Simulating end-to-end upgrade process in production environment

1. A computer-implemented method for determining upgrade compatibility of a production system running at least one virtual machine “VM”), comprising:

executing, at a management server separate from the production system, an upgrade simulator that performs stages comprising:

dynamically extracting from a VM manager, by the upgrade simulator, a system inventory that includes a hardware configuration of the production system, a software configuration of the production system, a customized configuration of the production system, and user data of the production system;

confirming, by the upgrade simulator, that hardware and software components of the production system are functioning normally;

determining, based on the system inventory, that upgrade software is compatible with the production system;

generating, by the upgrade simulator, a downsized inventory that includes a reduced hardware configuration relative to the hardware configuration of the production system, a reduced software configuration relative to the software configuration of the production system, a reduced custom configuration relative to the custom configuration of the production system, and reduced user data relative to the user data of the production system;

instructing the VM manager to configure a simulated system implementing the downsized inventory

applying the upgrade software to the simulated system; and

determining a status of the upgraded simulated system.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the downsized inventory is configured to include a minimum hardware configuration and a minimum software configuration necessary to simulate interconnectivity among existing VMs in the production system.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein if the determined status reflects abnormal operation of the upgraded simulated system, stopping the upgrade process.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the upgrade software is compatible with the production system comprises comparing the production system's hardware and software configurations to a hardware compatibility matrix and a software compatibility matrix, respectively.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein if the determined status reflects normal operation of the upgraded simulated system, applying the upgrade software to the production system.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the software configuration includes firmware configurations for the production system's hardware configuration.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing, by the upgrade simulator, a warning or alert generated during application of the upgrade software.

8. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising instruction that, when executed by a processor, determines upgrade compatibility of a production system running at least one virtual machine (“VM”) by performing stages for:

dynamically extracting from a VM manager, by an upgrade simulator, a system inventory that includes a hardware configuration of the production system, a software configuration of the production system, a customized configuration of the production system, and user data of the production system;

determining, based on the system inventory, that upgrade software is compatible with the production system by comparing the production system's hardware and software configurations to a hardware compatibility matrix and a software compatibility matrix, respectively;

generating, by the upgrade simulator, a downsized inventory that includes a reduced hardware configuration relative to the hardware configuration of the production system, a reduced software configuration relative to the software configuration of the production system, a reduced custom configuration relative to the custom configuration of the production system, and reduced user data relative to the user data of the production system;

instructing the VM manager to configure a simulated system implementing the downsized inventory;

applying the upgrade software to the simulated system; and

determining a status of the upgraded simulated system.

9. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the downsized inventory is configured to include a minimum hardware configuration and a minimum software configuration necessary to simulate interconnectivity among existing VMs in the production system.

10. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein if the determined status reflects abnormal operation of the upgraded simulated system, stopping the upgrade process.

11. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein if the determined status reflects normal operation of the upgraded simulated system, applying the upgrade software to the production system.

12. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the software configuration includes firmware configurations for the production system's hardware configuration.

13. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 8 , the stages further comprising storing, by the upgrade simulator, a warning or alert generated during application of the upgrade software.

14. A system configured to simulate an end-to-end upgrade process, the system comprising a hardware processor and memory coupled with the processor, wherein the memory is configured to provide the processor with instructions for performing stages comprising:

executing, at a management server separate from a production system running at least one virtual machine (“VM”), an upgrade simulator;

dynamically extracting from a VM manager, by the upgrade simulator, a system inventory that includes a hardware configuration of the production system, a software configuration of the production system, a customized configuration of the production system, and user data of the production system;

determining, based on the system inventory, that upgrade software is compatible with the production system by comparing the production system's hardware and software configurations to a hardware compatibility matrix and a software compatibility matrix, respectively;

generating, by the upgrade simulator, a downsized inventory that includes a reduced hardware configuration relative to the hardware configuration of the production system, a reduced software configuration relative to the software configuration of the production system, a reduced custom configuration relative to the custom configuration of the production system, and reduced user data relative to the user data of the production system;

instructing the VM manager to configure a simulated system implementing the downsized inventory;

applying the upgrade software to the simulated system; and

determining a status of the upgraded simulated system.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the downsized inventory is configured to include a minimum hardware configuration and a minimum software configuration necessary to simulate interconnectivity among existing VMs in the production system.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein if the determined status reflects abnormal operation of the upgraded simulated system, stopping the upgrade process.

17. The system of claim 14 , wherein determining that the upgrade software is compatible with the production system comprises comparing the production system's hardware and software configurations to a hardware compatibility matrix and a software compatibility matrix, respectively.

18. The system of claim 14 , wherein if the determined status reflects normal operation of the upgraded simulated system, applying the upgrade software to the production system.

19. The system of claim 14 , the stages further comprising storing, by the upgrade simulator, a warning or alert generated during application of the upgrade software.