VMWARE WORKSTATION 11 UPGRADE NOTES HOW TO
VMWARE WORKSTATION 11 UPGRADE NOTES DRIVERS

Upgrading the compatibility can also be done quickly through the API using the embedded PowerCLI cmdlets. вЂњ Schedule compatibility upgrade to have it run at the next power cycle.вЂќ PowerCLI You can of course cancel the upgrade scheduling should you want to keep it at the current level or select a different compatibility level. Although scheduling is a bit misleading a term in this context in that the VM will be upgraded the next time it is powered on. вЂњ VM compatibility can be upgraded in powered off state but cannot be downgraded.вЂќ ScheduledДЄs you can tell in the screenshot above, you can also schedule the task which makes it more convenient if you have a large number of VMs. You can then select a compatibility level you donвЂ™t have to go for the latest one thankfully.

When the VM is powered off, right-click on it and hit вЂњ Upgrade VM Compatibility вЂќ. Upgrade the compatibility of a VM is as easy as it gets.

VMWARE WORKSTATION 11 UPGRADE NOTES DRIVERS

Also, note that you should always update the VMware Tools before the compatibility as they may include drivers for potential new virtual hardware. In order to avoid running into the very issue we are covering here, do not upgrade your VMs unless all the hosts in the cluster are running the same vSphere version.

VMWARE WORKSTATION 11 UPGRADE NOTES HOW TO

In the next section, we will briefly cover how to upgrade the virtual hardware after which we will demonstrate 4 ways to downgrade it. вЂњ A VM in version 19 (vSphere 7 U2) cannot run on a host running vSphere 7 U1.вЂќ In order to get this screenshot, I removed a VM from a vSphere 7u2 host and added it manually on a vSphere 7u1. In which case you canвЂ™t perform any action on the VM besides вЂњ remove from inventoryвЂќ. If you somehow managed to get the VM on an incompatible host, by downgrading the underlying ESXi version, for instance, it would show up as invalid as you can see in the screenshot below. вЂњ Hosts running an older version of vSphere appear as not compatible in the VM migration wizard.вЂќ For instance, a VM that was upgraded to the latest hardware version 19 on a vSphere 7.0 Update 2 host will not be able to power on or be migrated to a host running vSphere 7.0 Update 1 or older, even powered off. Such VM cannot run on a host running a version inferior to its compatibility level. Now the issue at hand, which is the topic of this blog, occurs when a VM has been upgraded to a newer version and needs to be powered on or moved to a host running an older version of vSphere. вЂњ Default compatibility settings change the preselected virtual Hardware version.вЂќ Virtual Hardware retro-compatibility This helps prevent mistakes in heterogeneous environments. That way you can still select the latest virtual hardware but the one selected by default in the list will be the one you chose. In case you run a heterogeneous cluster (in terms of vSphere version), you should always pick the compatibility for the lowest vSphere version.ДЄlso, note that you can configure a default compatibility version for your newly created virtual machines. You get to choose the compatibility level when you create a VM. вЂњ Virtual Machine Compatibility Options table.вЂќ

As you can see in vSphere 7 Update 2, we are currently on virtual hardware version 19. Although itвЂ™s been more often since the release of vSphere 7 and the move to a shorter 6-months release cycle. Note that these also apply to VMware Workstation, FusionвЂ¦Д¬ompatibility and virtual hardware versions are usually revised with each major version of vSphere. Except compatibility is expressed in vSphere versions and virtual Hardware has a specific version number. вЂњ Virtual Machines Compatibility features set.вЂќДЄt the end of the day, VM compatibility and virtual Hardware refer to the same thing. Only after vSphere has been upgraded on all the nodes in a cluster ! Such features may include increased resource limits, added support for new hardwareвЂ¦ You can find the exhaustive list in the VMware documentation. ThatвЂ™s why it is recommended, mind you not mandatory, to upgrade it to the latest version. From a purely functional standpoint, VM compatibility will dictate which vSphere version a VM can run on.Д®ach new VM hardware version brings additional features and improvements to the VMвЂ™s capabilities. What is VM compatibility?ДЇirst off, a quick reminder on what VM compatibility (a.k.a. We will describe, in this article, how you can do it in vSphere 7. While upgrading is straightforward, downgrading can only be done in a few different ways and may be needed to ensure retro-compatibility. However, in some instances, VM compatibility is sometimes the cause of issues according to the upgrade process. Everyone will agree that keeping your environment up to date is paramount to ensuring support and stability. Like most major versions, vSphere 7 brought new virtual hardware levels with many new features and improvements.

Vmware workstation 11 upgrade notes