Upgrade VMware vSphere Replication from v8.2 to v8.4 and v8.5 < ProVirtualzone

This week I needed to Upgrade VMware vSphere Replication from v8.2 to v8.4 and v8.5. But as we can see in the next image is not possible to upgrade directly from v8.2 to v8.5. We need first to upgrade to 8.4 and then upgrade to v8.5.

And since upgrading from v8.2 to v8.4 is a different process, I will show both methods. Also showing how to upgrade from v8.4 to v8.5.

After you download the ISO, in my case, I download already both(8.4 and 8.5), you need to upload them to a Datastore in your vCenter/ESXi host so that we can attach them to the vSphere Replication Appliance VM.

After you have the ISO in your Appliance VM, login to the vSphere Replication VAMI with https://IP-FQDN:5480 and set it to check updates in the CD-ROM Updates option.

Go back to the Status tab and Check Updates. After you see the available update in green, click Install Updates.

If you see it taking too long to refresh and show that the upgrade is finished, please check the VM console and double-check if the vSphere Replication appliance version is already upgraded.

If yes, it is upgraded, and you need to refresh your browser.

Important Note: After the upgrade, you can’t use the root user anymore to login to the new VRMS Appliance Management, only SSH or VM Appliance console. You need to login with the root user to the VM Appliance console, change the Admin user’s password(as shown in the above image), and use Admin to login to the new VRMS VAMI.

After the upgrade, you will see the new version and a completely different GUI.

After login in using the new Admin user, and if you need to change this password, the next section is where you can change it.

It is not mandatory. The next image is only to show where to change the Admin password.

After, you may need to reconfigure your vSphere Replication between vCenters to enable the replication again.

But since we need to upgrade again to v8.5, I will continue the upgrade.

Now we can start upgrading to v8.5. Following the same procedure, add vSphere Replication v8.5 ISO to VM, then set for CD-ROM updates on the VRMS Appliance Management.

After VRMS Appliance Management recognizes the new version to install, click Install.

While the VRMS is upgrading and rebooting, you may see some errors not being able to connect(while rebooting). You can skip those errors and wait for the login page to be refreshed. If not, refresh the page.

Then login and check the new version.

I hope this blog post will help you upgrade your vSphere Replication, particularly if you are still in the old versions like me. I plan to reconfigure all my Replication infrastructure and post other posts regarding this subject when using the new VRMS. Not only vSphere replication and its new features, but also the new VMware products we can replicate using VRMS.

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