BFS - ESXi install question

[mrdowjones]

Our current set up is B200 M4 blades with the boot volume on a pure array. We are needing to migrate the workload off the M4 as they will becoming EOL in a year. My question is is a reinstall of ESXi necessary? Yesterday I shutdown a M4, disacociated the serivce profile from it, decomed the blade, associated the service profile to the M5, powered the M5 up and it booted straight in to ESXi from the original install. 

Im wondeirng if I can run like this or should I rebuild the blade from scartch after the new association.

[Kirk J]

If your boot volume storage isn't changing (yours's will still have same fnic/FC driver and lun), then ESXi is usually pretty flexible with that platform change like that.  I've seen customers do a 1 generation move like yours, and not have complications.  Do keep any eye on VMNIC numbering though, as you will likely have little newer MLOM adapters, and sometimes ESXi will re-order the VMNIC numbering.

I can't say the same for Windows Bare Metal (handling hardware change).

Kirk...