vInfrastructure Blog

Reading Time: 2 minutes Actually there are two different platform where you can run the vCenter Server components (including the PSC): Windows (both physical or virtual) or Linux (only with the vCSA, based on PhotonOS). Initially there was only a Windows version, then the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) was first introduced with the release of vSphere 5.0 and has since evolved to become the definitive deployment model for vCenter Server. Starting with vSphere 6.5 the vCSA has become the first choice and has raised the level of vCenter with new functionalities (not available on the Windows version).

Reading Time: 2 minutes VMware vSphere 6.0 has got some issues, like the several related to CBT and data protection, during the first years of its life. Mostly is finally resolved, but you may still have strange issuesespecially during the upgrade procedure (most when you start from a vSphere 5.1 version). I notice, after an upgrade, also a strange behavior with vMotion where live VM migration fails with this error: A general system error occurred: PBM error occurred during PreMigrateCheckCallback: No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it.

Reading Time: 4 minutes If you are planning an in-place upgrade of a vCenter Server (the Windows installable version) you have to read carefully the vSphere Upgrade Center resources to avoid possible issues. Of course you can choose to install a new vCenter Server instance a move all to the new one. Maybe could be the right moment to switch to the vCenter Server Appliance (there is also a Flings to move your vCenter Windows data to a VCSA instance). But sometimes it’s not possible and should be preferable an in-place upgrade.