Proactive Upgrade Case for NSX

Products

VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

Note: The Proactive Upgrade process outlined in this KB is available only to Advanced Support customers with a Support Account Manager (SAM) and/or Dedicated Technical Support Engineer (DTSE). All other customers are advised to follow Upgrade NSX and to open a support case for any technical issues encountered.

Prerequisites to be followed before opening Proactive NSX Upgrade Cases:

Cases must be opened 10 business days in advance of the upgrade window.
Cases should be opened as Severity 4.
NSX Upgrade prechecks must be run in advance and the precheck result file provided when the case is opened.
Collect the NSX Manager logs (don't set log age), also the precheck results file, and upload both to this new support case.
Follow the KB Upgrade NSX.

VMware by Broadcom Support will:

Ensure precheck issues are resolved.
Validate the target version and advise if a newer one is available.
Review Manager logs for known issues that may impact the upgrade.
If a proactive Case is not raised with sufficient notice of 10 days, it may not be possible to offer log review and precheck resolution within the planned timeframe.
Once the review completes, the proactive case will be closed.
Two days prior to upgrade, the SAM or DTSE will open a maintenance case for you. This case will track the upgrade and can be uplifted to Severity 1 in the event of a failure.
The next available support engineer will engage with you. Broadcom will not be able to provide dedicated support to be on standby during the activity.

Please complete the following template when opening the Case:

Upgrade Date & Time:
NSX from version:
NSX to version :
VCF from version:
VCF to version:
No. of VM Edges:
No. of Bare Metal Edges:
No. of Hosts:
No. of Managers:
vLCM environment?:
Upgrade Prechecks Passed?:
Federation?:
Security Only?:
NCP/Antrea?:

Upgrade Recommendations:

It is recommended to retain locally the NSX logs collected when opening the proactive Case until the upgrade has completed successfully.
Prepare a contingency plan to allow the upgrade maintenance window to be extended should a failure occur.
After completing the Edge and Host upgrade and before starting the NSX Manager upgrade, take another backup.
NSX Manager failures can be rolled back from version 3.2.1 and above see NSX Upgrade Guide.
In environments with long uptimes, especially if an upgrade has not been performed in a long time, it can be beneficial to perform a proactive reboot of all appliances prior to starting the upgrade. Rebooting Edges will require failovers so this could be performed at the start of the maintenance window.

Resolution

Advanced Support customers should open a Proactive Upgrade case via Broadcom Support.
The purpose of a proactive Upgrade Case is to prepare in advance for the NSX upgrade.
This is not an exhaustive health check of the environment, if this is required please engage VMware by Broadcom Professional Services.
If an issue is experienced during upgrade, Advanced Support customers should uplift their maintenance case.
For more details on Upgrade issues please see Troubleshooting NSX Upgrade Failures.

Additional Information

For other NSX related proactive KBs see:

Collecting logs or opening a new case

Proactive upgrade process by product: