VMware: Upgrading to ESX 4.0 and vCenter 4.0 best practices (1009039)
This article provides steps which may be useful when upgrading to ESX 4.0 and vCenter 4.0.
Note: This article assumes that you have read the vSphere Upgrade Guide. This upgrade guide contains definitive information. If there is a discrepancy between the guide and this article, assume that the guide is correct.
Note: Read the VMware vSphere 4.0 Release Notes for known installation issues.
On the vCenter Server
- Make sure your hardware requirements are compliant:
- Processor – 2 CPUs 2.0GHz or higher Intel or AMD x86 processors. Processor requirements may be higher if the database runs on the same machine.
- Memory – 3GB RAM. RAM requirements may be higher if your database runs on the same machine.
- Disk storage – 2GB. Disk requirements may be higher if your database runs on the same machine.
- Networking – 1Gbit recommended.
- Verify that your existing database is supported with vCenter Server 4.0. If it is not, upgrade your existing database to a supported type:
- Supported Microsoft SQL Server Databases:
- Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express
Note: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express is intended to be used for small deployments of up to 5 hosts and/or 50 virtual machines. - Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard edition (SP1, SP2, SP3)
- Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard edition (SP2, SP3) 64bit
- Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise edition (SP1, SP2, SP3)
- Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise edition (SP2, SP3) 64bit
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition 64bit
- Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express
- Oracle Database Support:
- Oracle 10g Standard edition (Release 1 [10.1.0.3.0])
- Oracle 10g Enterprise edition (Release 1 [10.1.0.3.0])
- Oracle 10g Standard edition (Release 2 [10.2.0.1.0])
- Oracle 10g Enterprise edition (Release 2 [10.2.0.1.0])
- Oracle 10g Enterprise edition (Release 2 [10.2.0.1.0]) x64
- Oracle 11g Standard edition
- Oracle 11g Enterprise edition
- Supported Microsoft SQL Server Databases:
- Make a full backup of the vCenter database.
- Make sure that you have the following permissions:
- Microsoft SQL:
- Grant the System DSN user of the vCenter Database db_owner privileges on the vCenter database.
- Grant the System DSN user of the vCenter Database db_owner privileges on the MSDB database.
Note: The db_owner privileges on the MSDB database are required for installation and upgrade only.
- Oracle:
- Grant dba permissions to the vCenter user.
- Microsoft SQL:
- Ensure that your ODBC System DSN is using the proper driver.
Microsoft SQL must use the SQL Native Client driver. - Stop the vCenter service. This step is recommended, especially if the vCenter database is on a remote system.
Click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services > VMware VirtualCenter Server. - Log in to your vCenter Server with a Local Administrator account on your Windows system to run the upgrade.
- Ensure no processes are running that conflict with the ports that vCenter uses.
- Configure new vSphere 4.0 licences.
On the ESX Server
- Make sure your hardware is compliant on the Hardware Compatibility Guide.
This includes:- System compatibility
- I/O compatibility (Network and HBA cards)
- Storage compatibility
- Backup software compatibility
- Make sure your current ESX version is supported for upgrade:
- Limited support for ESX 2.5.5. For more information, see the vSphere Upgrade Guide.
Note: There is no upgrade support for ESX 2.5.4 and below. - Full upgrade support for ESX 3.0.1 and higher.
Note: ESX 3.0.0 needs to be upgraded to ESX 3.0.1 or higher before upgrading to ESX 4.0.
- Limited support for ESX 2.5.5. For more information, see the vSphere Upgrade Guide.
- Server hardware for the ESX 4.0 must be 64bit compatible.
- Make sure Intel VT is enabled in the host’s BIOS.
- If a SAN is connected to the ESX host, detach the fiber before continuing with the upgrade.
Note: Do not disable HBA cards in the BIOS. - Confirm that all virtual machines are migrated or powered down on the ESX host.
- Upgrade to ESX Server 4.0.
Additional Information
For related information, see:
- Upgrading virtual machine on ESX 4.0 best practices (1010675)
- Installing ESX 4.0 and vCenter 4.0 best practices (1009080)
Source: | 1009039 |