HOW TO: Upgrade VMware vSphere Replication Appliance

• You upgrade the vSphere Replication appliance and any additional vSphere Replication servers by using a downloaded ISO image.
• The downloadable ISO image is the only means of upgrading from vSphere Replication 5.5.x or 5.6 to vSphere Replication 5.8. You cannot use vSphere Update Manager or the virtual appliance management interface (VAMI) of the vSphere Replication appliance to upgrade vSphere Replication from version 5.5.x or 5.6 to version 5.8.
• You cannot upgrade vSphere Replication 5.1.x directly to version 5.8. You must upgrade from version 5.1.x to 5.5.x or 5.6 first, and then upgrade from version 5.5.x or 5.6 to 5.8 by using the ISO image for vSphere Replication 5.8.
• You cannot downgrade to a previous version of vSphere Replication.

VMware vSphere Replication Appliance documentation:

• Make sure new version is compatible with other VMware components – VMware Product Interoperability Matrix
• vSphere Replication 5.8 Release Notes
• vSphere Replication 5.8.0.2 Express Patch Release (2112022)
• vSphere Replication 5.8 Documentation / Upgrading vSphere Replication

Upgrade vSphere Replication.  The same procedure is applicable to vSphere Replication Appliance and vSphere Replication Server

1. Take vSRA snapshot;
2. Map the vSRA ISO file to VA’s CDROM drive;
3. Login to vSRA as root.
   https://<NAME_FQDN_IPADDRESS>:5480/;
4. Select Update / Settings;
5. Change Update Repository to Use CDROM Updates
   Click Save Settings;
6. Click on Update/Status tab
   If previous upgrade got stuck at “Checking for available updates…” and Check Updates button is greyed out even after restarting the vSRA, please refer to “VMware vCloud Connector Server upgrade” article for details.
7. Click on Check Updates  and confirm the appliance version under Available Updates
   
8. Install Updates and OK
   
   
9. After upgrade is complete:
   
   Restart the appliance, System / Reboot;
10. Login to vCenter Web Client and check vSRA status:
    vCenter Servers YOURvCenter Manage vSphere Replication

Hope this will help.