"Source vCenter Server has instance(s) of Distributed Virtual Switch at unsupported version" error while upgrading vCenter Server to version 6.7, 7.0, 8.0 or 9.0

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

This article provides information on the removal of support for:

• DVS version 5.5 and below in vSphere 6.7 
• DVS version 6.0 and below in vSphere 7.0
• DVS version 6.5 and below in vSphere 8.0
• DVS version 6.6 and below in vSphere 9.0

 

• When upgrading vCenter Server to version 6.7, 7.0, 8.0 or 9.0, the upgrade fails with following error:
  

  • Source vCenter Server has instance(s) of Distributed Virtual Switch at unsupported version.

• In the Installation log of the vCenter, entries similar to the following may be observed:
  • Distributed Virtual Switches with versions lower than 6.0.0 are not supported with vCenter Server 6.7. Upgrade these Distributed Switches to version 6.0.0 or later to be able proceed with the upgrade of vCenter Server.   

• • Distributed Virtual Switches with versions lower than 6.5.0 are not supported with vCenter Server 7.0. Upgrade these Distributed Switches to version 6.5.0 or later to be able proceed with the upgrade of vCenter Server. 

• • Distributed Virtual Switches with versions lower than 6.6.0 are not supported with vCenter Server 8.0. Upgrade these Distributed Switches to version 6.6.0 or later to be able proceed with the upgrade of vCenter Server. 

Environment

• vCenter Server Appliance 6.5.x or 6.7.x
• vCenter Server 6.5.x, 6.7.x, 7.0.x, 8.0.x or 9.0.x

Cause

The upgrade of vCenter Server to version 6.7, 7.0, 8.0 or 9.0 fails due to the presence of Distributed Virtual Switches (DVS) running on unsupported versions. VMware has deprecated support for older DVS versions in newer vCenter releases to ensure compatibility, stability, and access to enhanced networking features.

Specifically:

• vCenter 6.7 requires all DVS to be version 6.0 or higher
• vCenter 7.0 requires all DVS to be version 6.5 or higher
• vCenter 8.0 requires all DVS to be version 6.6 or higher
• vCenter 9.0 requires all DVS to be version 7.0 or higher

Resolution

To proceed with the upgrade:

• vCenter Server 6.7, all DVS(es) at version 5.5 or below have to be upgraded to version 6.0 or above
• vCenter Server 7.0, all DVS(es) at version 6.0 or below have to be upgraded to version 6.5 or above
• vCenter Server 8.0, all DVS(es) at version 6.5 or below have to be upgraded to version 6.6 or above
• vCenter Server 9.0, all DVS(es) at version 6.6 or below have to be upgraded to version 7.0 or above

The list of DVS names that need to be upgraded are saved in the file vcdb_req.err, located in the /var/log/vmware/upgrade/ directory of the vCenter Server Appliance.

• This is an example of the contents of the file:
  
  ERROR: invalid-dvs-version
  {DVSwitch: DSwitch, Version: 5.5.0}
  {DVSwitch: DSwitch2, Version: 5.1.0}
  • Where DSwitch, DSwitch2 indicate names of the DVS’es that need to be upgraded and their current versions.
    
    
• The DVS Upgrade can be done from the vCenter User Interface or through the vCenter API. For more information about how to Upgrade a vSphere Distributed Switch to a Later Version, click on one of the links below:
  • 7.0
  • 8.0
  • 9.0