ESXi Upgrade from 5.1 to 6 and Red Hat Linux 7.2 (not enterprise RHEL) VM questions
Need advice on VMWare ESXi upgrade considerations from 5.1 to 6.0 regarding a Red Hat 7.2 VM (not Red Hat Enterprise Linux).
I am upgrading VMWare on the 31st from 5.1 to 6.x and have questions regarding a Red Hat Linux 7.2 VM (v.9) on 5.1 and potential issues to be aware of when upgrading ESXi to 6.0 .
Will this VM still run on the new ESXi version?
Any dangers/ considerations for me to be aware of?
This is a critical server and so is the upgrade to 6.0 so anything you can offer to help me be prepared, or to help reduce concerns, would be appreciated.
Thank you!
I am upgrading VMWare on the 31st from 5.1 to 6.x and have questions regarding a Red Hat Linux 7.2 VM (v.9) on 5.1 and potential issues to be aware of when upgrading ESXi to 6.0 .
Will this VM still run on the new ESXi version?
Any dangers/ considerations for me to be aware of?
This is a critical server and so is the upgrade to 6.0 so anything you can offer to help me be prepared, or to help reduce concerns, would be appreciated.
Thank you!
ASKER
Good links, thanks.
I'm assuming I will be able to use the stated workaround to disable the VMCI driver to circumvent the potential issue with v.7 .
Does that sound like a correct way to handle this issue?
See quoted copy/paste below and confirm if possible:
--------------------------
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7:
To resolve this issue for RHEL 7 operating systems, update the Red Hat kernel to:
• For RHEL7.3, this issue is resolved in kernel-3.10.0-514.el7
• For RHEL7.2z, this issue is resolved in kernel-3.10.0-327.10.1.el7
• For RHEL7.1z, this issue is resolved in kernel-3.10.0-229.28.1.el7
To work around this issue, disable the VMCI driver:
1. Power off the virtual machine.
2. Connect to the ESXi host on which the virtual machine running using SSH. For more information, see Using ESXi Shell in ESXi 5.x and 6.0 (2004746).
3. Navigate to the location of the .vmx file of the virtual machine.
cd /vmfs/volumes/datatore/vir
4. Open the virtual_machine.vmx file with a plain text editor:
vi virtual_machine.vmx
5. Set the vmci.present to false and add a # to the other lines:
For example:
vmci0.present = "FALSE"
#vmci0.pciSlotNumber = "32"
#vmci0.id = "1868206774"
6. Save and close the file.
7. Power on the virtual machine.
I'm assuming I will be able to use the stated workaround to disable the VMCI driver to circumvent the potential issue with v.7 .
Does that sound like a correct way to handle this issue?
See quoted copy/paste below and confirm if possible:
--------------------------
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7:
To resolve this issue for RHEL 7 operating systems, update the Red Hat kernel to:
• For RHEL7.3, this issue is resolved in kernel-3.10.0-514.el7
• For RHEL7.2z, this issue is resolved in kernel-3.10.0-327.10.1.el7
• For RHEL7.1z, this issue is resolved in kernel-3.10.0-229.28.1.el7
To work around this issue, disable the VMCI driver:
1. Power off the virtual machine.
2. Connect to the ESXi host on which the virtual machine running using SSH. For more information, see Using ESXi Shell in ESXi 5.x and 6.0 (2004746).
3. Navigate to the location of the .vmx file of the virtual machine.
cd /vmfs/volumes/datatore/vir
4. Open the virtual_machine.vmx file with a plain text editor:
vi virtual_machine.vmx
5. Set the vmci.present to false and add a # to the other lines:
For example:
vmci0.present = "FALSE"
#vmci0.pciSlotNumber = "32"
#vmci0.id = "1868206774"
6. Save and close the file.
7. Power on the virtual machine.
ASKER
Hi Ajay Chanana,
I have noticed that the link references Red Hat ENTERPRISE Linux specifically. Since my VM is not RHEL (Enterprise Red Hat), does this apply?
I cannot stress enough that the two are not the same, hence my indication that this is NOT Enterprise RHEL, and issues with RHEL may not relate to issues with Red Hat.
Please advise!
I have noticed that the link references Red Hat ENTERPRISE Linux specifically. Since my VM is not RHEL (Enterprise Red Hat), does this apply?
I cannot stress enough that the two are not the same, hence my indication that this is NOT Enterprise RHEL, and issues with RHEL may not relate to issues with Red Hat.
Please advise!
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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ASKER
I am performing the upgrades this weekend and will post results/ close the question.
ASKER
Performed a live migration to a test Host on 6.5 without errors or issues. I feel comfortable with the upgrade this weekend.
Thanks for your quick help.
Thanks for your quick help.
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2142110
Other than this I don't think any issue as you are on supported VM hardware version.
Reference - https://kb.vmware.com/kb/2007240
version 9 supported upto 65