VMware Horizon View – Upgrade from version 5.x to 6.x

Upgrading from VMware View 5.x to VMware Horizon View 6.x is a fairly straightforward process. Below is a small overview of the steps to undertake.

Document existing View environment

  • Document View topology
  • Document OS versions used
  • Document VM settings for Connection, security and composer servers (vCPU, RAM, HDD, …)
  • Document database settings (ODBC on Composer)
  • Document accounts used
  • Document IP addresses, hostnames, DNS entries, …
  • Document all View global settings and pool settings
  • Document configuration of load balancer
  • Export LDAP database using vdmexport.exe from a connection server. c:\program files \VMware\VMware View\Servers\tools\bin\vdmexport -f myexport_beforeupgrade.ldf -v
  • Make a copy of the folder that contains the SSL certificates on the View Composer server: %allusersprofiles%\Application Data\VMware\VMware Virtualcenter

Preparation

  • Stop/halt all VMware View scheduled tasks
  • Disable provisioning of all linked-clone desktop pools
  • Edit Desktop/pools settings: set “Refresh OS disk on logoff” to “never”

Hardware Requirements

  • Composer Server:
    • Win Server 2008 R2 / 2008 R2 SP1 / Win 2012 R2
    • 2 (4) vCPUs – 4 (8) GB RAM – 40 (60) GB HDD [minimum (recommended)]
  • Connection/Security Server
    • Win Server 2008 R2 / 2008 R2 SP1 / Win 2012 R2
    • 1 (4) vCPUs – 4 (10) GB RAM [minimum (recommended)]
  • SQL Server
    • 2008 Express R2 SP2, 2008 SP3, 2008 R2 SP2, 2012 Express, 2012 or 2012 SP1

Upgrade Process

  • Upgrade View composer server
    • Download and run the View Composer installer
    • Choose to let the installer upgrade the database
  • Upgrade View Connection Server
    • Download and run the View Connection Server installer on all View Connection servers (one-by-one)
    • Edit the VMware View Horizon license and enter the VMware Horizon 6.0 license key
    • Export LDAP database using vdmexport.exe from a connection server. c:\program files \VMware\VMware View\Servers\tools\bin\vdmexport -f myexport_afterupgrade.ldf -v
  • Upgrade View Security Server
    • Specify a security server pairing password on the Connection server that will be paired with the security server you are upgrading
    • Select “prepare for upgrade of reinstallation” to remove the existing IPsec rules
    • Download and run the View Connection Server installer on all View Security servers (one-by-one)
  • Upgrade GPOs
  • Upgrade View Agent on parent machines
  • Recompose linked clone pools
  • Upgrade View Clients

VMware Documentation

https://pubs.vmware.com/horizon-view-60/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/horizon-view-60-upgrades.pdf

 

2 Comments

  1. Hello,if your composer server is in the same virtual machine as vmware vcenter which is the correct upgrade order ?First upgrade the vcenter or the composer?
    Thank you

    1. The upgrade order depends on the interoperability between your vcenter server version and the composer version (current and future). See https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/sim/interop_matrix.php for more details.
      Also see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Horizon-7/7.6/horizon-upgrades.pdf for general guidance on upgrades.

      Ideally you want to seperate vCenter and Composer on two different systems + you should start looking at implementing the vCenter Server Appliance in stead of using the Windows based vCenter.

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