vSphere 6.7 Component Behavior Changes that Affect Upgrade

When upgrading to vSphere 6.7, it is important to understand changes in component behavior for version 6.7 that can affect the upgrade process.

Understanding changes from previous versions of vSphere can assist in your upgrade planning. For a complete list of new features in vSphere 6.7, see the Release Notes for version 6.7 releases.

vCenter Server Upgrade Methods

vSphere supports multiple methods for upgrading vCenter Server to version 6.7.

Supported Migration Path from vCenter Server for Windows to vCenter Server Appliance

You can migrate from an existing vCenter Server for Windows configuration to a vCenter Server Appliance 6.7 deployment using a graphical user interface-based installer or a command line interface-based installer. See Differences between Upgrading and Migrating vCenter Server on Windows.

Support for Command Line Interface (CLI) Deployments of vCenter Server Appliance

You can upgrade an existing vCenter Server Appliance deployment to version 6.7 using a CLI. See CLI Upgrade of the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services Controller Appliance.

VMware Update Manager Changes

You can use a graphical user interface (GUI) when upgrading vCenter Server deployments using VMware Update Manager.

Upgrade Order and Mixed Version Environment Behavior

You cannot upgrade multiple vCenter Server instances or Platform Services Controller instances concurrently, and upgrade order matters. See Upgrade or Migration Order and Mixed-Version Transitional Behavior for Multiple vCenter Server Instance Deployments.

Changes in Supported Deployment Types

Changes from previous versions of vSphere can affect your deployment type.

Topology Changes After Upgrade or Migration

You can change your deployment topology after upgrade or migration to vCenter Server 6.7. You cannot change your deployment type during upgrade or migration. For information on supported topology changes, see Changing a vCenter Server Deployment Type After Upgrade or Migration.

Mixed IPv4 and IPv6 Upgrade and Migration

• Upgrade and migration from vCenter Server 6.0 or 6.5 to 6.7 is supported for pure IPv4 or pure IPv6 management networks only.
• Upgrade and migration from a mixed mode IPv4 and IPv6 environment transfers configurations depending on the source deployment configuration.

  Table 1. Transfer of networking configuration settings for mixed mode IPv4 and IPv6 deployments

  Source configuration	Settings transferred during upgrade or migration	Settings not transferred during upgrade or migration
  DHCPv6 and AUTOv6	DHCPv6	AUTOv6
  DHCPv4 and DHCPv6	DHCPv4	DHCPv6
  DHCPv4 and AUTOv6	DHCPv4	AUTOv6
  DHCPv4 and Static IPv6	Static IPv6	DHCPv4
  Static IPv4 and AUTOv6	Static IPv4	AUTOv6
  Static IPv4 and DHCPv6	Static IPv4	DHCPv6
  Static IPv4 and Static IPv6	Static IPv4 and Static IPv6	-

Changes Affecting VMware Services

Changes affecting VMware services may affect your upgrade planning.

Embedded PostgreSQL Database Replaces Embedded Microsoft SQL Server Express Database for vCenter Server 6.0

The vCenter Server 6.0 embedded Microsoft SQL Server Express database is replaced with an embedded PostgreSQL database during the upgrade to vCenter Server 6.7. The maximum inventory size that applied for Microsoft SQL Server Express still applies for PostgreSQL.

vCenter Inventory Services Removed for vCenter Server 6.7

vCenter Inventory Services are no longer needed for vCenter Server 6.7. The upgrade process migrates the data and removes the vCenter Inventory Services.

Using Oracle for vCenter Server External Database

For information about supported database server versions, see the VMware Product Interoperability Matrix at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/sim/interop_matrix.php.

VMware vSphere Syslog Collector

Starting with vCenter Server 6.0 for Windows, vSphere Syslog Collector is included in the vCenter Server group of services. vSphere Syslog Collector continues to function exactly as for vCenter Server 5.5. However, it is no longer used for vCenter Server Appliance.

VMware Syslog Service

Starting with vCenter Server Appliance 6.0, vSphere Syslog Service is a support tool for logging that is included in the vCenter Server group of services.