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We need to upgrade from the vCenter 5.1 to 6.0

Our current vCenter server doesn't meet the hardware requirements or have enough hard drive space. It is a Windows Server 2008 R2 server.

The database is running on a separate SQL 2005 server, which is not supported for Vsphere 6.0.

We have heavily utilize the distributed virtual switch. We would like to move from to a vcsa in the future, but that is a want, not a must.

What is the best way for us to get upgraded to vSphere 6 with minimal downtime.

I'm really looking for a high level order of operations, and we can research the details later.

I'm not overly concerned with keeping historical data.

Is there some way to migrate permissions/ distributed vswitch/folders/resource pools/etc to a new vCenter server?

Fling is only supported on 5.5, so if I upgrade straight to 6, does that make it harder to switch to a vcsa in the future?

Do I just need to bite the bullet and migrate the current vCenter server and database to completely new server(s)/SQL then upgrade to 6, then somehow get to a vcsa down the line.

To be clear, the most important part is just getting to 6.0 without causing issues in production

Dave M
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user258123
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    VMware has a comprehensive upgrade guide here: http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-60/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.vsphere.upgrade.doc%2FGUID-18B7B4BB-C24A-49CD-AE76-13285157B29F.html – joeqwerty Nov 08 '15 at 16:22

2 Answers2

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I'm no MSSQL expert so I don't know if this is possible but I'd try to upgrade or migrate the MSSQL 2005 server to something like Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 (64-bit) which is supported from all vCenter versions from 5.1 U1 to 6.0 U1.

Since your current vCenter server doesn't meet the hardware requirements (is it a physical machine or why can't you just add more CPUs / RAM / HDD?) I'd install a new server with 2008 R2 (should be supported by vCenter versions 5.1, 5.5 and 6.0) with the FQDN and IP address of the old vCenter server. There, I'd install vCenter 5.1 and point it to the old database. (The installer should ask what to do with the data and you should tell it to keep everything and not discard it.)

Then I'd upgrade to 5.5 and then to 6.0.

You shouldn't have to migrate permissions/ distributed vswitch/folders/resource pools/etc since it's all in the database.

Mario Lenz
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If you have vCenter 5.1 with all services on one server and SQL DB on onother:

  1. First upgrade the present vCenter servers to “vCenter 5.1 Update 3 Build 2306353”
  2. Build new SQL Database servers
  3. SQL DB migration (restore from backup or copy DB to attach) to new SQL server
  4. Change ODBC DSN connections on vCenter servers to point to new SQL DB server (Note: stop vCenter services before changing)
  5. Build new servers for vCenter 6.0 (we can user old server name & IP’s OR new)
  6. Create the ODBC DSN connection to point to new SQL server
  7. Install Single Sign On, Inventory Service, Web Client (Note: SSO Administrator Password is required)
  8. Copy SSL certificates from old vCenter server to new server (Location:C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\SSL)
  9. Install vCenter server 6.0 pointing to all the newly installed components and for database to new DB server, now in the process it will detect the previous installation and ask to upgrade it.
  10. If Host in disconnect mode - simply right click and add host to inventory
Mohi
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