Best practices for vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) upgrade
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Best practices for vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) upgrade

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Article ID: 407905

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

VDS virtual switch version compatibility with vCenter and ESXi

vCenter Server Version vDS Version Host Version
vCenter Server 9.0 vDS 9.0/8.0/7.0 ESX 9.0
vCenter Server 8.0 vDS 8.0/7.0/6.6 ESXi 8.0

vCenter Server 7.0

 vDS 7.0/6.6/6.5 ESXi 7.0

 

VDS version 6.5 can be upgraded to 6.6 or later

Note: If the current VDS version is 6.5, a brief downtime may occur during the switch upgrade to a later version. For VDS version 6.6 or later, the switch upgrade to a newer version can typically be completed without downtime.

Refer to Documentation for version compatibility, version features, and upgrade steps:

 

Environment

VMware vCenter Server

VMware ESX

Resolution

Before proceeding, please make sure to:

  • Upgrade vCenter to a version that is compatible with the VDS
  • Upgrade all hosts connected to the distributed switch to a supported version for VDS

The following steps can be taken as best practices and recommendations to reduce the impact on production:

  • VDS upgrade needs be done during a maintenance window.
  • Export the VDS configuration. Refer to document: Exporting/importing/restoring Distributed Switch configs using vSphere Web Client
  • Set DRS to Manual on all clusters undergoing the upgrade to prevent vMotion migrations during the process. After the upgrade, restore DRS to its original setting. This step is important.
  • Do not perform VM operations (I.E. power on/off, vMotion, etc.) during the VDS upgrade; this could potentially lead to a failure in dvport allocation.
  • Do not perform VDS/DVPG operation during the VDS upgrade.
  • If an ESX host has two VDS's with one containing a management network and the other one containing regular workloads, please migrate the VDS containing regular workloads first so that, even if something goes wrong with the upgrade (ideally it should not), the ESX host will remain accessible to the management VDS.
  • In the event of a management vmk connectivity loss during a VDS upgrade, a support ticket should be raised with Broadcom. Please collect VC and ESX support bundles immediately, and upload them to the case.
  • Upgrade one VDS at a time.
  • Post upgrade if the alerts like "The vSphere Distributed Switch configuration on some hosts differed from that of the vCenter Server." are seen, open the case with Broadcom Support.

 

Additional Information

Refer to the following KB articles for issues related to VDS version synchronization and updates:

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