VMware has announced the VMware vSphere 6.5 Update 3 recently and I thought to share some information about the latest release with my fellow readers. This release of VMware vCenter server build number is Build 14020092 is for both Windows and vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA). If you are interested you can find my previous the vSphere 6.7 U2 post from here.
There are few major changes introduced with this release for VMware vCenter Server and the ESXi Server. Let’s discuss the introduced changes with this release.
What’s New In ESXi 6.5 U3
- The ixgben driver adds queue pairing to optimize CPU efficiency.
- With ESXi 6.5 Update 3 you can track license usage, refresh switch topology and see improvements in the search and Developer Center in the vSphere Client
- ESXi 6.5 Update 3 provides legacy support for AMD Zen 2 servers
- Multiple driver updates: ESXi 6.5 Update 3 provides updates to the lsi-msgpt2, lsi-msgpt35, lsi-mr3, lpfc/brcmfcoe, qlnativefc, smartpqi, nvme, nenic, ixgben, i40en and bnxtnet drivers
- ESXi 6.5 Update 3 provides support for Windows Server Failover Clustering and Windows Server 2019
- ESXi 6.5 Update 3 adds the com.vmware.etherswitch.ipfixbehavior property to distributed virtual switches to enable you to choose how to track your inbound and outbound traffic, and utilization. With a value of 1, the com.vmware.etherswitch.ipfixbehavior property enables sampling in both ingress and egress directions. With a value of 0, you enable sampling in egress direction only, which is also the default setting
Please find the resolved issues here in this release and known issues here.
What’s New In vCenter Server 6.5 U3
- With vCenter Server 6.5 Update 3, events related to adding, removing, or modifying user roles display the user that initiates the changes.
- vSphere Auditing Improvements: vCenter Server 6.5 Update 3 improves VMware vCenter Single Sign-On auditing by adding events for the following operations: user management, login, group creation, identity source, and policy updates. The new feature is available only for vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded Platform Services Controller and not for vCenter Server for Windows or vCenter Server Appliance with an external Platform Services Controller. Supported identity sources are vsphere.local, Integrated Windows Authentication (IWA), and Active Directory over LDAP.With vCenter Server 6.5 Update 3, events related to adding, removing, or modifying user roles display the user that initiates the changes.
- External database support: vCenter Server 6.5 Update 3 adds support to Microsoft SQL Server 2014 SP3.
Important Notice To Upgrading To This Release
Upgrading or migrating from vCenter 6.5 U 3 to vCenter Server 6.7, U1 and U2 is not supported. Please follow vSphere Back-in-time release upgrade restriction (67077) for more in formation.
According to the VMware Upgrade Interoperability Matrix, the possible upgrade options are clearly mentioned.
If the vSphere environment earlier than 5.5 u3 b with an external Single Sign-On Server to an External Platform Service Controller is unsupported. If there is a requirement to do such upgrade work, environment should be upgraded to vCenter 5.5 U3 b.
Please find the resolved issues in this vCenter release and known issues.
