Planned Activity Precheck Review Case for VCF Automation

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

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 VCF Automation:

• Cases must be opened at least 10 business days in advance of the upgrade window.
• Cases should be opened as Low-P4.
• VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle must be at the latest available version (8.18.x) and must have the latest Product Support Pack (PSPACK) installed.
• Have a development environment upgraded before production to test that any customization still functions as expected on the latest version.
• Upgrade pre-checks must be run in advance and report any issues that cannot be resolved.
• Collect an VCF Automation log bundle and upload it to the new case.
• Collect an Aria Automation health check report and upload it to the new case.
• Read the target version Release Notes and be aware of Known Issues.
• Reference the Interop Matrix to confirm the target VCF Automation version is compatible with other integrations in the environment and plan to upgrade those if necessary.
• Also confirm the Aria Automation upgrade path is supported.
• If this is a VCF environment, open a Planned Activity Precheck Review Case with VCF Support.
• Validate there are good backups that can successfully be restored of the VCF Automation cluster VMs.
• Walk through Validating VMware Aria Automation and Automation Orchestrator 8.x health.
• Check the Inventory synchronization in VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle
• Be familiar with Troubleshooting VMware Aria Automation 8.x upgrades.

Environments with a Standalone Aria Orchestrator instance: 

• Reference the Interop Matrix for compatibility.
• Collect Aria Orchestrator logs and upload them to the new case.
• Collect an Aria Orchestrator health check report and upload it to the new case.
• The same version for the stand alone Aria Orchestrator as the VCF Automation cluster is required.
• Test any customization in a development environment to ensure everything still works as expected prior to upgrading production.
• Validate there are good backups that can successfully be restored of the Aria Orchestrator VMs.
• Be familiar with the Standalone Upgrade Guide and the Aria Orchestrator Upgrade Troubleshooting Guide.

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:
• VCF Automation from version:
• VCF Automation to version:
• VCF from version:
• VCF to version:
• If Standalone Orchestrator, from version:
• If Standalone Orchestrator, to version:
• Upgrade Prechecks Passed?:  
• 2 or more upgrade paths required?

Upgrade Recommendations:

• Schedule a maintenance window for the entire upgrade so that VMs can be powered off to make backups.
• Make sure there are good backups just prior to the upgrade, a good backup is one that restores have been tested and everything boots as expected.
• Powered off snapshots can provide a quick rollback point and are also required before starting the upgrade.
• Prepare a contingency plan to allow the upgrade maintenance window to be extended should a failure occur.
• Have full cold backups of the nodes in case a roll back is necessary if the upgrade is unable to be completed before the maintenance window.
• If 2 or more upgrade should be performed in line, take the latest snapshots after last upgrade completed.

Environment

• VMware Aria Automation 8.18.0
• VMware Aria Automation 8.18.1
• VCF Automation 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 VCF Automation 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.

Additional Information

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.