VMware ESX 4.0 - GETTING STARTED UPDATE 1 General instructions

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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You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:
http://www.vmware.com/support/
The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.
If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to:
[email protected]
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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.
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Contents
Updated Information 7
About This Book 9
1Changes to the Upgrade Process 11
vCenter Server Upgrade 11
Host Upgrade 11
Datastore Upgrade 12
Virtual Machine Upgrade 12
Licensing 13
2Example Upgrade Scenarios 15
About the Upgrade Process 15
Upgrading Environments with Host Clusters 16
Upgrading Environments Without Host Clusters 17
Upgrading by Moving Virtual Machines Using VMotion 18
Upgrading by Moving Virtual Machines Using Upgrade VMotion 20
Upgrading by Moving Powered Off or Suspended Virtual Machines (with vCenter Server) 22
Upgrading by Moving Powered Off or Suspended Virtual Machines (Without vCenter Server) 23
Upgrading to vCenter Server on a New Machine 24
3Changing Host Types 27
Change ESX to ESXi Installable 27
Change ESXi Embedded to ESX 27
Change ESXi Embedded to ESXi Installable 28
4System Requirements 29
ESX Hardware Requirements 29
ESXi Hardware Requirements 32
vCenter Server and vSphere Client Hardware Requirements 34
vCenter Server Software Requirements 35
vSphere Client Software Requirements 36
Support for 64-Bit Guest Operating Systems 36
Requirements for Creating Virtual Machines 36
Required Ports 36
Supported Remote Management Firmware Versions 38
5Preparing for the Upgrade to vCenter Server 39
About the vCenter Server 4.0 Upgrade 39
vCenter Server Upgrade Summary 39
Prerequisites for the vCenter Server Upgrade 40
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vCenter Server Database Patch and Configuration Requirements 42
Database Scenarios 43
Configure vCenter Server to Communicate with the Local Database After Shortening the Computer
Name to 15 Characters or Fewer 44
Back Up VirtualCenter 2.x 45
Run the vCenter Agent Preupgrade Check Tool 45
Downtime During the vCenter Server Upgrade 47
6Upgrading to vCenter Server 4.0 49
About the Database Upgrade Wizard 49
Upgrade to vCenter Server 49
7Upgrading to vCenter Server on a Different Machine and Keeping the Existing
Database 53
Back Up and Restore a Microsoft SQL Database 53
Detach and Attach a Microsoft SQL Server Database 54
Back Up and Restore an Oracle Database 55
Create a 32-Bit DSN on a 64-Bit Operating System 56
Upgrade to vCenter Server on a Different Machine 56
8Postupgrade Considerations for vCenter Server 59
Upgrade to the vSphere Client 60
Using a License Server to Manage ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 Hosts 60
License Server Scenarios 61
Join a Linked Mode Group After a vCenter Server 4.0 Upgrade 61
Set the Maximum Number of Database Connections After a vCenter Server Upgrade 62
Restore VirtualCenter 2.x 63
9Upgrading Datastore and Network Permissions 65
Datastore Privileges 66
Network Privileges 66
Update Datastore Permissions 67
Update Network Permissions 68
10 Preparing for the Upgrade to ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 71
About Host Upgrades 71
vSphere Host Update Utility 72
vCenter Update Manager 72
Recommendation for Static IP Addresses 73
List of Upgraded vSphere Components 73
List of Preserved Configuration Components 74
Back Up the ESX Host Configuration 75
Back Up the ESXi Host Configuration 75
Release Upgrade Support for ESX/ESXi 76
11 Upgrade to ESX 4.0 or ESXi 4.0 79
Upgrade ESX Hosts 79
Upgrade ESXi Hosts 81
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12 Postupgrade Considerations for Hosts 83
Restore vSphere Web Access on ESX Hosts 84
Evaluation Period Countdown 85
Clean Up the ESX Bootloader Menu After Upgrade 85
About the esxconsole.vmdk 86
Uninstalling the VMware License Server 86
vSphere Host Update Utility Support for Rolling Back ESX/ESXi Upgrades 87
Roll Back an ESX Upgrade 87
Roll Back an ESXi Update, Patch, or Upgrade 88
Restore the ESX Host Configuration 88
Restore the ESXi Host Configuration 88
13 Upgrading Virtual Machines 89
About VMware Tools 90
About Virtual Machines and ESX/ESXi Upgrades 90
Orchestrated Upgrade of Virtual Machines Scenario 90
Planning Downtime for Virtual Machines 91
Downtime for Upgrading Virtual Machines 91
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
Perform an Interactive Upgrade of VMware Tools on a Linux Guest with the Tar Installer 96
Perform an Interactive Upgrade of VMware Tools on a Solaris Guest 97
Perform an Interactive Upgrade of VMware Tools in a Netware Virtual Machine 98
Perform an Automatic Upgrade of VMware Tools 99
Upgrade VMware Tools on Multiple Virtual Machines 100
Configure a Virtual Machine to Automatically Upgrade VMware Tools 101
Upgrade Virtual Hardware 101
Upgrade Virtual Hardware on Multiple Virtual Machines 102
14 About Host Updates and Patches 105
Best Practices for Updates 105
About Patching Hosts with vSphere Host Update Utility 105
About the vihostupdate Command-Line Utility 108
Index 113
Contents
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Updated Information
This vSphere Upgrade Guide is updated with each release of the product or when necessary.
This table provides the update history of the vSphere Upgrade Guide.
Revision Description
EN-000259-02 nRenamed and clarified descriptions for various vCenter Server components in the section “vCenter
Server Upgrade Summary,” on page 39.
nAdded a reference regarding rollup jobs in relationship to detaching and attaching the vCenter Server
database to a different Microsoft SQL Server in the section “Detach and Attach a Microsoft SQL
Server Database,” on page 54.
nAdded a sentence to indicate that vSphere Host Update Utility does not support authenticated
proxies.
nAdded wording in various locations to indicate that upgrade to ESX 4.0 includes ESX 4.0 Update (or
ESX 4.0 Update 1 and later).
EN-000259-01 nAdded information on upgrade from ESX 3.5 Update 5 in the section “Upgrading Environments
with Host Clusters,” on page 16.
nAdded note on upgrade from ESX 3.5 Update 5 in the section “Upgrading Environments Without
Host Clusters,” on page 17.
nChanged 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.
nAdded section “Upgrading from ESX 3.0.0 and 3.0.1,” on page 77.
EN-000259-00 Initial release.
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About This Book
The vSphere Upgrade Guide describes how to upgrade from earlier versions of VMware® ESX™, ESXi, and
VMware vCenter™ Server to ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 and vCenter Server 4.0.
This guide includes the following tasks:
nUpgrade to vCenter Server 4.0.
nInstall vCenter Server 4.0 on a different machine and keep the VirtualCenter 2.x database. You would do
this if you are upgrading from a 32-bit server to a 64-bit server, for example.
nUpgrade to ESX 4.0 from ESX 3.x.
nUpgrade to ESXi 4.0 from ESXi 3.5.
nUpgrade to ESX 4.0 from ESX 2.5.x using upgrade VMotion.
nUpgrade to ESX 4.0 from ESX 2.5.x using cold migration.
nChange ESX to ESXi and the reverse.
nUpgrade VMware Tools and virtual hardware.
To learn how to simplify and automate your datacenter upgrade, see the vCenter Update Manager Administration
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:
nESX and vCenter Server Installation Guide
nESXi Installable and vCenter Server Setup Guide
nESXi Embedded and vCenter Server Setup Guide
Intended Audience
This book is intended for anyone who needs to upgrade from earlier versions of ESX/ESXi and vCenter Server
to ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 and vCenter Server 4.0. The information in this manual is written for experienced Microsoft
Windows or Linux system administrators who are familiar with virtual machine technology and datacenter
operations.
Document Feedback
VMware welcomes your suggestions for improving our documentation. If you have comments, send your
feedback to [email protected].
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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.
Online and Telephone
Support
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go to http://www.vmware.com/support/services.
VMware Professional
Services
VMware Education Services courses offer extensive hands-on labs, case study
examples, and course materials designed to be used as on-the-job reference
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Services provides offerings to help you assess, plan, build, and manage your
virtual environment. To access information about education classes,
certification programs, and consulting services, go to
http://www.vmware.com/services.
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