When you upgrade or migrate a vCenter Server deployment using an external Platform Services Controller, you must first converge the external Platform Services Controller to an embedded Platform Services Controller and then perform the upgrade or migration.
When you converge the Platform Services Controller into a vCenter Server appliance, you must identify the management node to use for your deployment's vSphere SSO domain. In domains with multiple vCenter Server instances, you must specify the SSO replication partner to use for each subsequent vCenter Server.
The method you use to upgrade or migrate determines how you specify the management node to use for your deployment's vSphere SSO domain.
- If you upgrade or migrate using the GUI-based installer, the Upgrade wizard prompts you to specify the replication topology for the vCenter Server deployment.
To learn about upgrading using the GUI-based installer, see Upgrade a vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 or 6.7 with an External Platform Services Controller Instance by Using the GUI. To learn about migrating using the GUI-based installer, see GUI Migration of vCenter Server with an External Platform Services Controller to an Appliance.
- If you upgrade or migrate using the CLI-based installer, you specify the replication topology for the vCenter Server deployment using the JSON templates. The JSON files contain the configuration parameters and their values for your upgrade or migration specification.
To learn about upgrading using the CLI-based installer, see About Upgrading a vCenter Server with an External Platform Services Controller Using the CLI. To learn about migrating using the CLI-based installer, see About Migrating a vCenter Server for Windows with an External Platform Services Controller Using the CLI.
When the upgrade or migration process finishes, the newly deployed vCenter Server 7.0 appliance incorporates the former Platform Services Controller services. You can then decommission the external Platform Services Controller in your environment. See Decommission the Platform Services Controller.
To learn more about converging a vCenter Server deployment using an external Platform Services Controller into a vCenter Server appliance, see Knowledge Base article KB 68137.
