Perform a vCenter Server upgrade as part of the same maintenance window during which you upgrade other VMware Horizon 8 server components. Before you upgrade vCenter Server, you must back up some VMware Horizon 8 data.
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.
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.
- Back up the Horizon Directory database from a Connection Server instance by using the vdmexport.exe utility.
For instructions, see the Horizon Administration document. If you have multiple instances of Connection Server in a replicated group, you need to export the data from only one instance.
- Verify that the server on which vCenter Server is installed has a CA (certificate authority)-signed TLS server certificate installed and configured. After you upgrade Connection Server, if vCenter Server does not use a CA-signed certificate, the default self-signed certificate is shown as invalid in Horizon Console, 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.
- To upgrade vCenter Server while instant clones are in use, see the steps in the VMware Knowledge Base (KB) article https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/52573.
Procedure
What to do next
To use a default or self-signed certificate from vCenter Server, see Accept the Thumbprint of a Default TLS Certificate.
If you have finished upgrading VMware Horizon 8 server components, at your next maintenance window, continue with the VMware Horizon 8 upgrade.
- If you are also upgrading vSphere components, see Upgrade ESXi Hosts and Their Virtual Machines.
- If you upgrading only VMware Horizon 8 components, see Upgrade Horizon Agent.