Upgrading Windows vCenter from 6.0 to 6.5

Hi Tom,

I found some information in one of our “Upgrading ZVR” white papers:

1. Zerto recommends that you upgrade a vCenter Server rather than reinstalling it.
2. When upgrading both vCenter and an ESX/ESXi, you must first upgrade the vCenter.
3. Zerto Virtual Replication components are not affected by a vCenter Server upgrade. Protection continues and no
   additional procedures are required.
4. When upgrading a vCenter Server, make sure that you preserve the vCenter database. Preserving the existing database is required in order to continue using the existing Zerto Virtual Replication installation.
   Note: If the recovery vCenter Server service is stopped, recovery operations are not possible until the service is restarted.

Here is the doc if you want to look through yourself:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/zertodownload_docs/Latest/Upgrading%20Zerto%20Virtual%20Replication.pdf

I hope this helps!

What are my alternatives when a fresh install of vcsa 6.5 has been installed already ? I cannot login to my two zvm’s and the zerto tab is not showing up in vmware any longer.

Hi Shawn,

Did you change something else within your environment?

I asked around and no one has seen this type of activity following an upgrade to 6.5

to stand corrected we did a fresh migration to VCSA 6.5 not an upgrade. I actually just opened up a case as well # 00109336

Shawn

I’ve recently done some work with this topic, with a vCenter rebuild (not preserving the database) on vCenter Windows Server v6.0U2 to v6.0U3.  This was due to some very odd issues we were having with the existing vCenter database.  Once this has settled, we’ll be upgrading/migrating to v6.5 VCSA, while preserving the database.  A few simple take-aways from my experience include:

1. If you’re NOT keeping the vCenter database, you WILL have to manually re-create every part of Zerto, including the VPGs.  There’s a KB oulining the process located at: https://www.zerto.com/myzerto/knowledge-base/recover-zvr-installation/
2. The reason for the manual recreation (and why you MUST export VPG settings from the VPG tab) is due to the changes in MOREF ID and UUID, which helps Zerto identify.  The XML produced for the automatic import/export will not work, because it references the MOREF ID.  Since, effectively, all of the identifying information for the VM itself is being changed, it’s very important to have full knowledge for re-creation.
3. In the event that you ARE KEEPING the vCenter database, it’s a much simpler operation because the automatic import/export XML should still reference the correct items in each vCenter, so recreation should work very easily.  In the event you’re unsure, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS back up the VPG settings manually just in case.  The XML file won’t guide you very far in manual recreation.
4. Build yourself a nice sized maintenance window for any of these operations.  In the event that a 2-hour operation becomes a full manual rebuild of Zerto and recreation of VPGs, you’re going to need those extra hours built-in to the maintenance window.
5. Open a pro-active ticket with Zerto support so you can reference it during the maintenance.  If you get stuck or have unexpected issues, it’s much easier to get someone on the horn with an already open case to reference and it makes it all much smoother for both parties.

Those are from my experience, so I hope it helps.  Good luck!