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Upgrade VCSA to VMware vCenter 6

So I jumped right in and upgraded my VCSA 5.5 to VCSA 6, you can find the official documentation and upgrade steps here.

Pre-Reqs from VMware

  •  Verify that the clocks of all machines on the vSphere network are synchronized. See Synchronizing Clocks on the vSphere Network.
  • Verify that the ESXi host on which you deploy the vCenter Server Appliance is not in lockdown or maintenance mode.
  • Verify that the vCenter Server SSL certificate for your existing vCenter Server Appliance is configured correctly. See VMware Knowledge Base article 2057223.
  • If you use an external database, back up the vCenter Server Appliance database.
  • Create a snapshot of the vCenter Server Appliance.

What you need before you start

  • Current VCSA IP address
  • Current VCSA SSO Admin Password
  • Current host login details
  • Target host details
  • Target storage details

So the installation package is actually an ISO image, once loaded you need to browse to the “VCSA” folder and install the package “VMware-ClientIntegrationPlugin-6.0.0.exe” theres nothing to configure, just run it, otherwise running the website straight away will then tell you to install the above.

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Then start the webpage for the upgrade under the cd location, and file “vcsa-setup.html”.

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You may find internet explorer or your browser of choice asks you to confirm the running of the client integration plugin, if you click no, then you will probably run into issues.

After clicking upgrade, you are informed of the possible upgrade paths.

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Accept the EULA

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Enter the details of the host which you wish to deploy your new VCSA onto and confirm the SSL cert.

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Set your new VCSA’s hostname

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Input the details of your source VCSA installation.

vCenter Applicance

  • Appliance Version
  • vCenter Server IP or FQDN
  • vCenter Administrator Username
  • vCenter Administrator Password
  • vCenter HTTPS Port
  • Appliance Root password (when using https://vc-address:5480

Source ESXi Host

  • ESXi host IP or FQDN
  • ESXi host username
  • ESXi host password

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There will be a small time validating this info, in my lab it took around 2 minutes.

Another quick warning, this time about having SSH port 22 open between old VCSA and new VCSA if there is a firewall present

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Select your Appliance deployment size

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Select the datastore on your target host for the new VCSA, even if there is only one datastore as in my lab environment, you must still click on it so its highlighted in a light blue colour

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Provide temporary network details to use whilst the VCSA data is migrated.

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And there is a final confirmation screen of the settings selected.

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Whilst the VCSA is upgraded and settings copied across there is a progress bar with a text update of the current task, it took around 20 minutes for my lab environment to complete, I reckon in a normal environment it will be around 10. I’ve listed a few of the steps below so you can read them and just go for a brew rather than watch it!

  • Initializing
  • Downloading and deploying appliance
  • Powering on appliance
  • Setting up storage
  • Installing various packages
  • Exporting data from legacy system
  • Exporting VMware Common Logging Service Data
  • Retrieving legacy system network configuration
  • Powering off legacy system
  • Applying ActiveDirectory configuration
  • Starting VMware Appliance Configuration
  • Starting VMware Postgres
  • Starting VMware vSphere Web Client
  • Migration Complete

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Now the process is complete

Logging onto the console of the VM, you notice the new look of the appliance, matching the ESXi install bar colour scheme (i’m surprised its not green tbh)

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Within the console, you are able to change network settings and enable BASH Shell and SSH for the appliance for troubleshooting.

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There’s no more access via port 5480, and going directly to the address you get a view as below.

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And finally here is a quick look at the new vSphere web client!

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So thats it for now!

Regards

Dean

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