In vSphere Upgrade Saga: Planning for vSphere 6.0, I discussed the need to plan your upgrade as well as the need to delay your upgrade until your third-party software has caught up with VMware’s latest release. I now have all the bits for my critical third-party components, and it is time to first upgrade them.
The critical third-party components are:
- HP StoreVirtual 12.0 (my virtual storage appliance)
- Veeam Backup 8.0 Update 2 (which contains support for vSphere 6, VVols, and other items)
- HP Matrix Operating Environment 7.4.1 (Insight Control, Insight Manager)
- HP OneView 7.5.2
Why do these first? Third-party tools have a tendency to fail when major upgrades are made to vCenter and vSphere, not to mention all the other tools in the environment. Going to vSphere 6 is a major upgrade, and therefore all dependencies must be updated or met first. These are my major dependencies. You should know your own before you launch into an upgrade to vSphere 6.
The upgrade of each component went smoothly. One thing HP and Veeam have done over the years is to ensure that upgrades go smoothly. This was not always the case, but it has been recently.
HP StoreVirtual 12.0: The upgrade to HP StoreVirtual 12.0 was the smoothest full release upgrade I have ever done for HP StoreVirtual. The key is to first upgrade the CMC, then upgrade each node using the newly upgraded CMC.
HP Matrix Operating Environment 7.4.1: The upgrade of the HP Matrix Operating Environment to version 7.4.1 also went on without any issues. It is a minor upgrade of my HP SIM and other tools.
HP OneView 7.5.2: The HP OneView 7.5.2 for VMware vCenter upgrade also went smoothly. All my settings were preserved, so I did not have to “rehook” backup my HP StoreVirtual or HP SIM server. This upgrade backed up settings, removed the old version, and installed the new version with no issues whatsoever. Further Note: HP OneView 7.6 is required for full vSphere 6.0 integration.
Veeam Backup 8.0 Update 2: Yes, there is currently a Veeam Backup 9, but for now I am on 8.0, which requires Update 2 to work with vSphere 6. Once more, a simple upgrade, with no issues major or minor. Further Note: Veeam Backup 8.0 Update 2b is required for full vSphere 6.0 Integration.
The last item to check was why vCenter suddenly went offline. That was due to some of my VMware licenses expiring. My lab environment uses the licenses I receive from VMware as a vExpert, and I had not switched over to the latest set. When they had expired in the past, it was painful to use the new ones. vCenter 5.5 made this a simpler task, and my hosts, VMs, and all other items have had their licenses renewed. Granted, I also have my original purchased licenses, which never expire.
So, the next item on my list is to ensure I can upgrade by making sure I have the proper license for my vSphere Environment.
Edward L. Haletky, aka Texiwill, is an author, analyst, developer, technologist, and business owner. Edward owns AstroArch Consulting, Inc., providing virtualization, security, network consulting and development and TVP Strategy where he is also an Analyst. Edward is the Moderator and Host of the Virtualization Security Podcast as well as a guru and moderator for the VMware Communities Forums, providing answers to security and configuration questions. Edward is working on new books on Virtualization.