Upgrading to Provisioning Services 5.1 Service Pack 1

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Now that Provisioning Services 5.1 Service Pack 1 has been released, I am going to go over the upgrade process.  Provisioning Services 5.1 Service Pack 1 has added some new features, fixes, and removed some features.  For a complete overview of the changes in Provisioning Services 5.1 Service Pack 1 see one of my previous blog posts – Provisioning Services 5.1 Service Pack 1 Overview.  In this blog post I am going to focus on upgrading Provisioning Services 5.1 to Service Pack 1.

In my upgrade I went from Provisioning Services 5.1 to Provisioning Services 5.1 Service Pack 1.  The upgrade process is pretty straight forward in Provisioning Services 5.1  You have a several options when the upgrading the Provisioning Services client on the vDisks.

Provisioning Services Client vDisk upgrade options:

  • Provisioning Services Upgrade Wizard – Automatic Online Upgrade (Process in Provisioning Services 5.1 Service Pack 1 Installation and Configuration Guide starting on page 66)
  • Reverse Image – Manual Offline Upgrade (Process in Provisioning Services 5.1 Service Pack 1 Installation and Configuration Guide starting on page 87)
  • Hyper-V Direct VHD Boot – Manual Offline Upgrade
  • XenServer Direct VHD Boot – Manual Offline Upgrade

Out the options above, I like the Reverse Image and Hyper-V Direct VHD Boot options.  I have tried the Provisioning Services Upgrade Wizard and had mixed results.  I have not tested the XenServer Direct VHD Boot option.

Provisioning Server Upgrade Process:

  1. Shutdown all Target Devices accessing the Provisioning Servers.
  2. Uninstall the previous version of Provisioning Services and reboot the server.
  3. Install Provisioning Services 5.1 Service Pack 1.
  4. Run the Provisioning Services Configuration Wizard and select Farm Already Configured.
  5. Repeat the process on remaining Provisioning Servers in the farm.

Provisioning Services Client vDisk Upgrade Process:

  1. Backup your vDisks by making copy of each vDisk file.  Make sure to copy both the .VHD and .PVP files for each vDisk.
  2. Choose your Provisioning Services Client vDisk upgrade option from above.  I used the Reverse Image and Hyper-V Direct VHD Boot options without issue.
  3. Repeat for each vDisk.

This same process can be applied when upgrading from Provisioning Services 5.0.  The only difference is your options for upgrading the Provisioning Services Client are limited to Provisioning Services Upgrade Wizard or Reverse Image.  Upgrading Provisioning Server 4.5 requires additional steps for upgrading the database and converting the vDisks to VHD format.  See the Provisioning Services 5.1 Service Pack 1 Installation and Configuration Guide (starting on page 59) for the Provisioning Server 4.5 upgrade process.

If you have found this article interesting or if you have any other insights, please feel free to leave comments on this article.

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  1. Rich NicklesRich Nickles01-29-2010

    I just have one problem with this “Service Pack” upgrade…. “1. Shutdown all Target Devices accessing the Provisioning Servers.” Uh oh. Take down the entire production environment? Can’t do that.

    I have two PVS servers, each with local disk. Here’s my plan to upgrade to SP2.

    1. Upgrade vDisk using VHD direct boot method. Done.
    2. Export all target devices from existing PVS farm using CTX118832.
    3. Stop stream service on PVSServer2 (late at night).
    4. Uninstall PVS software from PVSServer2. Reboot.
    5. Install PVS SP2 on PVSServer2, creating new farm.
    6. Import target devices into new farm using PVS Console.
    7. Add upgraded vDisk to new farm, apply to all targets.
    8. Change DCHP tag 66 to point to PVSServer2.
    9. As targets complete scheduled reboots, they will boot from PVSServer2 on the upgraded vDisk.

    Will it work? I don’t know yet. But, please let me know if you find flaw in my plan. Thanks!

  2. Mike McCurdyMike McCurdy10-01-2009

    Nice. I will give this a try in my lab this evening. Thanks for the article!

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