Today's big vSphere 6.5 Update release is a big deal in that many customers choose to wait for these Update 1 versions of any major vSphere version before upgrading their enterprise. Yes, to mee, it seemed that vSphere 6.5 was such a major change from 6.0 that it could have just as well been called 7.0. That nitpicking aside, the wait-for-N+1 customers and risk-averse home-labbers is over. Start your downloads, but be sure to read this entire article before you begin installing!
For those of you into vSAN, there's considerable refinement that moving from vSAN 6.6 to vSAN 6.6.1 will bring.
VMware vSAN 6.6.1 | 27 July 2017 | ISO Build 5969303
Check for additions and updates to these release notes.
There are many fixes, and a few new features. This article helps remind folks that the vSAN bits are baked right into the Hypervisor, so there is no separate download for vSAN 6.6.1, it's right in vSphere 6.5 U1! Also, anybody can now upgrade from vSphere 6.0 U3 to vSphere 6.6.1 / vSphere 6.5 U1,.
Don't miss the VUM Integration video featured in the video gallery below.
Don't forget to check out the deeply technical overview by Jeff Hunter and others over at StorageHub.
If you are already at vCenter/VCSA 6.5.x and ESXi 6.5.x, then you can get vSAN bits today by simply installing or upgrading to vCenter/VCSA 6.5 U1 and ESXi 6.5 U1. Details appear (soon) for both new installs and upgrade.
You will also need to do your homework before any major upgrade, even in a home lab. While all that goes into such efforts is well beyond the scope of this article, a great place to get started appears here:
You will need the right hardware for the best experience, especially if you're expecting resilience and performance. Not just on the VCG (VMware Compatibility Guide) aka HCL, but also on the VMware Compatibility Guide for vSAN, featuring a caching layer made from SSDs of the proper write endurance paired with PLP/Supercapacitors, typically found in enterprise (costlier) flash storage devices
You will need a vSAN license key
Licensing was discussed recently here, with VMware EVALExperience~being by far the most affordable way to dip your toes into to a 6 node hybrid vSAN (unconfirmed, but the license key should cover 6), albeit a bit behind on version. I'm hoping for updates to that program soon, stay tuned.~
This has been [mostly] Fixed! That huge update story broke right here at TinkerTry first:
It shouldn't be too long before the EVALExperience downloads links are updated to 6.5 U1. Keep in mind that you can always upgrade your 6.5.x version quite easily, seen below.
My focus and yours should be on VCSA going forward, not the old school vCenter installed on Windows. That is why TinkerTry how-to guides generally don't include vCenter on Windows. I'm all in with HMTL5 UIs, and enjoy the ease-of-install, ease-of-update, and speed of this Photon OS-based appliance. See for yourself in the update videos.
Here's the exact way that I got these two upgrades done safely and easily, with a focus on simplicity for smaller home labs, download and install is done with one command, which I tested using the latest BIOS and IPMI on Xeon D:
What are you still reading this for? Roll up your sleeves, backup your VCSA and ESX, and get upgrading! Then come back and let us know how it went by dropping comments below the articles.
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.