With the separation of the vCenter Service into 4 components in vSphere 5.1 (vCenter Single Sign On, vCenter Inventory Service, vCenter Server and vSphere Web Client) there is a possible issue that you could have mismatched services installed. When you install an update you have to install all components one after another without having a workflow to check that all have been updated. I have already written about the update process from 5.1 to 5.1u1 and their versions but this is not the only update available. Now I've created an overview of all possible vCenter 5.1 version numbers that can be identified in the Control Panel.
Installer Build Number is the build number that is mentioned on the downloaded installation package
vCenter Build Number is the build number that you can see from vSphere Client or vSphere Web Client
All the other numbers are versions displayed at Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features
vCenter 5.1 Version Overview
| 5.1.0 GA | 5.1.0a | 5.1.0b | 5.1.0 U1 | 5.1.0 U1a | 5.1.0 U1b | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Installer Build Number | 799735 | 880471 | 947939 | 1065152 | 1123966 | 1235309 |
| vCenter Build Number | 799731 | 880146 | 947673 | 1064983 | 1123961 | 1235232 |
| vCenter Single Sign On | 1.0.0.2491 | 1.0.0.2945 | 1.0.0.3279 | 1.0.0.4281 | 1.0.0.4543 | 1.0.0.4732 |
| VMware vCenter Inventory Service | 5.1.0.32743 | 5.1.0.33762 | 5.1.0.34460 | 5.1.0.35539 | 5.1.0.36098 | 5.1.0.37189 |
| VMware vCenter Server | 5.1.0.32743 | 5.1.0.33762 | 5.1.0.34460 | 5.1.0.35539 | 5.1.0.36098 | 5.1.0.37189 |
| VMware vSphere Client | 5.1.0.1557 | 5.1.0.1767 | 5.1.0.2083 | 5.1.0.2669 | 5.1.0.2669 | 5.1.0.3045 |
| VMware vSphere Web Client | 5.1.0.6239 | 5.1.0.7157 | 5.1.0.7817 | 5.1.0.9015 | 5.1.0.9015 | 5.1.0.9367 |
| VMware vSphere Update Manager | 5.1.0.13071 | 5.1.0.13071 | 5.1.0.13071 | 5.1.0.15238 | 5.1.0.15238 | 5.1.0.15238 |
| VMware vSphere ESXi Dump Collector | 5.1.0.3171 | 5.1.0.3415 | 5.1.0.3604 | 5.1.0.4624 | 5.1.0.4624 | 5.1.0.4624 |
| VMware vSphere Syslog Collector | 5.1.0.3171 | 5.1.0.3415 | 5.1.0.3604 | 5.1.0.4624 | 5.1.0.4624 | 5.1.0.4624 |
| VMware vSphere Auto Deploy | 5.1.0.3171 | 5.1.0.3415 | 5.1.0.3604 | 5.1.0.4624 | 5.1.0.4624 | 5.1.0.4624 |
| VMware vSphere Authentication Proxy | 5.1.0.3171 | 5.1.0.3415 | 5.1.0.3604 | 5.1.0.4624 | 5.1.0.4624 | 5.1.0.4624 |
| VMware vCenter Orchestrator | 5.1.0.2725 | 5.1.0.2725 | 5.1.0.2725 | 5.1.1.2942 | 5.1.1.2942 | 5.1.1.2980 |
I've also added this table to my VMware vCenter Release and Build Number History
Note: I've never faced or heard of issues with mismatched versions. But at least to resolve all fixed issues you should always update all components.
thanks mate, this helped me alot