As part of the introduction of vSphere Central, one of the brand new assets we’ve put together is the vSphere 6.5 Topology and Upgrade Planning Tool. This tool aims to help customers plan and execute both upgrades to vSphere 6.5 as well as new deployments. With this initial release, the tool is focused on the most common upgrade paths and deployments of vCenter Server 6.5. Updates to the content within the tool are planned to occur over time. And, depending on feedback and value the tool has for customers, there could be other products or features added in with the aim of providing an even more complete set of assets for a given scenario. The sky’s the limit!

This tool works by asking a series of questions while providing some guidance along the way to help answer those questions eventually making some recommendations on topology and upgrade and deployment steps. This may sound somewhat familiar. This tool was inspired by the Platform Services Controller Topology Decision Tree and is really an extension of it. The questions and content are focused specifically on the vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 since that is the recommended vCenter Server deployment type. Once all of the questions in a given branch are answered, you are presented with some details steps along with a diagram specific to that path you chose. There are also three groups of assets that include blogs, product documentation, KBs articles, and white papers. We plan to add videos and other content as new assets are created. This aligns with the overall theme of vSphere Central in that it is really important to us that the content is curated. Each asset serves a purpose and is typically a frequently requested item that will be instrumental in the success of your upgrade or deployment.

Another nice thing about the vSphere 6.5 Topology and Upgrade Planning Tool is that the collection of assets at the end can be easily emailed to yourself, a colleague, or even a group of people. There are also some basic navigational buttons and a universal search bar at the top. Below is a screenshot that shows these elements in the UI.

I want to make a few things clear about this tool. As I previously mentioned this tool will evolve over time. Not only will the content be updated but the platform on which the tool is built will also see improvements. We’re planning the addition of a built-in feedback tool, some structural changes to make sharing specific steps within the tool easier, and continuously improve the overall UX. For now feel free to leave a comment on this blog post, reach me on twitter via @eck79, or the various other social channels you may find this post. You’re feedback is vital to this tool continuing to improve so it is greatly appreciated!

The vSphere 6.5 Topology and Upgrade Planning Tool can be found here as well as in vSphere Central.

Hopefully this tool helps with your upgrade to vSphere 6.5 Update 1! Happy upgrading!