Prepare ESXi Hosts for vCenter Server Upgrade

Before upgrading to vCenter Server 6.5, you must prepare your ESXi hosts.

Prerequisites

To upgrade vCenter Server, your ESXi hosts must be at version 5.5. If your ESXi hosts are at an earlier version than 5.5, upgrade them to 5.5. Read and follow all best practices when upgrading your hosts to ESXi 5.5.

Procedure

1. To keep your current SSL certificates, back up the SSL certificates that are on the vCenter Server system before you upgrade to vCenter Server 6.5.
   The default location of the SSL certificates is %allusersprofile%\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter.
2. If you have Custom or Thumbprint certificates, see Host Upgrades and Certificates to determine your preparatory steps.
3. Run vCenter Host Agent Pre-Upgrade Checker.
4. If you have vSphere HA clusters, SSL certificate checking must be enabled.
   If certificate checking is not enabled when you upgrade, vSphere HA fails to configure on the hosts.
   1. Select the vCenter Server instance in the inventory panel.
   2. Under the Configure tab, click General.
   3. Verify that the SSL settings field is set to vCenter Server requires verified host SSL certificates.

Results

Your ESXi hosts are ready for vCenter Server upgrade.