Category Archives: Upgrade
VMware Product Interoperability Matrixes
For your upgrade project please use below link. It will save lot of your trouble
http://partnerweb.vmware.com/comp_guide/sim/interop_matrix.php
Methods to upgrade & migrate to esxi5.0
There are over all three methods to upgrade to ESXi5.0. There are listed below
1. Perform a scripted upgrade
You can upgrade or migrate hosts from version 4.x ESXi and ESX to ESXi 5.0 by invoking an update script, for an efficient, unattended upgrade. Scripted upgrades provide an efficient way to deploy multiple hosts. You can use a script to upgrade ESXi from a CD, DVD or USB flash drive, or by PXE-booting the installer. You can also call a script from an interactive installation.
2. Upgrade or migrate interactively using an ESXi installer ISO image on CD/DVD or USB flash drive
You can run the ESXi 5.0 installer from a CD/DVD or USB flash drive to do an interactive upgrade or migration.The installer works the same as for a fresh installation, but if you select a target disk that already contains an ESX/ESXi 4.x installation, the installer upgrades the host to 5.0, and gives you the option to migrate some existing host settings and configuration files, and preserve the existing VMFS datastores.
3. vSphere Update Manager (VUM)
If your site uses vCenter Server, VMware recommends that you use Update Manager. vSphere Update Manager is software for upgrading, migrating, updating, and patching clustered hosts, virtual machines, and guest operating systems. Update Manager orchestrates host and virtual machine upgrades..
Upgrade Method |
from ESX4.0(classic) & ESXi4.x to ESXi5.0 |
from ESXi5.0 to ESXi5.x |
| VUM |
YES |
YES |
| Interactive |
YES |
YES |
| Scripted |
YES |
YES |
| ESXCLI |
NO |
YES |
| Auto Deploy |
NO |
YES |
Configuration Changes After Migration or Upgrade to ESXi 5.0
Firewall Configuration Changes After Migration or Upgrade to ESXi 5.0
The migration or upgrade from ESX/ESXi 4.x to ESXi 5.0 results in several changes to the host firewall configuration. When you migrate from ESX 4.x to ESXi 5.0, the ESX 4.x rulesets list is replaced by the new rulesets list in ESXi5.0.
The following configuration from the /etc/vmware/esx.conf file is preserved:
-
· The existing enabled/disabled status.
-
· The allowedip added by esxcfg-firewall.
Ruleset files that are added by the user and customized firewall rules created in ESX 4.x. are not preserved after the migration. In the first boot after the migration, for those rulesets that don’t have entries in the ESX 4.x /etc/vmware/esx.conf file, the ESXi 5.0 firewall loads the default enabled status.
After the migration to ESXi 5.0, the default block policy is set to false (PASS all traffic by default) on ESXi 5.0 only when both blockIncoming and blockOutgoing values of the default policy are false in the ESX4.x /etc/vmware/esx.conf file. Otherwise the default policy is to deny all traffic. Custom ports that were opened by using the ESX/ESXi 4.1 esxcfg-firewall command do not remain open after the upgrade to ESXi 5.0. The configuration entries are ported to the esx.conf file by the upgrade, but the corresponding ports are not opened.
IMPORTANT The ESXi firewall in ESXi 5.0 does not allow per-network filtering of vMotion traffic. Therefore, you must install rules on your external firewall to ensure that no incoming connections can be made to the vMotion socket.
Resource Pool Settings Affected by the Upgrade from ESX 4.x to ESXi 5.0
After the upgrade to ESXi 5.0, ESX 4.x resource pool settings might be insufficient to start all virtual machines in the pool. The upgrade to ESXi 5.0 affects the amount of memory available to the host system. You can find this alert by pressing Alt + F11 in the ESXi direct console.
SSH Configuration Affected by Upgrading or Migrating to ESXi 5.0
The host SSH configuration is migrated only for upgrades from ESXi 4.1 to ESXi 5.0. SSH configuration is not migrated for ESX 4.x hosts or ESXi 4.0 hosts. For these hosts, SSH access is disabled during the upgrade or migration process. You can re-enable SSH access in the direct console.
Migration to ESXi5.0 from classic esx
Files and Configuration Settings Affected by the Migration or Upgrade to ESXi 5.0
The migration from ESX 4.x to ESXi 5.0 does not migrate all host configuration files and settings. After the upgrade, you must reconfigure some host settings.
Migrating ESX 4.x Files and Settings to ESXi 5.0
The upgrade process preserves as much of the ESX host configuration as possible. However, because of the architectural differences between ESX 4.x and ESXi 5.0 architecture, many configuration files cannot be migrated when you select the Migrate option in the ESXi installation or upgrade wizard. Pertinent VMware files, such as /etc/vmware/esx.conf are migrated, but many existing settings such as third party agents and scripts, cannot be migrated. In fact you can imagine these 3rd party agents & scripts are no longer needed in ESXi. Most of the 3rd party agents are backup agents, monitoring agent and scripts are generally doing same functions. All these scripts can still run if you use vMA. Agents no longer needed.
NOTE If a host contains customizations, such as third-party VIBS or drivers, upgrading with the standard VMware installer ISO will result in the loss of those customizations, and possibly an unstable system. Use ESXi Image Builder CLI to create a customized ESXi installer ISO file that includes the VIBs or drivers. See the information on Image Builder in the vSphere Installation and Setup documentation.
| Files not Migrated | Comments |
| /etc/logrotate.conf | Not migrated, ESXi has different log rotation scheme. Need to re-configure log setting mentioned at page:18 of vSphere Upgrade Guide |
| /etc/localtime & /etc/sysconfig/clock | Not migrated. Timezones are not supported in ESXi |
| /etc/syslog.conf | Not migrated. |
| /etc/sysconfig/ntp | Not migrated |
| /etc/sysconfig/console/* | Not migrated |
| /etc/sysconfig/xinetd & /etc/xinetd.conf /etc/sysconfig/i18n | Not migrated as not supported in ESXi |
| /etc/sysconfig/crond | Not migrated |
| /etc/sysconfig/syslog | Not migrated, as it is not compatible with new version |
| /etc/sysconfig/mouse | Not migrated, as mouse is not supported in ESXi |
| /etc/ssh & /etc/vmware/pci* | Not migrated |
| /etc/yp.conf | NIS is not supported & not needed as we have AD integration |
| /etc/login.defs & /usr/local/etc/ | Not migrated. |
| /etc/hosts.allow & /etc/hosts.deny | Not migrated |
| /etc/ldap.conf & /etc/openldap, /etc/sudoers | Not migrated as it is not supported in ESXi |
| /etc/rc.d/rc*.d/* | Not migrated as ESXi & ESX rc scripts are not compatible |
| /etc/vmware/init/* | Not migrated as scripts are incompatible |
| /etc/vmware/license.cfg & /etc/vmware/license.lic | Not migrated. |
| /etc/vmware/hostd/config.xml & /etc/vmware/hostd/proxy.xml | Not migrated as these files are not compatible with ESXi |
| /usr/lib/vmware | Not migrated |
| /etc/fstab | only NFS entries migrated |
| /etc/passwd & /etc/shadow | Partially migrated, only root password saved if possible |
| /etc/groups | not migrated |
