Upgrade vCenter Server from 7.0.3 to 8.0.2

With the release of the new VMware vSphere 8.0.2, the procedure to upgrade vCenter Server from 7.0.3 to 8.0.2 must be carefully planned to avoid bad unexpected events.

The reasons why you should upgrade vSphere to version 8.0.2 may vary from company to company but if you want take advantage of new features provided, consider to plan and schedule the upgrade of your infrastructure.

 

Prerequisites

Before proceeding with the upgrade vCenter Server from 7.0.3 to 8.0.2, make sure your system matches the prerequisites:

• Make sure your infrastructure and especially your vCenter Server is in a healthy status.
• Check if the hardware in use is compatible with the version you are going to install.
• Verify the upgrade path to ensure a direct upgrade is supported.
• An Ephemeral portgroup if a Distributed Switch is configured in your vSphere environment.
• A temporary IP address in the same vCenter Server VLAN must be available during the upgrade.

When the upgrade procedure is complete, hostname and IP address will remain the same as the source vCenter Server.

 

Upgrade vCenter Server from 7.0.3 to 8.0.2

From VMware website download the latest vCenter Server .ISO file version and mount it on your computer.

 

Stage 1

If you are using a Windows-based computer, navigate to \vcsa-ui-installer\win32 folder and double click the installer.exe file.

Click on Upgrade to begin the procedure to upgrade vCenter Server from 7.0.3 to 8.0.2.

If you are still using a vCenter with an external PSC, the procedure will converge the system to a vCenter with an embedded PSC. Click Next.

Accept the EULA and click Next.

Specify the source vCenter Server Appliance name and click Connect to Source to test the correct connectivity.

When the connection has established successfully, enter the SSO User name and Password used in the source vCSA.

Scroll down and specify the ESXi host or vCenter Server that manages the source appliance. Enter User name and Password then click Next.

Click Yes to accept the vCenter Server certificate.

Specify the target ESXi host or vCenter Server name where the new vCenter will be deployed and enter User name and Password used to connect.

Click Yes to accept the certificate.

Enter the VM Name for the new vCenter Server (it won't be the hostname since the hostname will be retained from the source vCenter) and enter the root password. Click Next.

Based on your environment, select the appropriate Deoployment size. Keep in mind that Tiny should be used only for LAB or POC purposes. Click Next.

Select the target Datastore and if required thick the Enable Thin Disk Mode checkbox to save storage space. Click Next.

Select the Network to use. If a Distributed Switch is configured in your vSphere deployment and the ESXi host is selected as deployment target, only ephemeral portgroups are supported and shown in the drop-down menu. Enter the required network settings using a Temporary IP address then click Next.

Click Finish to proceed with the vCenter Server deployment.

Stage 1 of the upgrade vCenter Server procedure takes place.

After some time, the vCenter Server deployment is successfully completed. Click Continue to proceed with Stage 2 of the upgrade vCenter Server from 7.0.3 to 8.0.2 procedure.

 

Stage 2

Before beginning Stage 2 of the upgrade procedure, it is recommended to take a snapshot of the just deployed vCenter Server to quickly revert to Stage 1 in case something goes wrong during Stage 2.

From the vCenter Server upgrade wizard, click Next to begin Stage 2 of the procedure to upgrade vCenter Server.

If installed extensions in the source vCenter Server cannot be upgraded, a list of warnings will be displayed. Take note of these warnings (you need to manually fix the issue) and click Close.

Select what data should be copied from the old to the new vCenter Server (in the example Configuration and Inventory) and click Next.

Optionally check or uncheck the Join the VMware's Customer Experience improvement program (CEIP) and click Next.

Make sure you have a backup of the source vCenter Server and click Finish to begin Stage 2.

Click OK to accept. Now we have only to wait until Stage 2 completes all the operations.

Stage 2 begins with the copy of selected data from source to target vCenter Server.

After some minutes, step 2 is performed by setting up the target vCenter Server.

Last step is the import of copied data to the target vCenter Server.

When Stage 2 has been completed successfully, click Close to exit the wizard.

Since VMware vSphere 8.0 requires licenses for version 8, you will receive this message if no licenses are available in the vCenter Server (in this case you will have a 60-day trial). Click Close.

When you login the new vCenter Server, the new vSphere version is now reported as 8.0.2.

Remove the vCenter Server snapshot previously taken.

The procedure to upgrade vCenter Server from 7.0.3 to 8.0.2 is now complete and you can start taking benefit of the new features provided. To leverage the new features provided you must upgrade also all ESXi hosts configured in the cluster.