volume are visible to the ESX 4.0 host. VMFS2
volumes are read-only on ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 hosts.
6 Select a powered on virtual machine and migrate it.
Upgrade VMotion copies the disk from VMFS2 to VMFS3. This process takes a varying amount of time,
depending on the size of the disk and the IO load.
The hardware version of the virtual machines is automatically upgraded from version 3 to version 4.
What to do next
1 Optionally, upgrade the virtual machines further.
a 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.
b Power off the virtual machines and upgrade to the latest version of virtual hardware (version 7) to
take advantage of the new virtual hardware. vSphere 4.0 supports some earlier virtual hardware
versions. See Basic System Administration.
The virtual machine upgrade process is different for ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0. In earlier versions, you upgraded
the virtual hardware upgrade before you upgraded VMware Tools. For ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0, you upgrade
VMware Tools before you upgrade the virtual hardware.
VMware, Inc.
Chapter 2 Example Upgrade Scenarios
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