In the previous part of the upgrade vSphere 5.5 to version 6.0 mini-series, we upgraded the vCenter Server, vSphere Client and the Update Manager. In this article we will proceed with the upgrade process of the remaining vSphere 6 components.

Upgrade ESXi hosts

Just like in the previous version of vSphere, there a several different methods for upgrading your ESXi hosts. This includes:

• vSphere Update Manager
• Interactive Upgrade using the ESXi installer ISO or USB flash drive
• Scripted upgrade
• Auto Deploy upgrade
• ESXCLI upgrade

For supported upgrade options to ESXi 6.0 see the vSphere 6 Upgrade Guide.

In my case I will use the first and most easiest option – vSphere Update Manager! 🙂

1. Connect to your vCenter Server with the vSphere Client and log in with the administrator account.
2. From the Home page go to Update Manager under the Solutions and Applications.
3. Select the ESXi Images tab and click the Import ESXi Image button.
4. Browse and open the downloaded ESXi ISO image. Click Next.
5. Accept the certificate warning message and wait until the image is processed.
6. Click Next to proceed.
7. At this point you can choose if you also want to create a new baseline.
8. In my case, I go with creating a new one.
9. Provide a name and description for the new baseline and click Finish.
10. Next, go to Hosts and Clusters (CTRL+SWIFT+H) and select your cluster.
11. Select the Update Manager tab and attach the new baseline.
12. Click the Scan link to scan the host in the cluster for upgrade.
13. When the scan is finished, click the Remediate button to start the upgrade process.
14. In the Remediate Selection window, make sure all hosts are selected and click Next.
15. Accept the EULA and click Next.
16. Check the “Ignore warnings about unsupported hardware devices…” check-box and click Next.
17. You can schedule the upgrade task or start it immediately.
18. Select the Maintenance Mode options accordingly and click Next.
19. Select the Cluster Remediation options accordingly and click Next.
20. Review the remediation settings and click Finish when ready.
21. Wait until the hosts are upgraded and you are done! 🙂

As you can see, the upgrade process using the vSphere Update Manager is exactly the same as in previous version of vSphere.

Upgrade Syslog

In the vCenter Server 6.0 for Windows, vSphere Syslog Collector is included in the vCenter Server group of services and is upgraded during the installation process. It continues to function exactly as for vCenter Server 5.5. If you want to modify the Syslog settings, see KB article 2021652.

Upgrade Dump Collector

It’s the same with the Dump Collector. In the vCenter Server 6.0 for Windows, vSphere Dump Collector is included in the vCenter Server group of services and is upgraded during the installation process. It continues to function exactly as for vCenter Server 5.5. If you want to modify the vSphere Dump Collector settings after installation, see the KB article 2002954.

Upgrade Auto Deploy

If you have a local Auto Deploy service registered to vCenter Server before the upgrade, it is upgraded automatically. If you have a remote Auto Deploy service registered to vCenter Server before the upgrade, it is migrated to the machine where vCenter Server is located during the upgrade process. Note that you have to update the DHCP settings and the TFTP settings with a new set of tramp files from the upgraded Auto Deploy server.

Cleanup

At this point, when the upgrade of all components is successful and you have verified that everything is working normally, you can clean up the data exported to the directory as depicted below.

Optionally, if your Update Manager is no longer installed on the vCenter Server consider removing the Microsoft SQL Server Express instance from the vCenter Server.

This concludes the upgrade vSphere 5.5 to version 6.0 mini-series. The upgrade process is now very simplified in my opinion leaving little options prone to a human error. Also, the Platform Services Controller contains all the necessary component services that were installed separately in the previous version of vSphere. This has its pro’s as con’s so plan your upgrade accordingly.

Cheers!

– Marek.Z