Upgrading vCenter Server running Microsoft Windows

vCenter 6.5 can be installed on a supported Microsoft Windows Server operating system. Therefore, it is possible to upgrade your existing Windows-based vCenter 5.5/6.0 to 6.5. Before we cover the steps involved in the upgrade, we will review the hardware and software requirements for vCenter 6.5:

• Hardware requirements: It is important to make sure that the current system (physical/virtual) hosting the vCenter Server meets the hardware requirements for vCenter 6.5 as laid out by VMware. You should also take into account the growth factor, regarding the number of ESXi hosts and VMs that you expect to manage shortly. To start with, if the upgrade requires you to form an external Platform Service Controller, you will need a machine with at least two CPUs/vCPUs and 4 GB of memory. And the vCenter Server regardless of it using an embedded/external PSC the hardware requirement remains the same; it starts at two CPUs/vCPUs and 10 GB of memory up to 24 CPUs/vCPUs and 48 GB of memory. Storage space requirements for vCenter regardless of using an embedded or external PSC is the same, 17 GB (Program Files, ProgramData, and System folder) and 4 GB (Program Files, ProgramData, and System folder) for an external PSC. The storage space requirement will sometimes have to be reviewed if you plan to host ProgramData and Program Files folders separately for VMware components on a different Windows drive ( sometimes, on a separate VMDK).

• Software requirements: Because you are upgrading from an older version of vCenter, it is possible that Windows Server version compatibility has changed for the newest version. Use the VMware Knowledge Base article (https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2091273) to review the list of the supported operating systems. In this case, if you are upgrading from 5.5 or higher, you might already be running on a supported Windows Server operating system. Needless to say, it is important to verify before you proceed with the upgrade.

Although VCSA 6.5 has a fully scalable version of PostgreSQL database, the version embedded in Windows-based vCenter is limited for use in environments up to 20 ESXi hosts and 200 virtual machines. If you have an environment larger than that, you will need to and maybe are already using an external Microsoft SQL or Oracle Database. This is another valid reason to move to the vCenter Server Appliance model.

How to do it...

The following procedure will walk you through the steps required to perform an in-place upgrade of vCenter and its components using the vCenter installer:

1. At first, download the latest version of vCenter 6.5 Windows ISO and map it to the machine running the current version of vCenter 5.5/6.0.
2. Browse the contents of the ISO and run the autorun.exe file as a local system administrator or with a user that has local system administrator rights, to bring up the vCenter installer.
3. On the vCenter installer screen, click on the Install button to start the installation wizard.
4. On the Welcome to VMware vCenter Server 6.5 Installer screen, click on the Next button to continue.
5. Accept the EULA and click on the Next button to continue.
6. On the vCenter Single Sign-On and vCenter Credentials screen, supply the SSO administrator password and click on the Next button to let the installer run the pre upgrade checks.
7. On the Configure Ports screen—you are not allowed to make any changes. Click on the Next button to continue.
8. On the Upgrade Options screen, you can choose to migrate all or some of the historical data and the configuration or just the configuration. Choose an intended option and click on the Next button to continue:

9. On the Destination Directory screen, you can choose to change the Program Files and ProgramData locations for this installation. You can also choose to modify the location of the export folder, which is used by the installer to export current configuration. Make intended changes and click on Next to continue.
10. On the next screen, you can choose either join or not join VMware's Customer Experience Improvement Program. Make an intended selection and click on Next to continue.
11. On the Ready to Upgrade screen, confirm that you have backed-up your vCenter Server by selecting the checkbox I verify that I have backed up this vCenter Server machine and click on the Upgrade button.
12. The installer will now perform the upgrade, and if successful, it will display a Setup Completed wizard screen, where you click on Finish to close the wizard:
13. Once done, you should be able to log in to the Web Client to view and manage the upgraded vCenter Server. If everything looks good, you can delete the export folder to free up some disk space.

How it works...

The installer will remove the older components, import the data, and perform a new installation of vCenter 6.5 and its components. The amount of time the upgrade would take to finish successfully is very dependent on the amount of data that needs to be imported into the new installation and don't be surprised if the upgrade runs for more than 30-40 minutes. Once the installation is complete, you will be able to access vCenter 6.5 using vSphere Web Client. If there is more than one vCenter to upgrade, the procedure remains the same. However, the vSphere 6.5 Web Client would still let you view and manage the older version of vCenter.