The upgrade to vCenter Server 5.0.x affects other software components of your datacenter.
Upgrading vCenter Server Components summarizes the effect on your datacenter components.
Upgrading vCenter Server Components
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vCenter Server, vSphere Client, and vSphere Web Client
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VI Client 1.x
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Not supported.
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VirtualCenter Server 1.x
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Not supported.
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VirtualCenter Server 2.0
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Not supported.
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VirtualCenter Server 2.5
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Not supported.
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VirtualCenter Server 2.5 Update 6
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Upgrade by using the data migration tool to upgrade to vCenter Server 5.0.x on a different machine. Alternatively, if the VirtualCenter database is on a remote machine, you can simply upgrade the database.
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vCenter Server 4.0
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Upgrade in place if it is installed on a 64-bit system. If it is installed on a 32-bit system, upgrade by using the data migration tool to upgrade to vCenter Server 5.0.x on a different machine.
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vSphere Client 4.0
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Not supported.
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vCenter Server 4.1
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In place upgrade.
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vSphere Client 4.1
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Not supported.
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vCenter Server 5.0
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Upgrade to vCenter Server 5.0.x.
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vCenter Client 5.0
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Upgrade to vCenter Client 5.0.x.
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vSphere Web Client 5.0
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Upgrade to vSphere Web Client 5.0.x.
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IBM DB2 database
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Verify that your database is supported. Upgrade if necessary.
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Oracle database
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Verify that your database is supported. Upgrade if necessary.
Oracle 9i is no longer supported.
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SQL database
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Verify that your database is supported. Upgrade if necessary.
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 is no longer supported.
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express is supported in vCenter Server 5.0.x
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Linked Mode
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You cannot join a vCenter Server to a Linked Mode group during the upgrade procedure. Join after the upgrade to vCenter Server is complete.
If you are upgrading a version 5.0 vCenter Server that is part of a Linked Mode group, it will not be removed from the group. If you are upgrading a pre-5.0 vCenter Server that is part of a Linked Mode group, it will be removed from the group. vCenter Server does not support Linked Mode groups that contain both version 5.0.x and pre-5.0 versions of vCenter Server. After all vCenter Servers in the group are upgraded to version 5.0.x, you can rejoin them.
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License server
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License server
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To manage ESX 3.5x/ESXi 3.5 hosts, verify that the vCenter Server system is configured to use a license server. Install a license server if necessary.
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ESX and ESXi
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ESX 2.5 host
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Not supported with vCenter Server 5.0.x
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VMFS2 volumes
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Supported as read-only (deprecated).
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VM2 virtual machines
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Upgrade (optional).
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VMDK2 virtual disk
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Not supported with vCenter Server 5.0.x
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ESX MUI
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No change.
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VMware Tools
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Upgrade (optional).
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ESX/ESXi 3.5 host
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Upgrade to ESXi 5.0.x (optional).
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ESX/ESXi 4.0 host
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Upgrade to ESXi 5.0.x (optional)
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ESX/ESXi 4.1 host
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Update to 4.1 Update 1 or later before upgrading vCenter Server to version 5.0 (required). Upgrade to ESXi 5.0.x (optional).
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ESXi 5.0 host
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Upgrade to ESXi 5.0.x (optional).
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VMFS3 volumes
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No change.
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VM3 virtual machines
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Upgrade (optional).
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VMDK3 virtual disk
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Not supported with vCenter Server 5.0.
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