Knowledge Base

Upgrading a virtual machine to the latest hardware version (multiple versions) (1010675)
Purpose
This article provides information about upgrading a virtual machine to the latest hardware version.
Resolution
You can upgrade the hardware version of virtual machines to the latest version of ESXi in use. For virtual machines that are running on ESXi 5.x, VMware recommends that you upgrade the virtual hardware to the
latest available version.
ESXi/ESX version Virtual hardware version
ESXi 5.5 10
ESXi 5.1 9
ESXi 5.0 8
ESXi/ESX 4.1/4.0 7
ESXi/ESX 3.5 4
When upgrading virtual hardware, consider these points:
When you upgrade from virtual hardware version 4 to version 7, 8, 9, or 10, the upgrade is reversible if you take a virtual machine backup or snapshot before performing the upgrade.
Upgraded virtual machines cannot be powered on by an ESX 2.x host, even if relocated to a VMFS 2 datastore.
To automate this process, consider using vCenter Update Manager for virtual machine upgrades. For more information, see Understanding Update Manager in the Installing and Administering VMware
vSphere Update Manager (https://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-pubs.html) guide.
vCenter Update Manager takes automatic snapshots before performing virtual machine upgrades. For more information, see Perform an Orchestrated Upgrade of Virtual Machines with vSphere Update
Manager in the vSphere Upgrade Guide (http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-pubs.html) .
When you upgrade virtual hardware, no downtime is required for vCenter Server or ESXi/ESX hosts. For virtual machines, the only significant downtime is the time to shut down and restart the guest
operating systems.
Before you upgrade the virtual hardware:
1. Create a backup or snapshot of the virtual machine. For more information see the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration Guide:
Take a Snapshot in the vSphere Web Client (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-51/topic/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-9720B104-9875-4C2C-A878-F1C351A4F3D8.html)
Take a Snapshot in the vSphere Client (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-51/topic/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-878C36BA-6922-4269-8803-7FC419B947B7.html)
2. Upgrade VMware Tools. On Microsoft Windows virtual machines, if you upgrade the virtual hardware before you upgrade VMware Tools, the virtual machine might lose its network settings.
3. Verify that all .vmdk files are available to the ESXi/ESX hosts on a VMFS 3, VMFS 5, or NFS datastore.
4. Verify that the virtual machines are stored on VMFS 3, VMFS 5 or NFS datastores.
5. Determine the version of the virtual hardware by selecting the virtual machine from the vSphere Client or vSphere Web Client and clicking the Summary tab. The VM Version label in the Compatibility
field displays the virtual hardware version.
Upgrading virtual hardware on a single virtual machine
To upgrade the virtual hardware of a single virtual machine:
Note: In a vSphere 5.5 environment, you must use the vSphere Web Client to upgrade the virtual hardware to version 10. However, when the virtual machine is using hardware version 10, you cannot edit the
settings of the virtual machine if you connect directly to an ESXi host with the vSphere Client. You must use the vSphere Web Client or connect to vCenter Server with the vSphere Client. If you connect directly
to an ESXi host using the vSphere Client and attempt to edit virtual machine settings, you see the error:
You cannot use the vSphere client to edit the settings of virtual machines of version 10 or higher. Use the vSphere
Web Client to edit the settings of this virtual machine.
1. Start the vSphere Client or vSphere Web Client and log in to the vCenter Server.
2. Power off the virtual machine.
3. Right-click the virtual machine and select the menu option to upgrade virtual hardware:
In the vSphere Client, the option is Upgrade Virtual Hardware.
In the vSphere Web Client, the option is Compatibility > Upgrade VM Compatibility.
The virtual hardware is upgraded to the latest supported version.
Note: The Upgrade Virtual Hardware or Upgrade VM Compatibility options only appear if the virtual hardware on the virtual machine is not the latest supported version.
4. Click Yes to continue with the virtual hardware upgrade.
5. Power on the virtual machine.
Note: If the virtual machine has a Microsoft Windows guest operating system, the operating system detects a new device, configures the device, and may prompt you to reboot the guest operating system.
If any unknown devices are recognized, the operating system may prompt you to configure the device manually.
6. For Windows guest operating systems, reboot the guest operating system to make the changes take effect.
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Upgrading virtual hardware on multiple virtual machines
You can upgrade virtual hardware on multiple virtual machines in a single operation using the Virtual Machines tab.
Note: In a vSphere 5.5 environment, you must use the vSphere Web Client to upgrade the virtual hardware to version 10. When the virtual machine is using hardware version 10, you cannot edit the settings of the
virtual machine if you connect directly to an ESXi host with the vSphere Client. You must use the vSphere Web Client or connect to vCenter Server with the vSphere Client. If you connect directly to an ESXi host
using the vSphere Client and attempt to edit virtual machine settings, you see the error:
You cannot use the vSphere client to edit the settings of virtual machines of version 10 or higher. Use the vSphere
Web Client to edit the settings of this virtual machine.
To upgrade virtual hardware on multiple virtual machines:
1. Start the vSphere Client or vSphere Web Client and log in to the vCenter Server.
2. Select the host or cluster that contains the virtual machines to upgrade.
3. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
4. Select and power off the virtual machines to upgrade.
5. Right-click your selections.
6. Select Upgrade Virtual Hardware and click Yes.
7. Power on the virtual machines.
Note: For Microsoft Windows guest operating systems, the operating system detects a new device, configures the device, and may prompt you to reboot the guest operating system. If any unknown devices
are recognized, the operating system may prompt you to configure the device manually.
8. For Windows guest operating systems, reboot the guest operating system to make the changes take effect.
Ensuring that your virtual machine is upgraded to latest hardware version
To ensure that your virtual machine is upgraded to latest hardware version:
1. Migrate the virtual machine from a host with an earlier ESXi/ESX version to a host with the latest ESXi/ESX version. For more information, see Migrating Virtual Machines in the vSphere Web Client
(http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-55/topic/com.vmware.vsphere.vcenterhost.doc/GUID-FE2B516E-7366-4978-B75C-64BF0AC676EB.html) in the vCenter Server and Host Management guide.
2. Power on the virtual machine.
3. Upgrade VMware Tools and reboot if required. For more information, see Installing VMware Tools in vSphere (2004754) (search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2004754) .
Note: Upgrading VMware Tools must be done before upgrading the virtual hardware.
4. Shut down the virtual machine and upgrade the virtual hardware.
5. Power on the virtual machine.
Note: In some instances, the operating system may require you to reboot the virtual machine after powering it on.
6. Ensure all the virtual machine network settings (such as IP, DHCP, and DNS) are correct.
Notes:
If you are using dynamic DNS, some Windows versions require the ipconfig /registerdns command to be run.
If you are using DHCP, a new IP address may be assigned because the MAC address changes on the virtual NIC during the hardware upgrade. If you are using statically assigned DHCP addresses,
ensure that you assign the new MAC address the IP address you were using before the virtual hardware upgrade.
Additional Information
You can upgrade VMware Tools and the virtual hardware manually from within each virtual machine or you can use VMware vCenter Update Manager.
For more information on manually upgrading VMware Tools and virtual hardware, see:
vSphere 5.x Upgrade Guide (http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-pubs.html)
vSphere 4.x Upgrade Guide (http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vs_pubs.html)
For more information on upgrading VMware Tools and virtual hardware using vCenter Update Manager, see the VMware vCenter Update Manager documentation (https://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vum_pubs.html) .
For best practices on updating, see:
Installing or upgrading to ESXi 5.5 best practices (2052329) (search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2052329)
Installing or upgrading to ESXi 5.1 best practices (2032756) (search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2032756)
Best practices for upgrading to ESXi 5.0 (2005102) (search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2005102)
Upgrading to vCenter Server 5.5 best practices (2053132) (search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2053132)
Upgrading to vCenter Server 5.1 best practices (2021193) (search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2021193)
Upgrading to vCenter Server 5.0 best practices (2003866) (search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2003866)
Note: The virtual machine compatibility setting determines the virtual hardware available to the virtual machine, which corresponds to the physical hardware available on the host. You can review and compare the
hardware available for different compatibility levels to help you determine whether to upgrade the virtual machines in your environment.
For more information, see the Hardware Features Available with Virtual Machine Compatibility Settings section in the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration Guide (http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-
server-pubs.html) .Hardware Features Available with Virtual Machine Compatibility Settings (http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-55/topic/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-789C3913-1053-4850-A0F0-E29C3D32B6DA.html) section of the vSphere
Virtual Machine Administration guide.
For translated versions of this article, see:
Espaol: Actualizacin de una mquina virtual a la versin de hardware ms reciente (2055703) (search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2055703)
Portugus: Atualizar uma mquina virtual para a verso de hardware mais recente (2018956) (search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2018956)
: ESX 3.x ESX 4.x (1037375) (search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=1037375)
Deutsch: Upgrade von einer ESX 3.x virtuellen Maschine auf eine ESX 4.x virtuelle Maschine (2000603) (search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2000603)
See Also
Upgrading to ESX 4.0 and vCenter 4.0 best practices (1009039) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1009039)
ESX 3.x ESX 4.x (1037375) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1037375)
Upgrade von einer ESX 3.x virtuellen Maschine auf eine ESX 4.x virtuelle Maschine (2000603) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2000603)
Upgrading to vCenter Server 5.0 best practices (2003866) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2003866)
Installing VMware Tools in vSphere (2004754) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2004754)
Page 2 of 3 VMware KB: Upgrading a virtual machine to the latest hardware version (multiple versio...
3/13/2014 http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC...
Best practices for upgrading to ESXi 5.0 (2005102) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2005102)
Atualizar uma mquina virtual para a verso de hardware mais recente (2018956) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2018956)
Upgrading to vCenter Server 5.1 best practices (2021193) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2021193)
Installing or upgrading to ESXi 5.1 best practices (2032756) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2032756)
Installing or upgrading to ESXi 5.5 best practices (2052329) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2052329)
Upgrading to vCenter Server 5.5 best practices (2053132) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2053132)
Actualizacin de una mquina virtual a la versin de hardware ms reciente (2055703) ( http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2055703)
Update History
04/06/2010 - Added information about DHCP and statically assigned MAC addresses.
10/03/2013 - Added note about using vSphere Web Client in vSphere 5.5 environment.
Request a Product Feature
To request a new product feature or to provide feedback on a VMware product, please visit the Request a Product Feature (http://www.vmware.com/contact/contactus.html?department=prod_request) page.
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KB: 1010675
Updated: Dec 18, 2013
Categories:
How to
Languages:
English
Product(s):
VMware ESX
VMware ESXi
Product Version(s):
VMware ESX 3.5.x
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESXi 5.0.x
VMware ESXi 5.1.x
VMware ESXi 5.5.x
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