Browse Month

March 2022

Skip-Level Upgrading VCF 4.3.1 to 4.4 Step by Step

With the release of of VCF 4.4 i wanted to get my lab upgraded. The release blog can be found here and the release notes are here

In order to get to 4.3.1.0 in the past we had to upgrade to each version incrementally. As per the documentation found here we can now upgrade from any release past 4.1.0.1 directly to 4.4 skipping the releases in between. We can do so by going to Repository -> Bundle management -> Download now.

The next step is to upgrade VCF by going to Inventory -> Workload Domains -> Select the workload domain -> Update/Patches -> Select the cloud foundation version were upgrading to and click on Update Now for the VMware Cloud Foundation Update 4.4.0.0

Next we are taken to the Upgrade page where we can follow the upgrade for each one of the components

Once the upgrade is complete we can click Finish to be returned back to the main screen

Because we are changing the SDDC-Manager versions i would strongly recommend to clear cache and log back in before going forward.

Next step is to download and install the configuration drift package. We can find it under Lifecycle management -> Bundle management or Inventory -> Workload Domains -> Select workload domain -> Update/Patches -> Under the drop down select Cloud Foundation 4.4.0.0 -> Download Now

Once the download is complete in the same location click on update now

We can view the upgrade process by clicking on view status

Next step is to upgrade NSX-T installation to NSX-T 3.1.3.5. The release notes can be found here. We can go to inventory -> Workload Domains -> Select the workload domain -> Update/Patches -> Under Available updates click on the drop down and select Cloud Foundation 4.4.0.0 -> Download now.

Once the download is complete we can proceed with updating the NSX component by clicking on the update now

The upgrade will go thought upgrading the NSX managers as well as the edges. We can view the upgrade status by clicking on view status

Once the upgrade is complete we can proceed with the vCenter Upgrade. VCF 4.4 comes with vCenter Server 7.0 Updated 3c. The release notes can be found here. We can go to inventory -> Workload Domains -> Select the workload domain -> Update/Patches -> Under Available updates click on the drop down and select Cloud Foundation 4.4 -> Download now.

Once the download is complete we can click on Update now

We can follow the status of the upgrade by clicking on the view status tab

Here we can see the different components that are getting upgraded

Once the upgrade is complete we are taken back to the previous page where we can see that the ESXi servers are next. The release notes can be found here. Click on Download Now

Once the download is complete we can click on Update now

If we have multiple clusters we can enable Cluster-level selection and select the specific cluster(s) we want to upgrade.

We can also enable sequential cluster upgrade as well as quick boot

We get to review the options once again before we click finish to to submit the task

Once submitted we can view the status by clicking on View Status

And with that we are finished with the workload domain. We can follow the same steps for the other domains

Upgrading vRA (vRealize Automation) to 8.7

In this post i will go over upgrading my 8.x vRA appliance to 8.7. As a pre requirement we do need to have vRSLCM (vRealize Lifecycle Manager) upgraded to 8.7. Instructions can be found here. The upgrade already includes the latest Product Support Pack so an update to the Product Support Pack is not required.

To get started we can go to vRealize Lifecycle Manager -> Lifecycle Operations -> Settings -> Binary Mapping. (If you haven’t added your My VMware credentials you will need to do that first by going to vRealize Lifecycle Manager -> Lifecycle Operations -> Settings -> My VMware)

Click on Add Binaries under Product Binaries

Select My VMware and click on Discover

We can see a list of binaries that have been discovered. We can select what we need and click on Add

This will create a request and start downloading the package. To view the progress we can click on the Click Here hyperlink

Click on the in Progress button to view the details

We now have to wait for the download to complete

After the download is complete we can go to Environments -> View Details on the environment that includes vRA

Click on Upgrade

An Inventory sync is recommended if the environment has changed since LCM performed the last sync. We trigger the sync from the UI or click on Proceed to continue

Select product Version 8.7.0 and click Next. We can also review the compatibility matrix to make sure the environment is compatible.

Anew feature that was added was the capability to automatically create a snapshot prior to the upgrade and remove it after the upgrade. On this screen we also have the ability to chose if we want to keep the snapshots post upgrade for validation testing for example. Click next

Run the Precheck to make sure there are no errors

The next screen remind us of hardware requirements for vRA and vIDM which can be checked here for vRA and vIDM which can be checked here. As far as i can tell they haven’t changed since the 8.3 release. Check the I took care of the manual steps above and am ready to proceed check mark and click on Run Precheck

Once the check is complete we can review the checks that were performed and we can continue by clicking Next.

Review the upgrade details and click on Next. We are taken to the progress screen where we can follow the progress.

The system will get rebooted and once its back up we will be on 8.7

Since we are doing a major upgrade i strongly recommend to clean the cache before using the new vRA version.

Upgrading vRNI (vRealize Network Insight) to 6.5.1 via vRSLCM

In this post i will go over upgrading my 6.x vRNI appliance to 6.5.1 using vRSLCM (vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager). As a pre requirement we do need to have vRSLCM (vRealize Lifecycle Manager) upgraded to 8.7. Instructions can be found here. The upgrade already includes the latest Product Support Pack so an update to the Product Support Pack is not required.

To get started we can go to vRealize Lifecycle Manager -> Lifecycle Operations -> Settings -> Binary Mapping. (If you haven’t added your My VMware credentials you will need to do that first by going to vRealize Lifecycle Manager -> Lifecycle Operations -> Settings -> My VMware)

Click on Add Binaries under Product Binaries

Select My VMware and click on Discover

We can see a list of binaries that have been discovered. Make sure we select the upgrade package not the install package. We can select what we need and click on Add

This will create a request and start downloading the package. To view the progress we can click on the Click Here hyperlink

Click on the in Progress button to view the details

We now have to wait for the download to complete

After the download is complete we can go to Environments -> View Details on the environment that includes vRNI

Click on Upgrade

An Inventory sync is recommended if the environment has changed since LCM performed the last sync. We trigger the sync from the UI or click on Proceed to continue

Select product Version 6.5.1 and click Next. We can also review the compatibility matrix to make sure the environment is compatible.

A new feature that was added was the capability to automatically create a snapshot prior to the upgrade and remove it after the upgrade. On this screen we also have the ability to chose if we want to keep the snapshots post upgrade for validation testing for example. Click next

Run the Precheck to make sure there are no errors or issues.

Once the check is complete we can review the checks that were performed and we can continue by clicking Next.

Review the upgrade details and click on Next. We are taken to the progress screen where we can follow the progress.

The system will get rebooted and once its back up we will be on 6.5

Since we are doing a major upgrade i strongly recommend to clean the cache before using the new vRNI version.

Upgrading SSC (SaltStack Config) to 8.7

In this post i will go over upgrading my 8.x SSC appliance to 8.7. As a pre requirement we do need to have vRSLCM (vRealize Lifecycle Manager) upgraded to 8.7. Instructions can be found here. The upgrade already includes the latest Product Support Pack so an update to the Product Support Pack is not required.

To get started we can go to vRealize Lifecycle Manager -> Lifecycle Operations -> Settings -> Binary Mapping. (If you haven’t added your My VMware credentials you will need to do that first by going to vRealize Lifecycle Manager -> Lifecycle Operations -> Settings -> My VMware)

Click on Add Binaries under Product Binaries

Select My VMware and click on Discover

We can see a list of binaries that have been discovered. We can select what we need and click on Add

This will create a request and start downloading the package. To view the progress we can click on the Click Here hyperlink

Click on the in Progress button to view the details

We now have to wait for the download to complete

After the download is complete we can go to Environments -> View Details on the environment that includes SSC

Click on Upgrade

An Inventory sync is recommended if the environment has changed since LCM performed the last sync. We trigger the sync from the UI or click on Proceed to continue

Select product Version 8.7.0 and click Next. We can also review the compatibility matrix to make sure the environment is compatible.

We can automatically create and delete a snapshot part of the upgrade process

Run the Precheck to make sure there are no errors

Once the check is complete, click on Next. Review the upgrade details and click on Next. We are taken to the progress screen where we can follow the progress.

The system will get rebooted and once its back up we will be on 8.7

Upgrading vRSLCM (vRealize Lifecycle Manager) to 8.7

In this guide i will go over the steps of getting an existing 8.x vRSLCM appliance upgraded to the latest 8.7 release. The release notes can be found here

The first step is to lo in to vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager under the Lifecycle Operations section

Go to settings -> System Upgrade

Click on Check for Upgrade

We can see that the check found a new version available for 8.7

Click on Upgrade

Verify that a snapshot or backup exists in case the process fails. Check the check mark for I took a snapshot of the vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager before I performed this operation. Click Next

Click on Run Precheck

Verify that all check have passed and click on upgrade

This will fire up the upgrade process and start upgrading packages. The system will automatically reboot on 8.7 once completed. We can check the version by going to Settings -> System Details

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