You can upgrade an ESXi 5.0.x, ESXi 5.1.x, ESXi 5.5.0, or ESXi 5.5.х host directly to 6.0.

The details and level of support for an upgrade to ESXi 6.0 depend on the host to be upgraded and the upgrade method that you use. Verify support for the upgrade path from your current version of ESXi to the version to which you are upgrading. See VMware Product Interoperability Matrixes at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/sim/interop_matrix.php.

Table 1. Supported Upgrade options for ESXi 6.0
Option Description
ESXi 5.0.x , 5.1.x, or 5.5.x host, asynchronously released driver or other third-party customizations, interactive upgrade from CD or DVD, scripted upgrade, or upgrade with vSphere Update Manager

Supported.

When you upgrade an ESXi 5.0.x, 5.1.x, or 5.5.x, host that has custom VIBs to version 6.0, the custom VIBs are migrated. See Upgrading Hosts That Have Third-Party Custom VIBs.

ESXi 5.0.x host
Methods supported for direct upgrade to 6.0 are:
  • vSphere Update Manager.

  • Interactive upgrade from CD, DVD, or USB drive.

  • Scripted upgrade.
  • vSphere Auto Deploy. If theESXi 5.0.x host was deployed by using vSphere Auto Deploy, you can use vSphere Auto Deploy to reprovision the host with a 6.0 image.
  • The esxcli command.
ESXi 5.1.x host
Methods supported for direct upgrade to 6.0 are:
  • vSphere Update Manager.

  • Interactive upgrade from CD, DVD, or USB drive.

  • Scripted upgrade.
  • vSphere Auto Deploy. If the ESXi 5.1.x host was deployed by using vSphere Auto Deploy, you can use vSphere Auto Deploy to reprovision the host with a 6.0 image.
  • The esxcli command.
ESXi 5.5.0 host
Methods supported for direct upgrade to 6.0 are:
  • vSphere Update Manager.

  • Interactive upgrade from CD, DVD, or USB drive.

  • Scripted upgrade.
  • vSphere Auto Deploy. If the ESXi 5.5.0 host was deployed by using vSphere Auto Deploy, you can use vSphere Auto Deploy to reprovision the host with a 6.0 image.
  • The esxcli command.
ESXi 5.5.x host
Methods supported for direct upgrade to 6.0 are:
  • vSphere Update Manager.

  • Interactive upgrade from CD, DVD, or USB drive.

  • Scripted upgrade.
  • vSphere Auto Deploy. If the ESXi 5.5.x host was deployed by using vSphere Auto Deploy, you can use vSphere Auto Deploy to reprovision the host with a 6.0 image.
  • The esxcli command.