Upgrade a vSphere Distributed Switch to a Later Version

Learn how to upgrade vSphere Distributed Switch version 6.x to a later version. The upgrade lets the distributed switch take advantage of features that are available only in the later version.

The upgrade of a distributed switch causes the hosts and virtual machines attached to the switch to experience a brief downtime.

Note: If your current VDS version is 6.5, then you might experience a brief downtime while upgrading your switches to a later version. If your current VDS version is 6.6 or later, then you might not experience any downtime while upgrading the switches to a later version.

For more information, see KB 52621.

Note:

To be able to restore the connectivity of the virtual machines and VMkernel adapters if the upgrade fails, back up the configuration of the distributed switch.

If the upgrade is not successful, to recreate the switch with its port groups and connected hosts, you can import the switch configuration file. See Export vSphere Distributed Switch Configurations and Import a vSphere Distributed Switch Configuration.

Prerequisites

• Upgrade vCenter Server to version 8.0.
• Upgrade all hosts connected to the distributed switch to ESXi 8.0.

Procedure

1. On the vSphere Client Home page, click Networking and navigate to the distributed switch.
2. Right-click the distributed switch and select Upgrade > Upgrade Distributed Switch.
3. Select the vSphere Distributed Switch version that you want to upgrade the switch to and click Next.

   Option	Description
   Distributed Switch: 8.0.3	Compatible with ESXi 8.0.3 and later. New features and enhancements Dual DPU Support. See Network Offloads Compatibility.
   Distributed Switch: 8.0.0	Compatible with ESXi 8.0.0 and later. New features and enhancements. See Network Offloads Compatibility.
   Distributed Switch: 7.0.3	Compatible with ESXi 7.0.3 and later. New features and enhancements NVMe over TCP. See Create a VMkernel Adapter on a vSphere Standard Switch.
   Distributed Switch: 7.0.2	Compatible with ESXi 7.0.2 and later. New features and enhancements. LACP fast mode. See LACP Support on a vSphere Distributed Switch.
   Distributed Switch: 7.0.0	Compatible with ESXi 7.0 and later. New features and enhancements. NSX distributed port group. See Networking Concepts Overview.
   Distributed Switch: 6.6.0	Compatible with ESXi 6.7 and later. Features released with later vSphere distributed switch versions are not supported. New features and enhancements. MAC Learning. See What is MAC Learning Policy

4. Review host compatibility and click Next.
   Some ESXi instances that are connected to the distributed switch might be incompatible with the selected target version. Upgrade or remove the incompatible hosts, or select another upgrade version for the distributed switch.
5. Complete the upgrade configuration and click Finish.
   Caution: After you upgrade the vSphere Distributed Switch, you cannot revert it to an earlier version. You also cannot add ESXi hosts that are running an earlier version than the new version of the switch.