In this post i will go over upgrading my 8.x SSC appliance to 8.8.2. As a pre requirement we do need to have vRSLCM (vRealize Lifecycle Manager) upgraded to 8.8.2. 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 8.8.2 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 8.8.2
Here are a few additional blogs that might be useful post upgrade:
In this guide i will go over the steps of getting an existing 8.x vRSLCM appliance upgraded to the latest 8.8.2 release. The release notes can be found here
The first step is to log 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 8.8.2
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 8.8.2 once completed. We can check the version by going to Settings -> System Details
If you get the below error clear the browser cache and try again
vRealize Lifeycycle Manager (vRSLCM) come with a Certificate Management feature. We can access the certificate management from Home -> Locker -> Certificate
We can generate Self Signed certificates for products managed by Lifecycle Manager as well as certificate requests to be signed by a certification authority
Generate a new CSR
Download the CSR and take it to the certified authority, in my case im using a Microsoft server /certsrv/certrqxt.asp
Click on advanced certificate requests and complete the request details
Download the certificate in the Base 64 encoded format
Next we can import it in to the certificate vault
Click on import and complete the details. The private key can be found in the certificate request file
Make sure you create a file that includes the signed certificate + the private key + the intermediate and root certificates.
In this guide i will go over the deployment of vRA 8.8 using the Easy Installer. The reason i like the Easy Installer is because it deploys everything that i need. vIDM, Lifecycle Manager as well as vRA.
To get started we need to download the installer from here.
Once downloaded mount the iso as a drive using your favorite tool or extract it as a archive using something like 7-zip
Once mounted go to the CDROM in the mac directory if on mac or win32 if you are on windows. In here run the installer file
We will be presented with the following window:
The migration option allows us to migrate from from vRSLCM 2.1 to 8.x, it can migrate Datacenter and vCenters, all existing environments, DNS, SNMP, NTP, My VMware, proxy details, migration of vIDM installation as well as Blackstone Content endpoints. For the purpose of this guide we will process with the Install option
Once we click Install we will be presented with an Introduction of what components will be included part on the installation. In my case i can see vRealize Automation 8.8, Lifecycle Manager 8.8, Identity Manager 3.3.6.
Click Next, Review, accept the agreement and click next
Provide the vCenter details and click next. In my case i used the administrator account. A detailed list of permissions needed for deployment can be found here
Sections 4, 5, 6 and 7 are straight forward so i will skip them
In section 8 select a password that will be used across all products for the local usernames. ex for LCM root and local admin, vIDM admin, sshuser, root etc
Select a VM name for the Lifecycle Manager appliance and its ip credentials. If you are expecting a large repository in lifecycle manager we can add additional disk under the Increase Disk Size in GB section.
The FIPS Mode compliance option enforces FIPS compliance, however keep in mind that with the FIPS mode enabled there are limitation on what the product can do. This can be disabled later and re enabled as needed.
Complete the fields and click next
The next portion is vIDM. In case there is an existing vIDM appliance in the environment we can also import and existing vIDM appliance. In my case i will deploy a new one.
One important option under vIDM is the Sync Group Members to the Directory When Adding Group. When enabled, members of the groups are synced when groups are added from Active Directory. When this is disabled, group names are synced to the directory, but members of the group are not synced until the group is entitled to an application or the group name is added to an access policy. Note: Post deployment this value cannot be changed from vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager. To update this field post deployment, navigate to VMware Identity Manager
My configuration page looks like this:
The next section is the vRA Configuration. In here we have a couple of options. We can perform a standard 1 node deployment or a cluster deployment which includes 3 appliances. The FIPS Compliance mode enables FIPS compliance. Unlike LCM this mode cannot be disabled after the deployment. This disables a number of options in vRA from an LCM perspective. Please make sure that its only enabled if required.
The advanced configuration at the bottom of the page includes the option to change the internal Kubernetes cluster and Service ip range. This is useful if the default range is already in use on the internal network. We want to make sure we pick an ip range thats not used somewhere else in order to avoid routing issues. Once complete click next
The next page gives us a summary of our deployment and we can click submit to start the deployment.
Next we are presented with the installation process. We can follow it along, in my environment the full deployment took about 1.5 hrs
After the install is complete we are presented to links for the different services
Next i would recommend LCM certificate management found here
With the release of vCenter 7 Update 1, VMware introduced the vCLS (vSphere Clustering Service). More information can be found here.
Looking at the error details it looks like it is looking for a feature called cpuid.mwait
Reviewing the VMX file it seems like EVC is enabled on the vCLS VMs. I didnt want to enable EVC on the whole cluster so i wanted to do it only on the specific VMs.
Doing some research i found that the VMs need to be at version 14. After upgrading the VM i was able to disable EVC on the specific VMs by following these steps:
In the vSphere Client, navigate to the virtual machine
Under the Actions -> Compatibility -> Upgrade VM compatibility
We can disable EVC on per VM level on version 14 and above, so in my case i chose ESXi 6.7U2 and later
Next go to the Configure Tab
Pick VMware EVC and click on Edit
Click on Yes
Click on Disable EVC and Click OK
The next time it tries to power on the VM it should go through.
Once the first VM starts up it will most likely deploy a few additional ones, follow the same steps as above again on the new VMs
With the release of of VCF 4.4.1 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 4.4.1.0 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 4.4.1 skipping the releases in between. We can do so by going to Repository -> Bundle management -> Download now.
Alternatively if we are on 4.4.1.0 it can be found under Lifecycle Management -> Bundle Management -> Download now
We can also download it directly from the domain by going to Inventory -> Workload Domains -> Select the domain -> Update/Patches -> Select the VCF version -> 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 4.4.1.0
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 -> Download now
We can also download it directly from the domain by going to Inventory -> Workload Domains -> Select the domain -> Update/Patches -> Select the VCF version -> Download now
Once the download is complete go to Inventory -> Workload Domains -> Select the domain -> Update/Patches -> Select the VCF version and 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 3.1.3.7.4. 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 4.4.1.0 -> Download now.
Once the download is complete we can proceed with updating the NSX components by clicking on the update now
Make the proper selection and click next
Make the proper selection and click next
Make the proper selection and click next
Review the options and click on Finish
The upgrade will go thought upgrading the NSX edges. We can view the upgrade status by clicking on view status
Once the edges are upgraded we an go back to Inventory -> Workload Domains -> Select the workload domain -> Update/Patches -> Under Available updates click on Update Now
Review the selection and click next
Review the host clusters and click next
Review the upgrade options and click next
Review the selection and click finish
We can view the status of the upgrade by selection view status
Once the upgrade is complete we can proceed with the vCenter Upgrade. VCF 4.4.1 comes with vCenter Server 7.0 Updated 3d. 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 4.4.1 -> 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
Don’t forget to clean up the download bundles by following the steps from my other blog here
In this post i will go over upgrading my 8.x vROPS appliance to 8.6.3 using vRSLCM (vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager). As a pre requirement we do need to have vRSLCM (vRealize Lifecycle Manager) upgraded to 8.8 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 vROPS
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 8.6.3 and click Next. We can also review the compatibility matrix to make sure the environment is compatible.
Run the Upgrade Assessment tool to make sure the currently used dashboards, reports, metrics etc are still compatible with the new version
Once the report has finished running we can either Download or view the report. Once everything has been reviewing we can click on the I have viewed the report and agree to proceed box and click next to proceed to the next step.
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 and the Submit. 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 8.6.3
Since we are doing a major upgrade i strongly recommend to clean the cache before using the new vROPS version.
In this post i will go over upgrading my 8.x vRLI appliance to 8.6.2 using vRSLCM (vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager). As a pre requirement we do need to have vRSLCM (vRealize Lifecycle Manager) upgraded to 8.6.2 or 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 vRLI
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 8.8 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 then Finish. 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 8.8
Since we are doing a major upgrade i strongly recommend to clean the cache before using the new vRLI version.
In this post i will go over upgrading my 8.x vRA appliance to 8.8. As a pre requirement we do need to have vRSLCM (vRealize Lifecycle Manager) upgraded to 8.78 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 8.8.0 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 8.8
Since we are doing a major upgrade i strongly recommend to clean the cache before using the new vRA version.
In this post i will go over upgrading my 8.x SSC appliance to 8.8. As a pre requirement we do need to have vRSLCM (vRealize Lifecycle Manager) upgraded to 8.8. 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 8.8.0 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 8.8
