IT Solution

How to upgrade ESXi server to 6.5 on HP Proliant D380p Gen8 Server

Here we are showing you how to upgrade VMware EXSi ver.6.0 to 6.5 on next generation HP Proliant D380p Gen8 Server. VMware ESXi a type-1hypervisor it is developed by VMware, it is contains virtual machines and it is installed as an operating system.

 

Overview of the ESXi Host Upgrade Process for Gen8 Server

Start ESXi Upgrade > Verify requirement are me > Choose your Upgrade method > Prepare for ESXi host upgrade > Upgrade ESXi hosts using the GUI,script or CLI > Perform post upgrade task > Upgrade to ESXi 6.5 Completed

Prerequisite for ESXi upgrade –

  • First of all validate your ESXi it is supporting upgrade.
  • HP custom image support matrix, https://h17007.www1.hpe.com/us/en/enterprise/servers/supportmatrix/vmware.aspx.
  • Upgrade firmware version to latest(optional but recommended).
  • Verify network adapter if it is against the list of unsupported network adapters(appendix 1). Refer realize note for details. https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=a00026850en_us
  • Backup ESXi server (and iSCI switches, if any).
  • Shutdown all VMs and turn ESXi server in maintenance mode.
  • Disable the iSCSI Switch ports connected to ESXi server(if using iSCSI SAN for storage).

Prerequisite for ESXi upgrade

Upgrade Process via Offline Bundle (Gen 8 Server):

1. Download custom upgrade bundle for the server from VMware official site.

2. Upload the VMware-ESXi-6.5.0-Update1-5969303-HPE-650.U1.10.1.3.3-Oct2017-depot.zip file to a datastore visible to ESXi host.

3. Connect to ESXi server via SSH (putty).

4. Run command
esxcli software profile update –depot=/vmfs/volumes/<your datastore>/VMware-ESXi-6.5.0-Update1-5969303-HPE-650.U1.10.1.3.3-Oct2017-depot.zip –profile=HPE-ESXi-6.5.0-Update1-650.U1.10.1.3.3

5. Verify the final result, getting message “The update completed successfully, but the system needs to be rebooted for the changes to be effective” suggests upgrade complete successfully.

Reboot Upgrade Process

6. Reboot the server to complete the process.

7. Apply licenses after upgrading to ESXi 6.5.

 

After Upgrading ESXi Hosts:

1. Disable maintenance mode (and enable ISCSi switch ports, if disabled).

2. Turn on the VMs.

3. Update SAN iSCSI software (if any).

4. Update VMware tools.

5. Verify VMware tools.

6. Verify the datastore connectivity using all the links.

7. Apply licenses after upgrading to ESXi 6.5.

This completes the ESXi process on HP Proliant D380p Gen8 Server.

In our next blog we will explain the process to update ESXi on Gen9 server.

3 thoughts on “How to upgrade ESXi server to 6.5 on HP Proliant D380p Gen8 Server”

  1. I noticed that out of all the servers I’ve done the 6.5 upgrade on, the Gen8’s were the smoothest (with the exception of the VIB conflict issue that pops up occasional, but this can happen in any environment). It’s interesting how most companies have held off on this upgrade until the last few months (seeing a major influx of people searching for content on upgrade problems).

    Cheers!

  2. Anyone tried a 6.7 upgrade on Gen 8 Servers? At the time I upgraded my environment to 6.5 it wasn’t officially supported either

  3. Has the next blog “In our next blog we will explain the process to update ESXi on Gen9 server” been release?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *