vSAN upgrade requirements
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vSAN upgrade requirements

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Article ID: 326926

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSAN

Issue/Introduction

This article outlines the requirements to upgrade a VMware vSAN cluster between major and minor versions.

Note: Depending on the desired target version, there may be intermediate steps required to ensure a smooth and effective upgrade process. Ensure you review the relevant section in detail. Please check the Product Interoperability Matrix   link https://interopmatrix.vmware.com/Upgrade?productId=1  for the upgrade path to ensure.


Environment

VMware vSAN 6.7.x
VMware vSAN 6.x
VMware vSAN 7.0.x
VMware vSAN 8.0.x

Resolution

Important considerations before you begin: Prior to beginning any vSAN upgrade process, review the general vSAN upgrade best practices.

Compliance with the minimum ESXi starting version as noted in the table below is vital for a successful upgrade process. For more information about the version specific requirements, see the Additional Information section. This table details the requirements to upgrade to any given version of vSAN. In general, the vSAN upgrade order is the same as the vSphere upgrade order, with the on-disk upgrade as the last step.
  1. Caution: VMware strongly recommends that you have backups in place before performing any upgrade and  disk partition operation. Also, make sure there are no snapshots existing for the virtual machine before extending the VMDK. 
  2. Please read the release notes carefully for all the versions that are in between the current version of vSAN and target version of vSAN to get complete clarity of the upgrade and related issues if any. 
  3. For any questions and concerns, please open a ticket with VMware support team. For more information, see How to file a Support Request in Customer Connect.
  4. You may also refer to the KB article Build numbers and versions of VMware vSAN for the other details of the vSAN and related ESXi build versions.
  5. The upgrade from on-disk version 2 to on-disk version 3 or any on-disk higher version is a major change and requires full data evacuation from every disk group. Caution must be exercised as this is IO intensive operation.
  6. The upgrade from on-disk version 3 to on-disk versions 5, 6, 7, 10, or higher are metadata upgrades and should not take a very long time (Based on data consumed on disks, number of disks number of hosts, and disk IO workload).
  7. To help make the upgrade decision, you may use the VMware Product Interoperability Matrices.
  8. You may note that vSphere 6.0, 6.5, and 6.7 has reached End Of Support. Refer to documents

 

Target vSAN versionMinimum ESXi starting version*Post-upgrade on-disk format upgrade required?CaveatsCorresponding ESXI build number 
vSAN 8.0 Update 2ESXi 7.0 GA Build Number 15843807Yes. It is a metadata upgrade  of vSAN on disks format version 19 if previous on disk version is 11 or above* Please ensure that you are on 7.0  (any)  version prior to upgrading to 8.0 
* Ensure that you review the release notes for vSphere 8.0 U2 to avoid any known issues with the vSphere upgrade		ESXi 8.0 U2  (Build Number: 22380479)
vSAN 8.0 Update 1ESXi 7.0 GA Build Number 15843807Yes. It is a metadata upgrade  of vSAN on disks format version 18 if previous on disk version is 11 or above* Please ensure that you are on 7.0  (any)  version prior to upgrading to 8.0 
* Ensure that you review the release notes for vSphere 8.0 U1 to avoid any known issues with the vSphere upgrade		ESXi 8.0 U1  (Build Number: 21495797)
vSAN 8.0 ESXi 6.7 GA Build Number 8169922Yes. It is a metadata upgrade  of vSAN on disks format version 17 if previous on disk version is 6 or above* Please ensure that you are on 6.7 (any)  version prior to upgrading to 8.0 
* Ensure that you review the release notes for vSphere 8.0 to avoid any known issues with the vSphere upgrade		ESXi 8.0 GA  (Build Number: 20513097)
vSAN 7.0 Update 3ESXi 6.5 U2 Build Number 8294253Yes. It is a metadata upgrade  of vSAN on disks format version 15 if previous on disk version is 3 or above* Please ensure that you are on 6.7 (any) or 6.5 U2  version prior to upgrading to 7.0 U3
* Ensure that you review the release notes for vSphere 7.0 U3c to avoid any known issues with the vSphere upgrade		ESXi 7.0 Update 3 (Build Number: 19193900)
vSAN 7.0 Update 2ESXi 6.5 U2 Build Number 8294253Yes. It is a metadata upgrade  of vSAN on disks format version 14 if previous on disk version is 3 or above* Please ensure that you are on 6.7 (any) or 6.5 U2  version prior to upgrading to 7.0 U2
* Ensure that you review the release notes for vSphere 7.0 U2 to avoid any known issues with the vSphere upgrade		ESXi 7.0 Update 2 (Build Number: 17630552)
vSAN 7.0 Update 1ESXi 6.5 U2 Build Number 8294253Yes. It is a metadata upgrade  of vSAN on disks format version 13 if previous on disk version is 3 or above* Please ensure that you are on 6.7 (any) or 6.5 U2  version prior to upgrading to 7.0 U1
* Ensure that you review the release notes for vSphere 7.0 U1 to avoid any known issues with the vSphere upgrade		ESXi 7.0 Update 1 (Build Number: 16850804)
vSAN 7.0 GAESXi 6.5 U2 Build Number 8294253Yes. It is a metadata upgrade  of vSAN on disks format version 11 if previous on disk version is 3 or above* Please ensure that you are on 6.7 (any) or 6.5 U2  version prior to upgrading to 7.0
* Ensure that you review the release notes for vSphere 7.0 to avoid any known issues with the vSphere upgrade		ESXi 7.0 GA  (Build Number: 15843807)

 

Note:  ESXi 5.5 / 6.0 /6.5/6.7 ( vSAN 5.5 / 6.0/ 6.5/6.7 )  are no longer supported and sold. To maintain your full level of Support and Subscription Services, VMware recommends upgrading to vSphere 7.0 or vSphere 8.0. We recommend you open a ticket with support for upgrading to a supported version. Please refer to KB article  End of General Support for vSphere 5.5 (51491), End of General Support for vSphere 6.0 (66977), and Announcing End of General Support for vSphere 6.5.x and vSphere 6.7.x (89305)
 
Additional considerations:


Additional Information

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