The benefits of this upgrade for the client are as follows:
· VM Component Protection – https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2015/06/vm-component-protection-vmcp.html and https://blogs.vmware.com/smb/2015/07/vmware-vsphere-6-ha-virtual-machine-component-protection-vmcp.html
· Performance improvements in vCenter Server and vSphere Web Client – http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/techpaper/Whats-New-Perf-vSphere6.pdf
· Better support of Microsoft Clustering (including vMotion of clustered VMs) – http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1037959
· x-Switch vMotion – https://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/vsphere/VMW-WP-vSPHR-Whats-New-6-0-PLTFRM.pdf
· Different security enhancements (host security, certificate management through centralized CA, etc.) – https://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/vsphere/VMW-WP-vSPHR-Whats-New-6-0-PLTFRM.pdf
· vNUMA improvements – http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2013/10/does-corespersocket-affect-performance.html?utm_source=longwhiteclouds, https://blogs.vmware.com/cto/vnuma-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters/, and http://vxpertise.net/2015/04/shall-i-upgrade-vhw-enhanced-vnuma-support-with-hardware-version-11-vhw11-in-vsphere-6/.
I would also highly recommend considering Enterprise Plus edition of vSphere for the client in the future, as it brings features that can further standardize and automate the system as follows:
· vSphere Distributed Switch – http://www.slideshare.net/ChristopherWahl/vmworld-vsphere-distributed-switch-60-technical-deep-dive
· Storage I/O control (SIOC) and IOPS reservation – https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2015/07/sioc-io-distribution-with-reservations-limits-part1.html
· Cross-vCenter vMotion and Long Distance vMotion – https://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/vsphere/VMW-WP-vSPHR-Whats-New-6-0-PLTFRM.pdf.
The process of upgrading to vSphere 6.0 consists of the following subsequent steps:
1. Upgrading vCenter Server (3 days):
a. Preparing vCenter 5.5 for upgrade
b. Upgrading vSphere and vCenter licenses (requires access to the MyVMware portal)
c. Migrating from SSO to PSC
d. Upgrading vCenter
e. Upgrading vSphere Update Manager
f. Testing the new vCenter
2. Installing ESXi on new hosts (3 days):
a. Checking / configuring remote access to the servers (iLO)
b. Updating firmware and BIOS to the latest versions
c. Setting up the BIOS settings on the hosts
d. Preparing image for auto-installation
e. Performing installation
f. Configuring the management network
3. Configuring the hosts (2 days):
a. Configuring networking on the hosts (best practices!)
b. Configuring hosts for storage and attaching datastores (best practices!)
c. Migrating VMs
4. Upgrading VMs (work time depends on the company’s policy for the planned system outages):
a. Scheduling VMware Tools upgrade
b. Scheduling VM hardware upgrade
c. Optimizing VMs according to the running applications and the best practices.
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