VMware vCenter 7.0 has been released for several months now and figured it was about time I upgraded my home lab to the latest version.
This post will detail all the steps needed to upgrade vCenter Server Appliance 6.7 to 7.0 without any issues.
Getting Started
Before beginning, I HIGHLY recommended you first check the VMware Interoperability Matrix before performing any upgrade to check compatibility of other VMware products.
Then go download the VCSA 7.0 ISO if you haven’t already and let’s get started with the upgrade!
How to Update VMware vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) 6.7 to VCSA 7.0
Mount the vCenter 7.0 ISO to your computer and start the vCenter Server 7.0 installer located at /vcsa-ui-installer/win32/installer.exe
When the vCenter Server 7.0 installer starts, click on Upgrade.
Click Next through the Introduction.
Agree to the End User License Agreement and click Next.
Next enter the EXISTING VCSA FQDN or IP address as well what ESXi host the existing VCSA is running on, along with all of the login credentials for the existing VCSA and ESXi host.
Now enter the ESXi host or vCenter server where you would like the new VMware vCenter Server 7.0 appliance to be deployed.
Next specify a VM name and root password for the new 7.0 VCSA.
Select an appropriate deployment size for your environment.
Select a datastore you want the new vCenter 7.0 appliance to be stored.
Next configure a temporary network configuration. Once Stage 2 of the upgrade has been completed the new 7.0 VCSA will take the network identity of the old existing VCSA.
Review the Stage 1 summary and click on Finish.
Once Stage 1 of the vCenter 7.0 upgrade completes, click on Continue to move on to Stage 2.
Stage 2 – Upgrade vCenter Server Appliance 6.7 to 7.0, copying VMware vCenter data
Click on Next through the VCSA Stage 2 Introduction.
The installer will then automatically run a Pre-Upgrade check on your existing VCSA. Make sure to review those results, then click on Next. Note: Be sure that DRS is disabled if you have more than one host. I only have one host, so DRS isn’t an issue.
Next select which data you would like to copy from the existing VCSA 6.7 to the new VCSA 7.0 appliance.
Join the VMware customer experience improvement program, or don’t, and click Next.
Finally, review the Stage 2 summary and check “I have backed up the source vCenter Server and all the required data from the database” and click Finish.
Now at this point, Stage 2 of the upgrade will start copying the data from the old 6.7 vCenter over to the new 7.0 vCenter appliance. After some time, depending on how much data needs to be copied, the upgrade will complete.