ESXi 4.1 upgrade on hosts, keep vCenter 4.0

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Database

Detroit Redbirds!!!
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Jan 22, 2009
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Is this possible? Is there any issue using ESXi 4.1 hosts with vCenter 4.0? The machine vCenter is currently installed on is 32 bit so the upgrade process isn't going to be all that quick/easy.

I'm wondering if I'd have any issues just updating the hosts? What would I be losing out on if it's possible?
 
It has been my experience (and is also the word from VMware), that the vCenter version needs to match the highest version of ESX/ESXi that you will be running. You can definitely run ESX 4.0 on 4.1 vCenter, but going the other way, my hosts would always disconnect if the vCenter version didn't match.
 
It's not recommended. How many hosts do you have? You could create a 64 bit vCenter VM if you don't have spare 64 bit hardware to install vCenter to, install vCenter 4.0 using the existing database, then upgrade to 4.1.
 
Thanks guys....

Yeah vCenter is currently a physical box... only 3 hosts.

Here are my thoughts what do you think? P2V the current vcenter box to a VM. Wipe existing physical server and load 2k8r2. Migrate virtual vcenter box back over to the physical box. Point hosts to new vcenter server, update hosts.. I'm just using a sql express database, my understanding is the migration will move the database and everything.

thanks!
 
Why not just start again with a new virtual vCenter? Short of reimporting the hosts and reconfiguring any cluster settings, the only thing you'll lose is performance data.
 
Yeah..unless you have vDS or Nexus 1Kv there are few reasons to worry about rebuilding a vCenter. Most of my customers consider it "disposable" if needed...outside of some exceptions.
 
NetJunkie said:
Yeah..unless you have vDS or Nexus 1Kv there are few reasons to worry about rebuilding a vCenter. Most of my customers consider it "disposable" if needed...outside of some exceptions.
Click to expand...

I think its funny if someone would run enterprise plus on SQL express ;). Distributed switches can be great; but I consider rebuilding vCenter and a vDS a lot easier than rebuilding an esxi host with a metric ton of port groups. I guess you could argue host profiles, and then I would have to counter: if you have host profiles you have enterprise plus and have the distributed switches :). I got stuck with the "enterprise" version in a previous life, which meant local vSwitches and no host profiles. We also had a TON of port groups... well not that bad, but at least 30. I did have esxcfg/vicfg-cfgbackup though which made loading esxi boxes a lot better.
 
Before 4.1 the upgrade to Ent Plus wasn't worth it for the vast majority of customers. They felt it was a fee to pay more for other licenses (PowerPath/VE, 1Kv). Now they've moved 3-rd party MPIO to Enterprise and you get SIOC and NIOC on Ent Plus it's a lot more compelling.
 
Good point, I guess I'll save the work and just blow it away. Thanks!
 
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