Important Update - On Mar 20 2018, VMware VMSA-2018-0004.3 announced that CVE-2017-5715 (Spectre-2) mitigation is now included in the latest patch that you should be using instead of the older patch featured in the original article below. You'll find the newer article here:
VMware vSAN 6.6 | 18 April 2017 | ISO Build 5310538
Check for additions and updates to these release notes.
Once in a while, things are easy. One of the selling points of making the big move from vCenter + Windows to VCSA (vCenter Server Appliance) has been the ease of VCSA upgrades through the handy VAMI web UI. Emad even calls it sexy, who am I are argue? Yep, works as advertised, just like it did when going from 6.5 to 6.5.0a back in February, and to 6.5.0b in March, and to 6.5.0c just yesterday. This is a very easy upgrade, as shown screen-by-screen walk through below, and in the video below.
You need to do your homework before upgrading, if you're wondering why, read this.
Do this VCSA 6.5.0d upgrade in a test environment first! Before attempting, you should be sure to have a full backup, such as the simple native VCSA backup button seen at top-right. You can also use a 3rd party backup solution such as NAKIVO or Veeam.
At a minimum, do a snapshot (or backup) of this VCSA VM before upgrading, then make sure everything works alright after the upgrade, then remove the snapshot within a few days, to avoid performance degradation.
If you're looking for how you get from 6.0.x to 6.5, that's more of a migration, and the right article for you is over here:
Takes about 2 to 3 minutes to upgrade, if your VCSA VM is located on an SSD based datastore, such as the Samsung 960 EVO 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD I used for my home datacenter, featured in this video.
in your browser, go to your VCSA IP or Name:5480login with root and your passwordalong the left edge of DCUI, click 'Update', then click on 'Check Updates', then on 'Install Updates' and 'Install All Updates'click on 'I accept' checkbox, then click on 'Install'wait for a bit, on SSDs, a bit is less than 2 minuteswow, you're done alreadyat left, click on 'Summary', then at right, click on 'Reboot'login with root and your passwordalong the left edge of DCUI, click 'Update', optionally also clicking on 'Check Updates' then 'Check Repository', with the DCUI showing you confirmation that you're already done, we know you're at 6.5.0d since you're at 6.5.0.5500 Build Number 5318154.
These systems still work great for many even 9+ years later, mine included, even with (unsupported) vSphere 8 and Windows 11 Version 21H2. But unless you added the optional TPM module, it may be the end of the line as far as repurposing them for running the latest Windows 11 Version 24H2 and beyond.
After 6 successful years testing then shipping well over 1,000 Xeon D Bundles, Wiredzone had to stop SuperServer bundles in mid-2021 due to cost, supply, and logistics challenges. Bare bones system sales continued for years longer.
What's next in 2025? I don't yet have my answer for my home lab, especially now that VCF certification is required to keep non-production home lab licenses going, even as a vExpert and VMUG Advantage EVALExperience customer.
As for a SuperServer follow-on, the Xeon D-1700/2700 (Ice Lake D) was a minor refresh for 2023, with Xeon D-1800/2800 (Granite Rapids D) refresh slightly better in 2024, and hopefully Xeon 6 (Granite Rapids-D) much better in 2025 featuring PCIe Gen5, MCRDIMMs, and 100GbE networking, wow! Feb. 27 2025 update update looks promising, but pricey. Infortunately, it's become clear to me that Supermicro is less focuses on the mini-tower form factor these days.
As for the CPU industry, it's unfortunate that Pat Gelsinger was apparently ousted from Intel's helm in these challenging times, but I'm also grateful to have had the honor of working at VMware when he was the CIO there. I'll leave it at that, given the whole Broadcom thing.
These systems still work great for many even 9+ years later, mine included, even with (unsupported) vSphere 8 and Windows 11 Version 21H2. But unless you added the optional TPM module, it may be the end of the line as far as repurposing them for running the latest Windows 11 Version 24H2 and beyond.