5.0 to 5.5 with OS and MSSQL Update

Hi,

I try to describe a upgrade plan to upgrade a Horizon View vCenter from 5.0 to 5.5.

The source vCenter 5.0 is installed on a Win2k8R2 using a remote DB server with SQL 2005 SP3.

In the end I would like to have a vCenter 5.5 running on a Win2k12R2 with a remote DB on a fresh installed DB-Server MSSQL 2012.

As written in the upgrade guide - a update install to a new server is not supported - so only a inplace upgrade seems possible.

Whats the best way to get from the source to the target maschine without loosing vCenter Data ?

Thanks

Jens