Upgrading ESXi 4.1 to 5.1 in a Dell EqualLogic environment?

Don, I'm unclear if there will be any configuration required for MEM 1.1.2 after an upgrade to 5.1? If so, Is there anyway to apply 1.1.2 to the existing ESXi 4.1 host to avoid having to reconfigure?  

Also, does MEM 1.1.2 cover both the dell-eql-host-connection-mgr and oem-dell-eql-routed-psp modules listed?

The other two modules appear to be hardware that I don't believe exist in a Dell Server and can be safely ignored according to this article?  > http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=2014084&sliceId=2&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&dialogID=730002663&stateId=1%200%20730014887

 

 

Thanks

Hi Don, there's a lot of conflicting information out there on MEM and how to install/update etc. so I'm hoping to get further clarification.  Using VMware CLI, setup.pl -query shows that I'm currently running DELL-eql-mem-1.0.1.168651 on my ESX 4.1 Hosts.  How does one properly remove MEM? Do I simply run Setup.pl --remove --server hostname --bundle=DELL-eql-mem-1.0.1.168651 ?  Would I need to make any other changes after removing MEM to my vSwitch or VMkernel ports? 

Does this sound like the right process?

1. Put ESXi 4.1 host in maintenance mode

2. uninstall MEM

3. Upgrade Host to ESXi 5.1

4. Install MEM 1.1.2 on ESXi 5.1 Host >  Setup.pl --install --server hostname --bundle=dell-eql-mem-esx5-1.1.2.292203

Hi Don, went ahead and performed the update last night and all went well.  To possibly help others, here are the steps I performed with some feedback.

Evacuate vm's from ESXi 4.1 Update 1 Host and Enter maintenance mode.

Applied critical updates bringing host to ESXi 4.1 Update 3 (maybe this was unnecessary, but I found a thread where an upgrade failed and the solution was to apply updates to 4.1 before upgrading to v5)

Removed MEM from ESXi 4.1 by running Setup.pl from the new MEM 1.1.2 package.

( Setup.pl --remove --server=hostname  )

*If anyone is wondering (like I was), this will not alter your Host configuration.  Your existing iSCSI vSwitch will remain and the server will work just fine with MEM removed.  The only thing that will be missing is the Dell optimized path selection so your host will revert to vmware fixed path. 

Reboot Host

Upgraded to ESXi 5.1 using vcenter "Update Manager" from a baseline created using the Dell custom ESXi image.  This upgrade took around 30 minutes to complete and here's a caveat if attempting remotely.  You need access to the console screen of your Host because at the end of the upgrade, it prompts for a reboot to complete.  Luckily I had access via DRAC and was able to watch the console screen and respond.

Applied all updates to ESXi 5.1 using Update Manager

Installed MEM 1.1.2 using a Baseline Extension I created in Update Manager (see Appendix C here for details > marketing.dell.com/.../eql-for-vmware-vsphere-en.pdf ).  This could have also been done in CLI by issuing Setup.pl --install --server=hostname --bundle=filename

MEM 1.1.2 did not require a reboot, but I did one anyway. Verified that path selection was now Dell_PSP_EQL_Routed (this is done automatically by the script).  Exited maintenance mode and moved vm's back and all was well!

*btw, I have not applied the Delayed Ack and LRO settings yet.  Your links above did not come through properly so I'd lke to research that a bit more.

Thanks!