Proactive Migration Case for HCX
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Proactive Migration Case for HCX

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Article ID: 373665

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Updated On:

Products

VMware HCX

Issue/Introduction

Note: The proactive process for HCX Migration cases is limited to Advanced Support customers with a Support Account Manager (SAM) and/or Dedicated Technical Support Engineer (DTSE). All other customers are advised to follow the Migration Recommendations below and to open a support case for any technical issue that cannot be resolved.

Prerequisites to be followed before opening Proactive HCX Migration Case:

  • Cases must be opened 10 business days in advance of the migration window.
  • Cases should be opened as Severity 4.
  • Maintenance activity details provided e.g. number of VMs to migrate, migration type, and the date/time for the switchover.
  • If your HCX Manager Cloud is managed by a cloud provider / Hyperscalers, please open a case with your provider and not Broadcom.  

Broadcom Support will:

  • Provide high level guidance on the activity e.g. links to supporting documentation, KBs etc.
  • In some instances support may request log bundles to review for the presence of known issues.
  • Once the proactive review completes the case will be closed.
  • 2 days prior to the activity, the SAM or DTSE will open a maintenance case for you, this case will track the activity and can be uplifted to Severity 1 in the event of a problem.
  • Broadcom will not be able to provide dedicated support to be on standby during the activity, once notified of an issue the next available engineer will engage in accordance with case severity SLOs.

Please complete the following template when opening the Case:

  • Migration date & Time:
  • HCX version:
  • Number of VMs to migrate:
  • Migration type:
  • Cloud provider:

Migration Recommendations:

  • Ensure interoperability of HCX with all products in your environment (e.g., vCenter Server, ESXi, NSX, SRM, Cloud Director, etc.) by referencing the Interoperability Matrix.
  • It is recommended to upgrade both HCX Managers (Connector and Cloud) and Fleet Appliances to the latest available release, as the update may include new features, software fixes and security patches. Confirm that the target HCX version is compatible with other products in the environment, and ensure the HCX upgrade path is supported by reviewing the release notes of the target version.
  • For information regarding support and versions in legacy environments (vSphere 6.5 / vSphere 6.7), consult: HCX Support Policy for Legacy vSphere Environments.
  • Ensure your system meets the necessary requirements to run HCX Manager and Fleet Appliances.
  • Ensure all required ports are opened. For information on the required ports, access VMware Ports and Protocols and Network Diagrams for VMware HCX.
  • Ensure that you do not exceed supported configurations for your environment and stay within the limits supported by HCX (e.g., HCX Sites and Managed Services, Migrations, Network Extension, etc.). Please consult the VMware Configuration Maximums for guidance.
  • Backup HCX Manager by configuring backups using the appliance management interface at  <https://hcx-ip-or-fqdn:9443>. In the HCX Manager UI, navigate to Administration > Troubleshooting > Backup & Restore. The best practice is to schedule daily backups. Restoring from backup files that are more than two days old is not supported due to potential inventory changes from the backup time to present. For more information, access Backing Up HCX Manager.
  • Verify the HCX Manager system reports healthy connections to: vCenter Server, NSX Manager (if applicable), Cloud Director/RMQ (if applicable). Use the appliance management interface at <https://hcx-ip-or-fqdn:9443>. Navigate to Dashboard and confirm the status is healthy (green).
  • Verify that the HCX Manager reports that there are healthy connections to the HCX Interconnect service components. In the HCX UI, navigate to Interconnect > Service Mesh and confirm the status is healthy (green).
  • Verify that Site Pair configurations are healthy. In the HCX UI, navigate to Site Pairing. For troubleshooting Site Pairing issues, refer to KB: HCX - Site Pairing Connectivity Diagnostics.
  • In the HCX UI, navigate to Interconnect > Service Mesh > Run Diagnostics and review the results for any errors. The diagnostics will test connectivity from the IX appliance to the required components (e.g., vCenter Server, ESXi hosts, etc.) and identify any issues related to network communication. If there are any errors related to closed ports, review the network and firewall configuration. For more information on the required ports, refer to the VMware Ports and Protocols and Network Diagrams for VMware HCX.
  • In the HCX UI, navigate to Transport Analytics to verify underlay network performance for Service Mesh uplinks. Based on the bandwidth reported by the uplink test and the bandwidth requirement of the HCX service, HCX calculates the underlay network performance associated with the uplink. From that calculation, HCX recommends a number of simultaneous migrations (currently available for Bulk Migration only) that the underlay network can support at the point when the test was run. For more information, consult Verifying Underlay Network Performance for Service Mesh Uplinks.
  • Ensure you meet the minimum network underlay requirements for HCX Migrations. For more details, visit Network Underlay Minimum Requirements.
  • Allocate IP addresses for the HCX migration appliance (HCX-IX) from existing Management or Replication networks to optimize the data path and simplify troubleshooting.
  • Use the HCX compute profile to configure CPU and Memory reservations. Resource reservations configured directly in vCenter Server are not persistent to HCX lifecycle operations.
  • Avoid the use of Fully Automated DRS mode, as it can impact migration by disrupting checksum operations and potentially triggering a full synchronization, which delays migration progress.
    Note: If the Fully Automated DRS configuration must be used, the Service Mesh appliances (IX/WO) should be excluded to maximize service stability. This exclusion is not persistent to upgrade and redeploy operations. Additional considerations for DRS rules include:
    • HCX migration appliances (IX) may benefit from anti-affinity rules to place IX appliances on different hosts when multiple service meshes are deployed. This allows vMotion/RAV (Replication Assisted vMotion) operations to be executed in parallel instead of queuing for serial execution.
    • The HCX WAN Optimization appliance may benefit from an affinity rule that places the HCX-WO and HCX-IX on the same host. This rule simplifies and optimizes the service chained traffic data path between HCX-WO and HCX-IX.
  • HCX WAN Optimization increases efficiency by providing data reduction when deployed with network underlays with bandwidth below 1 Gbps. When WAN Optimization is configured, ensure that the storage supports 5000 IOPS per WO appliance.
  • When using Bulk or RAV (Replication Assisted vMotion) migration, enable 'Seed Checkpoint'. In the event that a migration is unsuccessful or canceled, Seed Checkpoint retains the target disks created at the target site. Without Seed Checkpoint, the HCX roll back process cleans up the target disks created during the migration and all transferred data is lost. 
  • Ensure there is sufficient space in the target datastore. Up to 20% extra space may be used temporarily during the migration.
  • Running backup services that use VM snapshots or taking snapshots of VMs while being migrated can disrupt the migration process. For more information, consult HCX Interoperability with Backup Solutions.
  • Quiesce the VM before scheduling the migration to minimize data churn.
  • The switchover window should be over estimated to accommodate for the lengthy data checksum process and instantiation of the VM on target.
  • In certain cases, the bulk migration workflow may take more time to complete the switchover stage, for example when an extremely large VM is getting migrated using HCX.
  • In the event that a VM takes longer or cannot be shutdown gracefully from the guest OS, the recommendation is to enable "Force Power Off" upon scheduling the migrations. Refer to KB HCX - Bulk Migration may fail due to "Invalid Power State" of VM.
  • Do not perform app/web engine restart from the source or target HCX managers during the course of an ongoing migration as it may impact the migration workflow at a given point in time.
  • Do not restart vCenter Server services during an ongoing migration.
  • Do not power off the source VM manually after completion of the initial base sync as it may impact the offline sync workflow at a given point in time.

Environment

VMware HCX

Resolution

Open a Migration Awareness Case via Broadcom Support.
The purpose of a proactive Case is to prepare in advance of an HCX migration maintenance window. This is not an exhaustive health check of the environment, if this is required please engage VMware by Broadcom Professional Services.

Additional Information

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