VMware GSX Server 3 Administration, Administration Manual

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C H A P T E R 3 Upgrading VMware GSX Server
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If the disks are in persistent or nonpersistent mode, be sure the virtual machine is
completely shut down. If it is suspended, resume it, shut down the guest operating
system and power off the virtual machine.
If you have an existing virtual machine that has multiple virtual disks and the disks are
in multiple modes, the simplest approach to upgrading is to convert all the disks to
persistent mode.
Resume or power on the virtual machine in the earlier release, shut down the guest
operating system, power off the virtual machine and either commit or discard
changes to any undoable mode disks when prompted. Then open the Configuration
Editor and change all disks to persistent mode. After you upgrade, you can use the
snapshot feature to preserve the state of a virtual machine and return to that state at a
later time. For more information on the snapshot feature, see
Taking Snapshots in the
VMware GSX Server Virtual Machine Guide .
If you need to preserve special functionality that requires disks in multiple modes,
review the information at
www.vmware.com/info?id=40 before you upgrade.
Back Up Virtual Machines
As a precaution, back up all the files in your virtual machine directories — including
the
.vmdk
or
.dsk
,
.vmx
or
.cfg
and
nvram
files — for any existing virtual
machines you plan to migrate to the new version of GSX Server. Depending on your
upgrade path, you may not be able to run your virtual machines under both the new
version of GSX Server and your previous version of GSX Server.
Virtual machines created under GSX Server 1 must have their virtual hardware
updated before they can run under GSX Server 3. Once they are updated, they cannot
be run under GSX Server 1.
You have a choice with virtual machines that you created under GSX Server 2 or
updated to use the GSX Server 2 virtual hardware.
• You may update these virtual machines for full compatibility with GSX Server 3.
In that case, the virtual machines can no longer be used under GSX Server 2.
• You may choose not to update the virtual hardware. In that case, you can run the
virtual machines under both GSX Server 2 and GSX Server 3, but you do not have
the benefits of the new virtual hardware provided by GSX Server 3. Other new
features are not available. For example, you cannot take a snapshot or revert to
the snapshot while the virtual machine is running; you must power off before
taking or reverting to the snapshot.