Site Recovery Manager Appliance Upgrade Best Practices
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Site Recovery Manager Appliance Upgrade Best Practices

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Article ID: 385248

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Updated On:

Products

VMware Live Recovery

Issue/Introduction

Upgrading the Site Recovery Manager appliance requires careful planning, interoperability checks with other vSphere products and astute execution of upgrade steps. Here's a general, step-by-step guide on upgrading the Site Recovery Manager appliance. 

Environment

VMware Site Recovery Manager 8.x
VMware Live Site Recovery 9.x

Cause

 

Resolution

vSphere products are distinguished as upgrades & updates. 

Upgrades - Which make major changes to the software 
Updates   - Which make smaller changes to the software like performance improvements, bug fixes & security patches. 

VMware product versions are numbered with two digits, for example, VMware Live Site Recovery 9.0. A release that changes either digit, for example, from 8.8 to 9.0, or from 8.7 to 8.8, involves major changes in the software, and requires an upgrade from the previous version. A release that makes a smaller change, requiring only a patch or update, is indicated by an update number, for example, VMware Live Site Recovery 9.0 to 9.0.1 to 9.0.2 and so on. 

In the example below, 9.0 is considered a major release and it's subsequent releases are called updates. It is always a good idea to take a look at the release notes of any product before updating/upgrading it to that version. The release notes has plenty of useful information about the current release, software improvements, what's new and resolved issues, etc. 

VMware Live Site Recovery 9.0 > Base version is the first or major version of the software in the release hierarchy.
VMware Live Site Recovery 9.0.1 
VMware Live Site Recovery 9.0.2 
VMware Live Site Recovery 9.0.2.1 

Versions ranging from 9.0.1 to 9.0.2.1 are updates belonging to VMware Live Site Recovery 9.0 release



1. Review Product Interoperability

2. Upgrade Path

3. Upgrade Process


Review Product Interoperability

Check the product interoperability matrices to find out whether the vCenter Server, VMware ESXi and vSphere Replication are all compatible with the version of VMware Live Site Recovery software you want to upgrade to. 



TIP: Uncheck the Hide Legacy Releases option, if you are using older versions of software.

Check # 1 - Is VMware vCenter Server compatible with VMware Live Site Recovery ?
Check # 2 - Is VMware Live Site Recovery compatible with VMware Live Site Recovery ?  
Check # 3 - Is VMware ESXi compatible with VMware Live Site Recovery ? 

NOTE: Perform this check at both the sites (Production & Recovery).

 

Upgrade Path



It is very important to check the upgrade path before upgrading the VMware Live Site Recovery appliance. The upgrade path shows whether you will be upgrading directly to the version you choose to go to or a step-upgrade method will be required. 

NOTE: Please read the Prerequisites and Best Practices for Site Recovery Manager Upgrade and the Order of Upgrading vSphere and Site Recovery Manager Components before continuing with the upgrade. These articles contain very important information that you must know before starting upgrades.

 

Upgrade Process






Direct update or upgrade 

When you are updating an appliance within its release hierarchy, then its called a direct update . And, when you are upgrading to a version beyond a release hierarchy, it's called a direct upgrade. For example, in the VMware Live Site Recovery 8.8 Release, we have 8.8 (Base version), 8.8.0.1, 8.8.0.2 & 8.8.0.3. This is called a release hierarchy. If you are updating the appliance within the range of this release, its called a direct update. 

But, when you are upgrading the appliance between different release hierarchies. For example, if you were upgrading from VMware Site Recovery Manager 8.8 (base version), 8.8.0.1, 8.8.0.2 & 8.8.0.3 to VMware Live Site Recovery 9.0 (Base version), 9.0.0.1, 9.0.1, 9.0.2 & 9.0.2.1, then it's called a direct upgrade.  


How to perform a direct update/upgrade ?

Performing a direct upgrade is an easy task. 

1. Download the version of VMware Live Site Recovery software

2. Take a normal snapshot of the appliance

3. Upgrade the appliance 
 
4. Reconfigure the appliance 
 
5. Reconnect site pair, if you are using Site recovery Manager  

TIP: Always attach the ISO image after you have taken a snapshot of the appliance and detach the ISO before deleting/consolidating snapshot/s.



Step upgrade 

A step upgrade process is utilized when you want to upgrade to a version that will require you to hop a version or more in-between to get there. So, if you are running VMware Site Recovery Manager 8.6 and would like to upgrade to 9.0 or the highest version in this release chain. 


As per the upgrade path mentioned above, you will have to upgrade from VMware Site Recovery Manager 8.6 > 8.8 > 9.0 or your desired version.

NOTE: When performing a step upgrade, always upgrade to the base version of that software release first. 

How to perform a step upgrade ? 

Follow the same instruction mentioned under Performing a direct upgrade and repeat steps 2-5 before upgrading the appliance to the next version. 

For example, if you are upgrading from VMware Site Recovery Manager 8.6 to 8.8 to 9.0. After upgrading from 8.6 to 8.8, repeat steps 2-5 to upgrade from 8.8 to 9.0. 

NOTE: Taking a new snapshot before upgrading to a new version will help us to revert the snapshot, if something goes wrong with subsequent upgrades.

That's it! Your VMware Live Site Recovery appliance should now be upgraded and running the latest version.

After you successfully complete upgrading the appliance, monitor the appliance for 24 Hrs before deleting the snapshots. Do not keep the snapshots running for any longer. 

Severity 1 (Critical)
Severity 2 (Major)
Severity 3 (Minor)
Severity 4 (Cosmetic)


It is important to recognize the classification of upgrade issues when raising support cases. Please be informed that upgrades aren't considered as Severity-1 by support team due to the time consuming nature of the procedure involved in such cases and also because this is a task that can be planned ahead of time. Please log a Severity 2 or 3 case for upgrades.

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