Use VM's from ESX 3.5 in ESXi 5.0

[Buenzli]

Hi there

I've got a question. I need to migrate our VM's from ESX 3.5 to ESXi 5.0. So i need to update the virtual hardware and the vmTools right?

And to do this i need to install the VMware Update Manager. But how do i install this programm? Do i need to setup a whole new vCenter Server?

Or is there another way?

Thank you for your help.

Best regards

Dominik

[aravinds3107 · Accepted solution]

Are you upgrading to ESXi 5.0 on same hardware or new?

Do you have vCenter already in place or running a standalone host?

For upgrading VMware Tools and Virtua hardware VUM is not required. Once the VM's are running on ESXi 5.0 host it can be done on VM seperately

Refer KB for Upgrading Virtual hardware and Vmware tools

[rickardnobel]

Buenzli wrote:

I need to migrate our VM's from ESX 3.5 to ESXi 5.0. So i need to update the virtual hardware and the vmTools right?

Do you have your VMs at hardware version 4 on the ESX 3.5 host? If so, they are compatible with ESXi 5.0, which mean you do not have to upgrade the virtual hardware at all. It is certainly recommended however.

The HW upgrade could be done manually and you do not need the Update Manager as noted above. If you have a very large number of VMs the Update Manager could help.