Perform a vCenter Server upgrade as part of the same maintenance window during which you upgrade other View server components. Before you upgrade vCenter Server, you must back up some View data. After the upgrade, if View Composer is running on the same server, you must restart the View Composer service.

About this task

Note:

During the vCenter Server upgrade, existing remote desktop and application sessions will not be disconnected, but the following functionality is not available during the vCenter Server upgrade:

  • Remote desktops that are in a provisioning state will not get powered on.

  • New desktops cannot be launched.

  • View Composer operations are not allowed.

Prerequisites

  • Determine when to perform this procedure. Choose an available desktop maintenance window. For information about how much time is required, see the VMware vSphere Upgrade Guide.

  • Back up the vCenter Server database and the View Composer database.

  • Back up the View LDAP database from a View Connection Server instance by using the vdmexport.exe utility.

    For instructions, see the View Administration document. If you have multiple instances of View Connection Server in a replicated group, you need to export the data from only one instance.

  • Perform the tasks listed in Preparing for Upgrades That Include vSphere.

  • Verify that the server on which vCenter Server is installed has a CA (certificate authority)-signed SSL server certificate installed and configured. After you upgrade View Connection Server, if vCenter Server does not use a CA-signed certificate, the default self-signed certificate is shown as invalid in View Administrator, and a message indicates that vCenter Server is unavailable.

  • Complete the prerequisites listed in the VMware vSphere Upgrade Guide, using the version of the guide that corresponds to the version of vSphere that you plan to upgrade to.

Procedure

  1. Upgrade vCenter Server as described in the VMware vSphere Upgrade Guide.
    Important:

    If your clusters contain Virtual SAN datastores, also see the chapter about upgrading the Virtual SAN cluster, in the Administering VMware Virtual SAN document. This chapter contains a topic about upgrading vCenter Server.

  2. If View Composer is installed on the same host, restart the View Composer service.
  3. Log in to View Administrator and examine the dashboard to verify that the vCenter Server and View Composer icons are green.

    If either of these icons is red and an Invalid Certificate Detected dialog box appears, you must click Verify and either accept the thumbprint of the untrusted certificate, as described in "What to Do Next," or install a valid CA-signed SSL certificate.

    For information about replacing the default certificate for vCenter Server, see the VMware vSphere Examples and Scenarios document.

What to do next

To use a default or self-signed certificate from vCenter Server or View Composer, see Accept the Thumbprint of a Default SSL Certificate.

If you have finished upgrading View server components, at your next maintenance window, continue with the View upgrade.