Vidensdatabase

When using this procedure to upgrade your existing vCenter Server installation with vCenter Server Heartbeat installed, VMware recommends that you review the entire procedure before starting the upgrade process.

Note: If the Secondary server is the active server, skip step 1.

1. Using the vCenter Server Heartbeat Console on the Secondary server, click System on the left navigation panel, then clickSwitchover.Wait for the operation to complete successfully.
2. Shutdown the vCenter Server Heartbeat, leaving protected applications running on Secondary (active) server.
3. Using the Service Control Manager, configure the Neverfail Server R2 service Startup Type to Manual on both Primary and Secondary. servers.

On the Secondary server:

Note: If vCenter Guided Consolidation 4.0 or any of its updates are installed and you plan to upgrade it to vCenter Guided Consolidation 4.1, you must uninstall the old version of vCenter Guided Consolidation before proceeding with the vCenter Server upgrade.

1. Start VMware vCenter Installer for the version to which you want to upgrade and select vCenter Server from the list.
2. Proceed with the setup, selecting the correct ODBC data source and database server credentials.
3. If other components are installed, vCenter Server Setup warns about the need to upgrade them as well.
4. On the Database re-initialization warning page, select Do not overwrite, leave my existing database in place if you want to retain your existing data and proceed with the installation process.
5. When the vCenter Server upgrade process ends successfully, VMware recommends that you upgrade the existing extensions on the server. Details for each component upgrade can be found below.
6. Verify that vCenter Server and all updated extensions are operational.
7. If the upgrade on the Secondary server fails, research the cause of the upgrade failure. If the issue can be resolved, proceed with upgrade procedure. Otherwise, revert to a previous version. To revert to a previous version:
   1. Uninstall the upgraded components.
   2. On the Secondary server, launch the vCenter Server Heartbeat Configure Server wizard and click the Machine tab. Change the Current Role to Passive.
   3. Reboot the server. vCenter Server Heartbeat starts and vCenter Server is stopped.
   4. On the Primary server, launch the vCenter Server Heartbeat Configure Server wizard and click the Machine tab. Change the Current Role to Active.
   5. Restart vCenter Server Heartbeat on the Primary Server and allow the system to synchronize.
   6. Start the vCenter Server Heartbeat Console and verify that the system completes the Full System Check.
      
      
8. Change the Current Role to Passive:
   1. Launch the Configure Server wizard and click the Machine tab. In the Current Role section, choose Passive and click Finish.
   2. Reboot the server.

On the Primary server:

Note: This procedure assumes that the Secondary server upgrade process was successful.

If vCenter Guided Consolidation 4.0 or any of its updates are installed and you plan to upgrade it to vCenter Guided Consolidation 4.1, you must uninstall the old version of vCenter Guided Consolidation before proceeding with the vCenter Server upgrade.

1. Change the Current Role to Active:
2. 1. Launch the Configure Server wizard and click the Machine tab. In the Current Role section, choose Active and click Finish. 
   2. Using the Service Control Manager, start the Neverfail Server R2 service.
   3. Wait until all protected services are started.
   4. Using the Service Control Manager, stop the Neverfail Server R2 service.
      
      
3. Start the VMware vCenter Installer for the version to which you want to upgrade and select vCenter Server from the list.
4. Proceed with the setup, selecting the correct ODBC data source and database server credentials.
5. If other components are installed, vCenter Server Setup warns about the need to upgrade them as well.
6. On the Database re-initialization warning page, select Do not overwrite, leave my existing database in place if you want to retain your existing data and proceed with the installation process.
7. When the vCenter Server upgrade process ends successfully,VMware recommends that you upgrade the existing extensions on the server. Details for each component upgrade can be found below.
8. Verify that vCenter Server and all updated extensions are operational on Primary server.
9. Using the Service Control Manager, configure Neverfail Server R2 service Startup Type to Automatic on both Primary and Secondary servers.
10. Start vCenter Server Heartbeat on both servers.
11. Launch the vCenter Server Heartbeat Console and connect to the server pair.
12. Verify that the system completes the Full System Check and is replicating.

If vCenter Server fails to start on the Secondary server:

1. Shutdown vCenter Server Heartbeat.
2. Start the Configure Server wizard and set the Secondary Current Role to Passive.
3. Start vCenter Server Heartbeat on the Secondary server.
4. Start the Configure Server wizard on the Primary server and set the Current Role to Active.
5. Start vCenter Server Heartbeat on the Primary server.
6. Launch the vCenter Server Heartbeat Console and verify that the system completes the Full System Check.
7. Investigate the cause of the vCenter Server failure on the Secondary server.

Upgrading Update Manager 4.0 to any of its updates or Update Manager 4.1 with a local SQL Database

On the Secondary Server:

Note: This procedure assumes you have already updated vCenter Server on Secondary server.

1. Start the VMware vCenter Installer for the version to which you want to upgrade (should be the same installer used for vCenter Server upgrade) and select vCenter Update Manager from the list.
2. Provide vCenter Server and database information, and record all configuration settings used.
   
   Important: Before proceeding with the database upgrade, perform a backup of the existing vCenter Update Manager database.
   
   
3. On the Database Upgrade page, select Yes, I want to upgrade my Update Manager database.
4. If errors are encountered during the installation, research the cause of the upgrade failure. If the issue can be resolved, proceed with the upgrade procedure. Otherwise, revert to previous version.

On the Primary server:

Note: This procedure assumes you have already updated vCenter Server on your Primary Server.

1. Start VMware vCenter Installer for the version you want to upgrade to (should be the same installer used for vCenter Server upgrade) and select vCenter Update Manager from the list.
2. Provide vCenter Server and database information (provide the same information used during the upgrade on the Secondary server).
   
   Important: Before proceeding with the database upgrade, perform a backup of the existing vCenter Update Manager database.
   
   
3. On the Database Upgrade page, select Yes, I want to upgrade my Update Manager database.
4. If errors are encountered during the installation, research the cause of the upgrade failure. If the issue can be resolved, proceed with the upgrade procedure.

Upgrading vCenter Converter from 4.0 to any of its updates or vCenter Converter 4.1

On the Secondary server:

Note: This procedure assumes you have already upgraded vCenter Server on Secondary server.

1. Start VMware vCenter Installer for the version to which you want to upgrade and select vCenter Converter from the list.
2. Provide vCenter Server and vCenter Converter Server information and record all configuration settings used.
3. If errors are encountered during the installation, research the cause of the upgrade failure. If the issue can be resolved, proceed with the upgrade procedure.

On the Primary server:

Note: This procedure assumes you have already upgraded vCenter Server on your Primary Server. If you have not done so, search the Knowledge Base for an article that applies to your environment and upgrade vCenter Server before continuing.

1. Start VMware vCenter Installer for the version you want to upgrade to and select vCenter Converter from the list.
2. Provide vCenter Server and vCenter Converter Server information (provide the same information used during the upgrade on the Secondary server).
3. If errors are encountered during the installation, research the cause of the upgrade failure. If the issue can be resolved, proceed with the upgrade procedure.

Upgrading vCenter Guided Consolidation from 4.0 to any of its updates

On the Secondary server:

Note: This procedure assumes you have already upgraded vCenter Server on Secondary server.

1. Start VMware vCenter Installer for the version to which you want to upgrade and select vCenter Guided Consolidation from the list.
2. Proceed with the installation.
3. If errors are encountered during the installation, research the cause of the upgrade failure. If the issue can be resolved, proceed with upgrade procedure.

On the Primary server:

Note: This procedure assumes you have already upgraded vCenter Server on your Primary Server. If you have not done so, search the Knowledge Base for an article that applies to your environment and upgrade vCenter Server before continuing.

1. Start VMware vCenter Installer for the version to which you want to upgrade and select vCenter Guided Consolidation from the list.
2. Proceed with the installation.
3. If errors are encountered during the installation, research the cause of the upgrade failure. If the issue can be resolved, proceed with upgrade procedure.

Upgrading vCenter Guided Consolidation to version 4.1

On the Secondary server:

Note: This procedure assumes you have manually uninstalled the previous version of vCenter Guided Consolidation before vCenter Server was upgraded to version 4.1 on the Secondary server.

1. Start VMware vCenter Installer 4.1 and select vCenter Guided Consolidation from the list.
2. Provide required information and record all configuration settings used. The same settings are required when installing on Primary server.

On the Primary server:

Note: This procedure assumes you have manually uninstalled the previous version of vCenter Guided Consolidation before vCenter Server was upgraded to version 4.1 on the Primary server.

1. Start VMware vCenter Installer 4.1 and select vCenter Guided Consolidation from the list.
2. Provide the required information (provide the same information used during the upgrade on the Secondary server).