VSphere 6 Upgrade Checklist

Backups & Snapshots	Not Started	Make sure all required passwords are available. Make sure you can access critical VMs without vCenter Server services (find and log into hosts directly)
Verify Prerequisites	Not Started	Verify OS / .NET / DB requirements are met vCenter Server for Windows Requirements http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-60/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.vsphere.install.doc%2FGUID-F072712B-F568-4C3A-A4BC-EE6856D50CDA.html Before Upgrading vCenter Server http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-60/topic/com.vmware.vsphere.upgrade.doc/GUID-B90D873C-6C97-4C09-886A-0ACCE4A4034C.html
User Permissions Check	Not Started	Verify user performing install has adequate rights
SSO Topology Review	Not Started	Position the SSO / VC topology to one that's supported and meets your needs
Inventory Service Database Check	Not Started	Make sure the vCenter Server Inventory Service database is not massive. Optional, reset the Inventory Service database. Note that during the re-build it will take some time (potentially hours)
Cleanup Orphaned Data	Not Started	Run the “cleanup_orphaned_data_MSSQL.sql” script and once complete, check for null entries in the VPX_STAT_COUNTER table. Delete these entries if they exist.     Optional: truncate historical task and event data         alter table VPX_EVENT_ARG drop constraint FK_VPX_EVENT_ARG_REF_EVENT, FK_VPX_EVENT_ARG_REF_ENTITY alter table VPX_ENTITY_LAST_EVENT drop constraint FK_VPX_LAST_EVENT_EVENT         truncate table VPX_TASK         truncate table VPX_ENTITY_LAST_EVENT         truncate table VPX_EVENT         truncate table VPX_EVENT_ARG         alter table VPX_EVENT_ARG add         constraint FK_VPX_EVENT_ARG_REF_EVENT foreign key(EVENT_ID) references VPX_EVENT (EVENT_ID) on delete cascade, constraint FK_VPX_EVENT_ARG_REF_ENTITY foreign key (OBJ_TYPE) references VPX_OBJECT_TYPE (ID)         alter table VPX_ENTITY_LAST_EVENT add         constraint FK_VPX_LAST_EVENT_EVENT foreign key(LAST_EVENT_ID) references VPX_EVENT (EVENT_ID) on delete cascade
vCenter Server Services Check	Not Started	Make sure you can successfully stop and start vCenter Server services and log into vCenter Server with “administrator@vSphere.local” as a minimum.
UAC Check	Not Started	Make sure UAC (User Account Control) is completely disabled. The server may need to restart for this to fully take effect.
SQL Check	Not Started	If you’re using Windows Authentication for the vCenter Server database, make sure the account you’re logged in with has SQL Server rights, and is the account you want to use when configuring the DSN.
Local Admin Account Check	Not Started	Make sure the user account you’re logged in with during the install is a member of the local administrators group.
Certificates check	Not Started	checked sso cert.
Stop WinHTTP	Not Started	Stop and disable this service : WinHTTP Web Proxy Auto-Discovery Service
Cleanup Temp Data	Not Started	Clean-up the system %temp% directory.   a. RDP / Console to vCenter Server VM   b. Open Windows explorer and navigate to %temp%   c. This should bring you to C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Temp\ OR C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Temp\<#>\     i. If you are brought to …\temp\       1. Create a new directory called “backup” in the current directory and try to move all files into said “backup” directory. Sometimes certain files will be locked. This is OK, and these can be ignored. You are done.     ii. If you are brought to …\temp\<#>\       1. Create a new directory called “backup” in the current directory and try to move all files into said “backup” directory. Sometimes certain files will be locked. This is OK, and these can be ignored.       2. Move up a directory so that you are in …\temp\ and repeat the above process, excluding the previous directory from the move. (If you were placed into …\temp\2\ you will want to leave the …\temp\2\ path since this is a system variable used by Microsoft. From my observations, the …\temp\#\ directory appears to be created when you remote desktop (RDP) into a Windows OS)
Installation Initiation	Not Started	Mount the vCenter Server 6.0.x ISO and run the “autorun.exe” as an administrator (Right click > run as administrator). Please do this EVEN THOUGH the account is a member of the local administrator group.   vCenter Server 6.0 installation Best Practices     http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2107948