Planned Activity Precheck Review Case for vCenter Server

Products

VMware vCenter Server

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 Case for vCenter:

Cases must be opened at least 10 business days in advance of the upgrade window
Cases should be opened as Low-P4
Have a development environment upgraded before production to test that any customization still functions as expected on the latest version
Confirm the vCenter Server upgrade path is supported
Perform upgrade pre-check to detect certificates with weak signature algorithm (applicable for VC 7.x to 8.x upgrade)
If this is a VCF environment, open a Planned Activity Precheck Review case with VCF Support
Be familiar with Best Practices for Patching VMware vSphere
Be familiar with the preparation steps covered in Upgrade vCenter Server 7.0 to 8.0

VMware by Broadcom Support will:

Ensure pre-check 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 will not be possible to offer log review and pre-check resolution within the planned time-frame
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?
Current vCenter Server version?
Target vCenter version?
Product Interoperability checked?
Have the release notes been reviewed for the target version?
Do you have a backup of the vCenter configuration?
Number of vCenter's being upgraded (if applicable)?
Are you running any vCenter's in Enhanced Link Mode (ELM)?
List of plugins/extensions and 2nd party or 3rd party solutions (for eg. SRM) ?

Additional data to be collected:

Environment

vCenter Server 8.x
vCenter Server 9.x

Resolution

Open a Low - P4, Upgrade Awareness Case via Broadcom Support portal.

The purpose of a Planned Activity Precheck Review case is to prepare in advance for the vCenter Server 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, please engage VMware by Broadcom Professional Services.

Additional Information

Upgrading vCenter Server to 8.x

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