How to upgrade vCenter Server Appliance 6.7 to 7.0

VMware vCenter 7.0 has been released for several months now and figured it was about time I upgraded my home lab to the latest version.

This post will detail all the steps needed to upgrade vCenter Server Appliance 6.7 to 7.0 without any issues.

Getting Started

Before beginning, I HIGHLY recommended you first check the VMware Interoperability Matrix before performing any upgrade to check compatibility of other VMware products.

Then go download the VCSA 7.0 ISO if you haven’t already and lets get started with the upgrade!

How to Update VMware vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) 6.7 to VCSA 7.0

  1. Mount the vCenter 7.0 ISO to your computer and start the vCenter Server 7.0 installer located at /vcsa-ui-installer/win32/installer.exe
    Run installer.exe from ISO
  2. When the vCenter Server 7.0 installer starts, click on Upgrade.
    vcenter 7.0 installer upgrade
  3. Click Next through the Introduction.
    vcenter 7.0 installer introduction
  4. Agree to the End User License Agreement and click Next.
    vcenter 7.0 installer eula
  5. Next enter the EXISTING VCSA FQDN or IP address as well what ESXi host the existing VCSA is running on, along with all of the login credentials for the existing VCSA and ESXi host.
    vcenter 7.0 installer source-appliance
  6. Now enter the ESXi host or vCenter server where you would like the new VMware vCenter Server 7.0 appliance to be deployed.
    vcenter 7.0 installer target
  7. Next specify a VM name and root password for the new 7.0 VCSA.
    vcenter 7.0 installer target vcenter server vm
  8. Select an appropriate deployment size for your environment.
    vcenter 7.0 installer deployment size
  9. Select a datastore you want the new vCenter 7.0 appliance to be stored.
    vcenter 7.0 installer datastore
  10. Next configure a temporary network configuration. Once Stage 2 of the upgrade has been completed the new 7.0 VCSA will take the network identity of the old existing VCSA.
    vcenter 7.0 installer temp network settings
  11. Review the Stage 1 summary and click on Finish.
    vcenter 7.0 installer stage 1 review
  12. Once Stage 1 of the vCenter 7.0 upgrade completes, click on Continue to move on to Stage 2.
    vcenter 7.0 installer stage 1 complete

Stage 2 – Upgrade vCenter Server Appliance 6.7 to 7.0, copying VMware vCenter data

  1. Click on Next through the VCSA Stage 2 Introduction.
    vcenter 7.0 installer stage 2 intro
  2. The installer will then automatically run a Pre-Upgrade check on your existing VCSA. Make sure to review those results, then click on Next. Note: Be sure that DRS is disabled if you have more than one host. I only have one host, so DRS isn’t an issue.
    vcenter 7.0 installer stage 2 pre-upgrade check
  3. Next select which data you would like to copy from the existing VCSA 6.7 to the new VCSA 7.0 appliance.
    vcenter 7.0 installer stage 2 pre-upgrade data
  4. Join the VMware customer experience improvement program, or don’t, and click Next.
    vcenter 7.0 installer stage 2 ceip
  5. Finally, review the Stage 2 summary and check “I have backed up the source vCenter Server and all the required data from the database” and click Finish.
    vcenter 7.0 installer stage 2 ready to complete
  6. Now at this point, Stage 2 of the upgrade will start copying the data from the old 6.7 vCenter over to the new 7.0 vCenter appliance. After some time, depending on how much data needs to be copied, the upgrade will complete.
    vcenter 7.0 installer stage 2 complete

Now enjoy the new dark theme and all the other improvements that VMware vCenter 7.0 brings. You’re also ready to start upgrading your VMware ESXi hosts to 7.0.

vcenter 7.0 upgrade complete

How did your vCenter 6.7 to 7.0 upgrade go? Let me know in the comments below!

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