VCSA 6 Upgrade
This post deal with the task of upgrading a 5.5 version of VCSA to 6.0 and finding out if we can somehow keep the same IP Address and Hostname afterwards. The process is kind of a side by side migration so I'm interested to know what's possible / not.
My Lab contains a VCSA 5.5 appliance with a single Host & a VM attached just to keep things simple. The Hostname is Labvc01.lab.local and it's on IP 192.168.10.82. I upgraded it to build 2646489 just to enjoy the old method of upgrading via the :5480 web interface one last time :)
I had difficulty adding a host to the VCSA 5.5 until I realised it was ESXi 6.0! I installed and 5.5 one and hey presto!
Now we've our source environment ready to go I've mounted the VCSA 6 ISO on my home workstation. This gives me the following view:
Next Click Ok if you're on a suitable version, 5.1 U2 or earlier and watch out!
Next Accept or print the license agreement
Next type in the Name/IP and credentials of the ESXi Host you're going to connect to and deploy the new VCSA 6.0 appliance
Next, accept any certificate warnings. On the next screen interestingly we get to the nub of the upgrade, can you reuse the old FQDN and IP? Watch this space! I've tried using the old FQDN and it's giving out.
Next I've given the new appliance a different name in vCenter
Next I've filled out the source appliance options - I changed the default password for root but the administrator@vsphere.local password was still "vmware". The Existing appliance version is a drop down choice of 5.1 U3 or 5.5, take your pick!
Next a few notes on the process, Click Yes
Next size your VCSA, mine is a lab so tiny is fine
Next select a Datastore
Next this is where it gets interesting. The new appliance asks for a temporary IP address to stand up, copy the old config over and then kill off the old king in place of the new one.
Next review your settings and upgrade!
Next the upgrade process imports over the configuration before powering off the old appliance as shown below
Wait until the upgrade is completed as shown below
So what you have now are two appliances. The VCSA 6.0 appliance is power on as shown below and now has the old IP and FQDN. The old VCSA 5.5 appliance is dead. You just need to rename the vCenter entry to Labvc01 again after deleting the old one (backup & archive) and you're done.
Done!
So in summary, the VCSA upgrade does automate the process of keeping the old IP Address and FQDN alive which helps with backup and 3rd party management tool integration, once you're sure they are compatible. Nice work VMware!
