Before you start the upgrade, make sure that check for the following:
The Forge Appliance, version 2.
The Forge Configuration Worksheet, available inside your physical copy of the PlateSpin Forge 11.0 Getting Started Guide or online at the PlateSpin Forge 11 documentation web site.
Forge rebuild instructions, as detailed in Upgrading the Forge Appliance in this guide.
The ESXi 5.5 License Key (an old ESX 5.1 key will not be valid after the upgrade) you obtained with Forge 11. For details, see Licensing the ESXi 5.5 Hypervisor.
A Microsoft SQL 2014 Standard Edition license that you obtained with Forge 11. Contact PlateSpin support if you require help.
A Windows license for the Forge VM 2012 Server that you obtained with Forge 11. Contact PlateSpin support if you require help.
The VMware client program. See Downloading the vSphere Client Program
in the PlateSpin Forge 11.0 User Guide.
For systems currently at version Forge 3.x or earlier, an upgrade to Forge 4.0 is required. For upgrade instructions, see Section A.0, Upgrading Forge 3.x Appliance 2.
A Forge administrative computer with the following:
Windows 2003 (or later) operating system
3 GB hard disk space for applications
13 GB disk space on media for OVF templates
Microsoft .NET 3.5 framework installed
Network connectivity to the Forge Appliance. This can be established by using a direct cable to the Appliance Host or through the Appliance Host’s Windows network.
The PlateSpin Forge 11.0 Upgrade Kit, available from PlateSpin Support. For more information about upgrade media, see Section 1.3, The Forge 11 Upgrade Media Kit and Its Contents.
External USB Storage: Use this storage for backing up Forge failover VMs residing on the appliance local storage. You can restore Forge from this storage.
USB space and quantity: Examples of the USB backup arrangements that work:
To back up 900 MB of Forge failover VMs, a single 1 TB USB drive or a set of two 500 MB drives is sufficient.
To back up 3.8 GB of Forge failover VMs, two 2 TB USB drives are sufficient.
USB power: We recommend an externally-powered (AC) USB drive. Plug this drive directly into the administrative computer.
USB 3.0: We recommend USB 3.0 to speed up the data transfer. You might need to consult with your hardware vendor to ensure that your administrative computer supports USB 3.0.
Web Browser Compatibility: The Forge Appliance Configuration Console (Forge ACC) supports the following Web browsers:
Google Chrome, version 34.0 and later
Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 11.0 and later
Mozilla Firefox, version 29.0 and later