Planned Activity Precheck Review Case for NSX

Products

VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

Note: The Planned Activity Precheck Review outlined in this KB is available only to Advanced Support customers with a Support Account Manager (SAM) and/or Dedicated/Designated Support Engineer (DTSE/DSE).

The Planned Activity Precheck Review is provided on a best effort basis and is intended to assist with identified issues and precheck failures. While Broadcom Support strives to highlight potential risks, this review is not exhaustive and may not identify all issues or environment-specific considerations. It is not a commitment to participate during the planned activity nor is it a certification or validation of a runbook. The customer remains responsible for validating their activity plan and ensuring their environment if fully prepared for the change.

Prerequisites before opening a Planned Activity Precheck Review for NSX:

Cases must be opened at least 10 business days in advance of the upgrade window.
Cases should be opened as Low-P4.
NSX Upgrade prechecks must be run in advance and the precheck result file provided when the case is opened.
Collect the NSX Manager logs (no log age) and the precheck results file, then upload both to the support case.
Follow the KB NSX Pre-upgrade tasks.

VMware by Broadcom Support will:

Ensure precheck issues are resolved.
Validate the target version and advise if a newer one is available.
Review provided logs for known issues that may impact the upgrade.
If a Planned Activity Precheck Review 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 is complete, the Planned Activity Precheck Review case will be closed.
- Two days prior to the upgrade, either you or your SAM/DTSE/DSE will open a maintenance case. This case will track the upgrade and can be uplifted to a Critical - P1 in the event of a production down outage during the upgrade.
- 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 Planned Activity Precheck Review 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 rolling 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.

Environment

VMware NSX 4.x
VMware NSX 9.x

Resolution

Open a Low - P4, Planned Activity Precheck Review case via Broadcom Support portal.

The purpose of a Planned Activity Precheck Review case is to prepare in advance for the NSX upgrade.

If an issue is experienced during upgrade that causes a production down outage, Advanced Support customers should uplift the severity of the case to a Critical - P1.

This is not an exhaustive health check of the environment. If this is required, engage VMware by Broadcom Professional Services.

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

For further Planned Activity Precheck Review guidance, please see the Planned Activity Precheck Review - Broadcom Advanced Support KB which details the process and includes all VCF specific products this is offered for.