<div>
Ok thanks Andrew...last question<br />
<br />
My goal is to move the VM's from R710 to the R730 - does this require 'shared storage' option to make VMotion work or does this happen regardless since both hosts are under the one VCenter instance?
</div>


<div>
To Migrate via Cold or Hot, requires a license for Storage vMotion.<br />
<br />
So it depends on what license you have.<br />
<br />
You may be able to use the Migrate option from within vCenter Server to peform a cold migration, when the VM is OFF.<br />
<br />
otherwise, options include VMware Converter, to perform a V2V, Veeam, or Export and Import.<br />
<br />
see my EE Articles, all valid for moving VMs.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/VMWare/A_10718.html" rel="ugc">HOW TO: &quot;Live Migrate&quot; VMware Virtual Machines between ESX/ESXi hosts and/or datastores for FREE without licenses for vMotion or Storage vMotion</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/VMWare/A_12373.html" rel="ugc">Part 10: HOW TO: Backup (Export) and Restore (Import) virtual machines to VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 for FREE</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.experts-exchange.com/articles/25539/HOW-TO-P2V-V2V-for-FREE-VMware-vCenter-Converter-Standalone-6-1.html" rel="ugc">https://www.experts-exchange.com/articles/25539/HOW-TO-P2V-V2V-for-FREE-VMware-vCenter-Converter-Standalone-6-1.html</a>
</div>


<div>
Ok great thanks for the help, yes I'm using the Dell versions, always ;)
</div>


<div>
Great support as per usual, much appreciated!!
</div>


<div>
<div class="content wysiwyg-content">
Ok so my original server is a Poweredge R710 running ESX 4.1(not ESXi)<br />
Its connected to a VCenter 4.1 VM(running on same host)<br />
<br />
I've a new server(Poweredge R730) that I've installed ESXi 6.0 and also created a new VM with VCenter 6.0 installed<br />
<br />
My question is - can I upgrade the ESX4.1 host to 5.5(think this is the latest version I can upgrade to that is supported) and then add that host to the new VCenter 6.0 VM on the new host...note I'm not worried about the data in the old VCenter4.1 instance so that's not relevant...<br />
<br />
Just want to know if this step will work or am I missing something?<br />
<br />
Cheers<br />
Shane
</div>
</div>


Ok so my original server is a Poweredge R710 running ESX 4.1(not ESXi)
Its connected to a VCenter 4.1 VM(running on same host)

I've a new server(Poweredge R730) that I've installed ESXi 6.0 and also created a new VM with VCenter 6.0 installed

My question is - can I upgrade the ESX4.1 host to 5.5(think this is the latest version I can upgrade to that is supported) and then add that host to the new VCenter 6.0 VM on the new host...note I'm not worried about the data in the old VCenter4.1 instance so that's not relevant...

Just want to know if this step will work or am I missing something?

Cheers
Shane

Esx 4.1 to 6.0 Migration

VMware, a software company founded in 1998,  was one of the first commercially successful companies to offer x86 virtualization. The storage company EMC purchased VMware in 1994. Dell Technologies acquired EMC in 2016. VMware’s parent company is now Dell Technologies.

VMware has many software products that run on desktops, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS, which allows the virtualizing of the x86 architecture.  Its enterprise software hypervisor for servers, VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi), is a bare-metal hypervisor that runs directly on the server hardware and does not require an additional underlying operating system.

VMware

Virtualization is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, including (but not limited to) a virtual computer hardware platform, operating system (OS), storage device, or computer network resources. Virtualization is usually the creation of a system that executes separate from the underlying hardware resources, or the creation of an entire desktop for systems located elsewhere, similar to thin clients.