VMware (recommendations, best practices and scope of support) for Guest Operating System in-place update/upgrade.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Support Considerations:

• Read OS vendor's documentation to ensure the specific upgrade scenario is supported.
• Check VMware Compatibility Guide to ensure new operating system version is supported as guest on the VMware product
• Some VMware products (For example: vCenter Server for Windows)  do not support in-place upgrade of the guest operating system in a VM. For more details, see VMware support for guest operating system upgrade .
• Check the Virtual Machine assigned resources to ensure that it meets requirements to run new OS release. New OS releases sometimes require higher hardware resources  (Memory, CPU, Disk Space, etc.).  In addition, performing OS upgrade consumes disk space, so ensure VM has adequate storage to complete the upgrade. It may be necessary to power off the VM to make some of these adjustments before starting the upgrade.
• For all applications running on the OS, contact the application vendor to determine their support policies and guidance for conducting operating system upgrades.
• In-place upgrade is a feature of the operating system, if problems are encountered, it is best to first contact the OS vendor for assistance. If the OS vendor has narrowed down problem to be specific to VMware software, then VMware can provide assistance.
• If the OS vendor does not support a particular upgrade scenario, then VMware will not be able to provide support for such scenarios due to lack of ability to collaborate with the OS vendor.

Environment

VMware vSphere 6.x
VMware vSphere 5.x
VMware vSphere 7.0.x

Resolution

Precautions before the upgrade:

1. Upgrade VMware Tools to the latest compatible version of the current installed OS version. For more information, see Installing and upgrading VMware Tools in vSphere.
2. Test the upgrade on a cloned VM first to make sure the operation will go smooth. For more information, see Clone an Existing Virtual Machine .
3. Make sure there is a healthy backup of the VM before the upgrade.

Note: Yo can take a snapshot of the VM but a full backup is highly recommended.

Upgrade procedures: 

1. Download the target OS version ISO Image.
2. Mount this ISO file to the VM:
   1. Upload the ISO file to datastore. For more information, see Upload ISO Image Installation Media for a Guest Operating System

Note: You may get the below error while trying to upload the ISO file to a datastore through vCenter Server

The operation failed for an undetermined reason. Typically this problem occurs due to certificates that the browser does not trust. If you are using self-signed or custom certificates, open the URL below in a new browser tab and accept the certificate, then retry the operation.
https://target-ip

To fix this issue, see "The operation failed for an undetermined reason" transferring files through vSphere Client.

2. Right Click on the VM and Click on Edit Settings.
3. Expand the CD/DVD Drive and select Datastore ISO File then Browse to select the file.
4. Select the file and click OK. 

3. Logon to the guest OS and double-click CD-ROM from the File Explorer.
4. Follow the installation prompts to complete the OS upgrade.
5. Upgrade or reinstall VMware tools after OS upgrade is completed.
6. Shutdown VM.
7. Select the VM.
8. Click on Edit Settings.
9. Click on VM Options.
10. Click on General Options
11. Change “Guest OS Version” to the new installed version.

Additional Information

Windows Server 2022 guest operating system option is not available during virtual machine creation.