vCenter Single Sign-On and Platform Services Controller Compatibility Matrix with vCenter Server

Products

VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

This article provides information on vCenter Single Sign-On and the Platform Services Controller compatibility regarding the interoperability of vCenter Server between versions of vSphere.

Note: When reviewing interoperability between 2nd party VMware Products (e.g. Site Recovery Manager, vCloud Director, vRealize Automation Center), consult the Solution Interoperability section in the VMware Product Interoperability Matrixes for vCenter Server due to the tight coupling of vCenter Server and vCenter Single Sign-On or Platform Services Controller,

Resolution

These tables describes the supported vCenter Server version that can be used with vCenter Single Sign-On (SSO) or Platform Services Controller (PSC) to provide high availability. Please see the notes where applicable.

Install (I) - Performing a fresh install of vCenter 5.x or 6.x against a SSO or PSC
Repointing (R) - Performing a repoint operation from vCenter Server to a new or existing SSO or PSC node in a vSphere domain.
Upgrade Backwards Compatibility (U) - Performing an upgrade or update of an SSO or PSC node to a later version while retaining interoperability between the current vCenter Server version.

vCenter Server Version

5.1

5.5

6.0

6.5

I

R

U

I

R

U

I

R

U

I

R

U

vCenter Single Sign-On /
Platform Services Controller
Version

SSO 5.1

Yes

No

SSO 5.5

Yes ¹

Yes

No

PSC 6.0

No

Yes ²

Yes

Yes³

Yes

No

PSC 6.5

No

Yes ²

No

Yes³

Yes

Yes4

Yes

Notes:

Customers can utilize a vCenter Single Sign-On 5.5 instance with vCenter Server 5.1 as long as they are running vSphere 5.1 Update 1 or later. For more information, see Supported vCenter Single Sign-On 5.5 configuration and interoperability with vSphere 5.1 (2059249).
Customers can utilize a Platform Services Controller 6.0 with vCenter Server 5.5 only in an environment in which you are performing a rolling upgrade. However, VMware does not support fresh installs or repointing of vCenter Server 5.5 against a PSC 6.0, nor does VMware support leaving your environment in a hybrid-type deployment of vSphere 5.5 with vSphere 6.0. VMware recommends you to upgrade vCenter Single Sign-On 5.5 to Platform Services Controller 6.0 first and then your vCenter Server from 5.x to 6.0. For more information, see Mixed-Version Transitional Environments in vCenter Server for Windows Upgrades in the vSphere Upgrade guide.
This functionality is limited to Platform Services Controllers existing within the same vSphere Domain. For information on repointing the vCenter Server between Platform Services Controllers, consult: How to repoint vCenter Server 6.x between External PSC within a site (2113917) and Repointing vCenter Server 6.0 between sites in a vSphere Domain (2131191)
This functionality is limited to Platform Services Controllers existing within the same vSphere Domain and in the same site. For information on repointing the vCenter Server between Platform Services Controllers in the same site, consult: How to repoint vCenter Server 6.x between External PSC within a site (2113917)

Additional Information

Upgrade Sequences by vSphere Version:

Frequently Asked Questions by Version:

Recommended Deploy Topology:

vCenter Single Sign-On 5.1 FAQ
VMware vCenter Single Sign-On Server 5.5 FAQs
Supported vCenter Single Sign-On 5.5 configuration and interoperability with vSphere 5.1
List of recommended topologies for VMware vSphere 6.0
Update sequence for vSphere 6.0 and its compatible VMware products
FAQ: VMware Platform Services Controller in vSphere 6.0
How to repoint vCenter Server 6.x between External PSC within a site
vCenter Single Sign-On および Platform Services Controller の vCenter Server との互換性マトリックス
vCenter Single Sign-On 和 Platform Services Controller 与 vCenter Server 的兼容性列表
Repointing vCenter Server 6.0 between sites in a vSphere Domain
Update sequence for vSphere 6.5 and its compatible VMware products
Supported and deprecated topologies for VMware vSphere 6.5