VxRail Upgrade: Dell Depot Connection Issues

Products

• VMware SDDC Manager

Issue/Introduction

• This article exists to guide users through the manual steps required for upgrading on both major and minor version of VCF on VxRail from 4.x  to 5.x.y or  5.0.x to 5.1.x/5.2.x (or 5.1.x to 5.2.x)
  
  
• Users are advised to follow the steps outlined in this article before initiating the upgrade process to ensure a smooth transition
  
  
• Since the necessary steps are not available via the User Interface (UI) or API, this document serves as an essential resource to external users for minimizing downtime, avoiding potential conflicts, and ensuring that the upgrade is successful
  
  

  NOTE -

  • To download VxRail artifacts, APTooL customers should follow this KB article and then switch to offline mode. OBTU customers should refer to the same KB for download instructions.

  • Upgrading to the minor version of VxRail from 5.x to 5.y. Please apply the below steps and then use this KB Article.

Environment

VCF 4.x
VCF 5.x

Cause

• The SDDC Manager is unable to download VxRail bundles from Dell's depot due to a change in Dell's authentication mechanism.
• Dell has transitioned to an OAuth-based authentication system, which the current authentication mechanism within SDDC Manager is not compatible with.
• As a result, the connection to Dell's depot fails, preventing the download of VxRail bundles.

Resolution

• Currently there is no resolution to the issue.

Workaround:

• Download VxRail Bundle from Dell Website , to search in this website please search for “Upgrade Slim Package for” in the keyword field and
  download the major bundle. 
  For e.g. - VxRail 8.0.210 Composite Upgrade Slim Package for 7.0.x.
  
  
• Once downloaded If the bundle name is different from bundle download link (https://dl.dell.com/downloads/D1JM1_VxRail-8.0.200-Composite-Upgrade-Slim-Package-for-7.0.x.zip), 
  Rename it to the same as bundle name in the link.
  For eg. if Downloaded file is this VxRail-8.0.200-Composite-Upgrade-Slim-Package-for-7.0.x.zip then rename it to as mentioned below,
  D1JM1_VxRail-8.0.200-Composite-Upgrade-Slim-Package-for-7.0.x.zip(same as in link)
  
  
• Copy the VxRail bundle to the SDDC Manager Appliance under /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/bundle/depot/local/bundles directory
  
  
• Change permission of bundle to 0755 using below command
  Example:- "chmod 0755 D1JM1_VxRail-8.0.200-Composite-Upgrade-Slim-Package-for-7.0.x.zip"
  
  
• Change ownership of bundle to vcf_lcm:vcf using below command
  Example:- "chown vcf_lcm:vcf D1JM1_VxRail-8.0.200-Composite-Upgrade-Slim-Package-for-7.0.x.zip"
  
  
• Upload VVS steps should be followed if SDDC Manager version is 5.0 and above
  • Download VVS file from Dell Website, search for VVS and download the latest VVS file available.
  • If SDDC Manager version 5.2 and above then upload VVS file by Navigate to the Developer Center in SDDC Manager UI, Under API
    explorer search for Compatibility Matrix
    

Execute PUT method by providing parameters compatibility Matrix Source as VXRAIL_COMPAT and compatibility Matrix Content as VVS file.

• • If SDDC Manager version 5.0 and less than 5.2 then please use either postman or CURL to upload VVS. The endpoint for the curl command will
    be localhost if running inside SDDC manager else it will be SDDC manager FQDN or IP
    
    CURL Command :
    curl --location --request PUT
    'https://localhost/v1/compatibility-matrices?compatibilityMatrixSourc
    e=VXRAIL_COMPAT' \
    --header 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
    --header 'Authorization: Bearer {Token}' \
    --form 'compatibilityMatrixContent=@"/home/vcf/vvsfile.json"'
    
    Replace Token using v1/tokens API and /home/vcf/vvsfile.json will be the path of the VVS file(path can be anything within sddc manager),
    Note: Above VVS upload will fail to upload if there is no VMware VVS is present. Please check for VmwareCompatibilityData.json under this directory: /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/compatibility

• Upload bundle file to SDDC manager using API so it will be available for update.
  Follow the below steps for this:
  
  • Download partnerBundleMeta from this link:
    https://dl.broadcom.com/<Broadcom download token>/SDDC_MANAGER_VCF/vxrailPartnerBundleMetadata.json
    If sddc manager >= 5.2.1.0 else download from this link:
    https://dl.broadcom.com/<Broadcom download token>/PROD/COMP/SDDC_MANAGER_VCF/partnerBundleMetadata.json
    Use Broadcom depot credential to access this.
    
    
  • Copy partnerBundleMetadata.json or vxrailPartnerBundleMetadata.json to /home/vcf
    (it can be any directory but not /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/bundle).
    
    
  • Set permission of partnerBundleMetadata.json file:
    Command:- "chown vcf_lcm:vcf <partnerBundleMetadataPath>"
                        "chmod 755 <partnerBundleMetadataPath>"
  • Navigate to the Developer Center in SDDC Manager UI, Under API explorer search for bundles API
    
    
    
  • Under POST method provide below request body:
    {
     "partnerExtensionSpec": {
       "partnerBundleMetadataFilePath": "<partnerBundleMetadataPath>",
       "partnerBundleVersion": "8.0.300-28709350"
     }
    }
    partnerBundleMetadataPath with the path to partnerBundleMetadata.json file copied into SDDC Manager and provide partnerBundleVersion with the VxRail version identifier for the target version.
    
    
  • Once Upload is successful Please carry on with the upgrade.