VCF 5.0.x is not a supported upgrade path if you are running VCF 4.5.2 version

Products

• VMware Cloud Foundation

Issue/Introduction

Upgrading from VMware Cloud Foundation version 4.5.2.0 directly to VCF 5.0.x is an unsupported lifecycle operation.

This article provides the necessary steps to prevent the VCF 5.0 configuration drift bundle from being displayed as an available upgrade option within the SDDC Manager Lifecycle Management service after the successful upgrade to VCF 4.5.2.

This scenario primarily affects Dark Site or Air-Gapped VCF deployments where VCF bundles are manually downloaded and uploaded. In these environments, after the VCF 4.5.2 bundles are downloaded, the LCM may incorrectly detect the VCF 5.0 config drift bundle as available, leading to potential accidental attempts at an unsupported upgrade.

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5.2
VMware Cloud Foundation 5.0
VMware Cloud Foundation 5.0.0.1

Cause

After a successful upgrade to VCF 4.5.2, the SDDC Manager requires an update to its internal LCM Manifest to correctly identify the supported next-step upgrades.

For Online/Depot Connected sites, this manifest update occurs automatically via synchronization with the VMware depot.

For Offline/Dark Sites, where automatic synchronization is disabled, the system still uses an older manifest after the VCF 4.5.2 upgrade until the latest manifest is explicitly uploaded.

If the 4.5.2 bundles were uploaded, the lack of the latest manifest can cause the SDDC Manager to incorrectly process available bundle metadata, leading to the unsupported VCF 5.0.x bundles being displayed.

Resolution

To ensure the correct Lifecycle Manager manifest is registered and to prevent the display of unsupported VCF 5.0.x upgrade bundles, follow the steps specific to your deployment type:

1. Online/Depot Connected Sites: No manual intervention is required. After the VCF 4.5.2 upgrade is complete, allow a minimum of 5 minutes for the SDDC Manager to automatically synchronize and register the new LCM Manifest from the VMware depot. Do not initiate any SDDC Manager operations during this waiting period.

2. Offline/Dark Sites: The latest LCM manifest must be manually downloaded and uploaded to the SDDC Manager appliance. This operation ensures the SDDC Manager recognizes the current supported upgrade paths.

1. 1. Download the latest manifest from the VMware depot using the LCM Bundle Transfer Utility:
      ../lcm-bundle-transfer-util --download-manifest --depotUser <Username>
      Note: Replace <Username> with your VMware depot credentials.

   2. Upload the downloaded manifest file to the SDDC Manager appliance:
      ./lcm-bundle-transfer-util --update sourceManifestDirectory <Manifest-Downloaded-Directory> --sddcMgrFqdn <SDDC_MANAGER_FQDN>
      Note: Replace <Manifest-Downloaded-Directory> with the local directory where the manifest was saved, and <SDDC_MANAGER_FQDN> with the fully qualified domain name of your SDDC Manager.

For more details on lcm-bundle-transfer-util please visit: Download Bundles with the Bundle Transfer Utility

Additional Information

Download Bundles with the Bundle Transfer Utility