Update sequence for vSphere 6.7 and its compatible VMware products

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article only encompasses environments running vSphere and/or vCloud Suite 6.7 and VMware products compatible with vSphere 6.7.

In an environment with vSphere 6.7 and its compatible VMware products, perform the update sequence described in the Supported Update Sequence table.

Note: This article refers only to the latest versions of VMware products that are supported by vSphere 6.7 and its update sequence. For more information, see Upgrade path and Interoperability of VMware Products (70785).

Important: 

When upgrading your vCenter Server and with Horizon View is part of your environment, refer to the VMware Interoperability Matrices for the most up-to-date compatibility. 

Environment

VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.7.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7
VMware vSphere 6.7.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.7.x

Resolution

This table describes the upgrade path in which the vSphere 6.7 and its compatible VMware products must be updated:

Supported Update Sequence 

Use the scroll bar in the table to view the complete list.

	vRA	vRO	vRB	vROPs	vRLI	vRLI Agent	vROps EPOps	vADP-based Backup solution	NSX-v	NSX-T	VR	SRM	External PSC	vCenter Server	VUM	UMDS	ESXi	VMware Tools	Virtual Hardware	VSAN/VMFS
Seq.	1
		2	2
				3	3
						4	4
								5
									6	6
											7	7
													8
														9
															10
																11
																	12
																		13
																			14
																				15

Note: If you need to update multiple products in your environment, start with updating the product with the lowest sequence number. After you update the product, update the product with the next sequence number. If a product is not present in your environment, update the subsequent product. If you need to update two products with the same sequence number, the order of update does not matter.
 

Sample VMware product upgrade scenarios

Example 1

If you have SRM solution installed in your environment leveraging vSphere Replication to replicate data to servers at the recovery site, please reference: 
* VMware DOCS: Site Recovery Manager - Order of Upgrading vSphere and Site Recovery Manager Components

Example 2

If you have the vADP-based Backup Solution installed in your environment, the supported update sequence is:

1. Upgrade vADP-based Backup Solution (sequence step 5)
2. If applicable, upgrade the External vCenter Single Sign-On / Platform Services Controller instance (sequence step 7)
3. Upgrade vCenter Server (sequence step 8)
4. Upgrade ESXi (sequence step 12)

Example 3

If you have the vRealize Automation solution installed without NSX for vSphere in your environment, using vRealize Orchestrator with Platform Services Controller integration, the supported update sequence is: 

1. Upgrade vRealize Automation Appliances and IaaS Components (sequence step 1)
2. Upgrade vRealize Business (sequence step 2)
3. If applicable, upgrade the External vCenter Single Sign-On / Platform Services Controller instance (sequence step 8)
4. Update vCenter Server (sequence step 9)
5. Update vRealize Orchestrator (sequence step 2)
6. Update ESXi (sequence step 12)

If you have the vRealize Automation solution installed without NSX for vSphere in your environment, using vRealize Orchestrator with VMware Identity Manager integration, the supported update sequence is: 

1. Upgrade vRealize Automation Appliances and IaaS Components (sequence step 1)
2. Upgrade vRealize Business (sequence step 2)
3. Update vRealize Orchestrator (sequence step 2)
4. If applicable, upgrade the External vCenter Single Sign-On / Platform Services Controller instance (sequence step 8)
5. Update vCenter Server (sequence step 9)
6. Update ESXi (sequence step 12)

If you have the vRealize Automation solution installed with NSX for vSphere in your environment, using vRealize Orchestrator with VMware Identity Manager integration, the supported update sequence is:

1. Upgrade vRealize Automation Appliances and IaaS Components (sequence step 1)
2. Upgrade vRealize Business (sequence step 2)
3. Update vRealize Orchestrator (sequence step 2)
4. Upgrade NSX Manager (Primary) (Sequence step 6)
5. If applicable, using Cross-vCenter NSX, Upgrade NSX Manager (Secondary) (Sequence step 6.1)
6. Upgrade NSX Controller(s) (Sequence step 6.2)
7. Upgrade NSX Networking Fabric (VIBs) (Sequence step 6.3)
8. Upgrade NSX Universal Logical Routers (Sequence step 6.4)
9. Upgrade NSX Edge (Sequence step 6.5)
10. Upgrade NSX Guest Introspection (Sequence step 6.6)
11. If applicable, upgrade the External vCenter Single Sign-On / Platform Services Controller instance (sequence step 8)
12. Update vCenter Server (sequence step 9)
13. Update ESXi (sequence step 12)

Example 4

If you have a NSX for vSphere, the supported update sequence is.

For more information, see the Upgrading vSphere in an NSX Environment section of the NSX Upgrade Guide.

1. Upgrade NSX Manager (Primary) (Sequence step 6)
2. If applicable, using Cross-vCenter NSX, Upgrade NSX Manager (Secondary) (Sequence step 6.1)
3. Upgrade NSX Controller(s) (Sequence step 6.2)
4. Upgrade NSX Networking Fabric (VIBs) (Sequence step 6.3)
5. Upgrade NSX Universal Logical Routers (Sequence step 6.4)
6. Upgrade NSX Edge (Sequence step 6.5)
7. Upgrade NSX Guest Introspection (Sequence step 6.6)
8. Upgrade the External vCenter Single Sign-On / Platform Services Controller instance (sequence step 8)
9. Upgrade vCenter Server (Sequence step 9)
10. Upgrade ESXi (Sequence step 12)

Example 5

If you have a NSX-T, the supported update sequence is.

1. Upgrade the Upgrade Coordinator.
   
   The upgrade coordinator runs in the NSX Manager. It is a self-contained web application that orchestrates the upgrade process of hosts, NSX Edge cluster, NSX Controller cluster, and Management plane.
    
2. Configuring and Upgrading Hosts.
3. Upgrade NSX Edge Cluster.
   
   Edge upgrade unit groups consist of NSX Edge nodes that are part of the same NSX Edge cluster. You can reorder Edge upgrade unit groups and enable or disable an Edge upgrade unit group from the upgrade sequence.
    
4. Upgrade NSX Controller Cluster.
   
   In the NSX-T Data Center 2.4 release, the NSX Controller is merged with the NSX Manager during upgrade.
    
5. Upgrading Management Plane.
   
   The upgrade sequence upgrades the Management plane at the end.
    
6. Upgrade Policy Manager.
   
   In the NSX-T Data Center 2.4 release, the NSX Policy Manager is merged with the NSX Manager. To use the policies that you defined in NSX Policy Manager 2.3, migrate your policies to NSX-T Data Center 2.4.
      
   For more more information, see the Upgrading NSX-T Data Center section of the VMware NSX-T Data Center Product Documentation .

Note: Starting with NSX-T Data Center 2.5.0, the supported update sequence is.

1. Upgrade the Upgrade Coordinator.
   
   The upgrade coordinator runs in the NSX Manager. It is a self-contained web application that orchestrates the upgrade process of hosts, NSX Edge cluster, NSX Controller cluster, and Management plane.
    
2. Upgrade NSX Edge Cluster.
   
   Edge upgrade unit groups consist of NSX Edge nodes that are part of the same NSX Edge cluster. You can reorder Edge upgrade unit groups and enable or disable an Edge upgrade unit group from the upgrade sequence.
    
3. Configuring and Upgrading Hosts.
4. Upgrading Management Plane.
   
   The upgrade sequence upgrades the Management plane at the end.

Additional Information

VMware Skyline Health Diagnostics for vSphere - FAQ

vSphere 6.7 and its compatible VMware products

This table provides information about the current version of released VMware products and the recommended action required to patch to the next level. The table also provides reference links to release notes and update procedure documents.

Note: Do an “Expand All” for more information on the Release Notes.

vSphere 6.7 and its compatible VMware products

Product	Starting Version	Recommended Action for Upgrade	Important Links
Platform Services Controller (PSC)   Note: External Deployment Only	6.5 Update 1b	Upgrade to 6.7	Release Notes Update Procedure
vRealize Automation	7.3	Upgrade to 7.4	Release Notes Upgrade Procedure
vRealize Orchestrator (vRO)	7.3	Upgrade to 7.4	Release Notes Upgrade Procedure
vRealize Business for Cloud	7.3.1	Upgrade to 7.4	Release Notes Update Procedure
vRealize Operations Manager (vROPs)	6.6.1	Update to 6.7	Release Notes
vRealize Log Insight	4.5.1	Upgrade to 4.6	Release Notes Upgrade Procedure
NSX for vSphere	6.4.0	Upgrade to 6.4.1	Release Notes Update Procedure
NSX-T	2.3.0	Upgrade to 2.4.1	Release Notes Update Procedure
vCenter Server / vCenter Server Appliance	6.5 Update 1b	Upgrade to 6.7	Release Notes Update Procedure
vSphere Replication (VR) vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM)	VR Version 6.5.1 SRM Version – 6.5.1	Upgrade to 8.1	VR Release Notes SRM Release Notes Upgrading VR Upgrading SRM
vSphere Update Manager	6.5 Update 1b	Upgrade to 6.7	Release Notes Update Procedure
vSphere ESXi	6.5 Update 1b	Upgrade to 6.7	Release Notes Update Procedure
VMware vSAN	6.6.1	Upgrade to 6.7	Release Notes Update Procedure
VMware Virtual Hardware	10, 11, 13	Upgrade to 14	For additional information, see Virtual machine hardware versions (1003746).
VMware Tools	10.1.0	Upgrade to 10.2.0	Release Notes Update Procedure