System and methods for simulating an end-to-end upgrade process are provided. The method may include collecting, by an upgrade simulator, a system inventory from a production system. The system inventory includes the production system's hardware configuration. The method may include, in response to a determination that the system inventory is compatible with an upgrade software, configuring, by the upgrade simulator, a simulated system having a downsized hardware configuration compared to the production system's hardware configuration. The method may further include upgrading, by the upgrade simulator, the simulated system using the upgrade software, and evaluating, by the upgrade simulator, the simulated system operating with the upgrade software.