Process to upgrade DVS (or VDS) non-disruptively

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• A vSphere Distributed Switch (abbreviated as vDS or DVS, interchangeably) indicates "Upgrades Available" in the UI
  
  
  
  
• VMware vCenter has been updated to a current release.
  
  
• All hosts using the DVS have been upgraded to the same release of VMware ESX.
  
  
• The current version of the DVS is 6.6 or greater.

Environment

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Resolution

• After distributed switch version 6.6, the upgrade is considered to occur without disruption, but there are a few milliseconds where packets could be lost.  
  
  
• Precautionary measures that can be taken before the upgrade:
  • Disable DRS : Disabling VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler for a Cluster
  • Take a backup of the existing DVS: Back Up and Restore a vSphere Distributed Switch Configuration
    
    
• Precautionary measures that can be taken during the upgrade:
  • Do not perform vMotion
    
    
• Consult the process in the Techdocs to Upgrade a vSphere Distributed Switch to a Later Version