Perform VCF 4.4.x to VCF 5.x upgrade, with ability to replace interim NSX first hop with an NSX release (NSX 3.2.3.2)

Products

• VMware SDDC Manager

Issue/Introduction

SDDC Manager upgrade planner presents a 2 step NSX upgrade process when planning for VCF upgrade from 4.4.x to 5.x. 

Example of upgrade from VCF 4.4.0 to 5.1.1:

1. SDDC Manager 5.1.1
2. NSX 3.2.1.2
3. NSX 4.1.2.3
4. vCenter Server 8.0.2.00200
5. ESXi 8.0.2

An administrator wants to replace the first NSX upgrade step with NSX 3.2.3.2 instead of the default NSX 3.2.1.2 during a VCF 4.4.x to VCF 5.x upgrade.

 

 

Environment

VCF 4.4.x

Cause

VCF 4.4.x has an NSX 3.1.x and VCF 5.x contains NSX 4.x which requires a minimum version of NSX 3.2.0 as a compatible source version to upgrade from.

As a result, VCF 4.4.x to VCF 5.x upgrade is a 2 step NSX version upgrade with NSX 3.2.1.2 as the first step NSX version before upgrading to NSX 4.x.

 

Resolution

The first step of NSX upgrade can be overwritten by applying the NSX 3.2.3.2 asynchronous upgrade bundle through the use of VCF Async Patch tool. The following steps assume that SDDC Manager is internet connected and the default download path for VCF Async Patch tool will be utilized. For more advanced options, refer to the Async Patch tool documentation.

1. Download and install the latest VCF Async Patch tool - https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-Foundation/services/ap-tool/GUID-49818DF1-94EA-4C85-8CB6-6EFFCE5F8060.html
2. SSH to SDDC Manager as vcf
3. Prepare the AP tool custom input spec file for NSX 3.2.3.2 with the name bundle-107668.spec and place it in /home/vcf with the following contents
   

   {
     "actions": [
       {
         "action": "enable_bom_patch",
         "configuration": {
           "bundles": [
             {
               "name": "bundle-107668"
             }
           ]
         }
       }
     ]
   }

   
   
   
4. Download the NSX 3.2.3.2 async patch bundle with the custom input spec file with the following AP tool command.
   ./vcf-async-patch-tool --download --inputSpec /home/vcf/bundle-107668.spec --depotUser <depotusername> --sddcSSHUser vcf
   
   
5. The first step of the upgrade plan is to upgrade SDDC Manager. If not already, apply the upgrade through the SDDC Manager user interface.
6. The subsequent step when presented is to upgrade to the default NSX 3.2.1.2 in the UI. Ignore this offering and override this bundle with NSX 3.2.3.2 using the async patch tool. Run the following AP tool command as vcf in the SDDC Manager SSH session to enable the NSX 3.2.3.2 asynchronous bundle.
   ./vcf-async-patch-tool --inputSpec /home/vcf/bundle-107668.spec --sddcSSHUser vcf --sddcSSOUser [email protected] --instanceType OFFLINE
   
   This process may take some time to complete.
   
   
7. When the process is complete, the SDDC Manager UI should replace the available bundle to apply with NSX 3.2.3.2. Ensure this is the case and apply NSX 3.2.3.2 upgrade bundle from the UI.
8. Upon completion of NSX 3.2.3.2 upgrade, the upgrade planner UI may show that NSX 3.2.1.2 was applied. This is safe to ignore. You can confirm the correct NSX version was upgraded to from the NSX UI.
9. Proceed to upgrade the subsequent second step NSX 4.x upgrade from the UI.
10. Proceed to upgrade the other subsequent bundles made available such as vCenter and ESXi/VxRail
11. Repeat step 7 onwards for any remaining domains.
12. Upon completion of the VCF upgrade to the target BOM, disable the NSX 3.2.3.2 asynchronous patch bundle with the following command.
    ./vcf-async-patch-tool --disableAllPatches --sddcSSHUser vcf --sddcSSOUser [email protected]