Proactive HCX Upgrade Cases
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Proactive HCX Upgrade Cases

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Article ID: 370939

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Updated On:

Products

VMware HCX

Issue/Introduction

Prerequisites to be followed before opening Proactive HCX Upgrade Cases:

  • Cases must be opened 10 business days in advance of the upgrade window.
  • Cases should be opened as Severity 4.
  • If your HCX Manager Cloud is managed by a cloud provider / Hyperscalers, please open a case with your provider and not Broadcom. 
  • Collect the HCX Manager logs for both HCX Connector and HCX Cloud (select all the options including the database).
  • Report any error on the HCX Diagnostics. Navigate to Interconnect > Service Mesh > Run Diagnostics.
  • Read the target version Release Notes.
  • Confirm the target HCX version is compatible with other products in the environment. Also confirm the HCX upgrade path is supported. Reference Interop Matrix.
  • For information regarding support and versions in legacy environments (vSphere 6.5 / vSphere 6.7), consult: HCX Support Policy for Legacy vSphere Environments.
  • HCX systems running versions earlier than 4.9 will not receive upgrade notification for 4.10 in HCX 443/Standalone/VC Plugin UI for both HCX Connector and HCX Cloud systems.
  • For HCX 4.9 or above, if the latest version is not available in the System Updates tab, please refer to KB: HCX Manager - "Check for Updates" button not available.
  • VMware advise to upgrade to the latest available version.
    • Upgrading to HCX 4.10 is supported from HCX 4.9.0 and 4.9.1 for both local and connected sites.
    • Upgrading to HCX 4.10 from all versions between 4.4 and 4.8.2 is a 2-step process and requires online upgrade to 4.9.1 first, using the HCX 443/Standalone/VC Plugin UI for both HCX Connector and HCX Cloud systems.
    • Upgrading to HCX 4.10 from all versions between 4.2.4 and 4.3.3 is a 3-step process which requires an offline upgrade to 4.8.2 first.

Note: If you are upgrading HCX using the Upgrade option in the HCX Appliance Management UI (:9443), your system must be running HCX 4.8.2 as minimum version before upgrading to HCX 4.9.0 using pre-downloaded bundle. Refer KB: HCX - 4.9.0 upgrade will fail if initiated through HCX Appliance-Management 9443 UI for more information.

VMware by Broadcom Support will: 

  • Ensure precheck/HCX diags issues are resolved.
  • Validate the target version and advise if a newer one is available.
  • Review HCX Manager logs for known issues that may impact the upgrade.
  • If a proactive Case is not raised with sufficient notice of 10 days, it will not be possible to offer log review and precheck resolution within the planned timeframe. 

Please complete the following template when opening the Case: 

  • Upgrade Date & Time:
  • HCX from version:
  • HCX to version  :
  • Number of Site Pairings:
  • Number of Service Meshes and Appliances (IX/NE):
  • Cloud provider:
  • Number of Extended Networks:
  • Is there any HCX DR protection?
  • Are you planning to upgrade the HCX Manager and all Service Mesh on the same maintenance window?

Upgrade Recommendations:

  • It is recommended to retain locally the HCX logs collected when opening the proactive Case until the upgrade has completed successfully.
  • Prepare a contingency plan to allow the upgrade maintenance window to be extended should a failure occur.
  • Verify the HCX Manager system reports healthy connections to: vCenter Server, NSX Manager (if applicable), Cloud Director/RMQ (if applicable). Use the appliance management interface at <https://hcx-ip-or-fqdn:9443>. Navigate to Dashboard and confirm the status is healthy (green).
  • Verify that the HCX Manager reports that there are healthy connections to the HCX Interconnect service components. Navigate to HCX Manager UI -> Interconnect > Service Mesh and confirm the status is healthy (green).
  • Verify that Site Pair configurations are healthy. Navigate to HCX Manager UI -> Site Pairing. For troubleshooting Site Pairing issues, refer to KB: HCX - Site Pairing Connectivity Diagnostics.
  • Backup HCX Manager by configuring backups using the appliance management interface at  <https://hcx-ip-or-fqdn:9443>. Navigate to Administration -> Troubleshooting > Backup & Restore. The best practice is to schedule Daily backups. Restoring from backup files that are more than two days old is not supported due to potential inventory changes from the backup time to present. For more information, access Backing Up HCX Manager.
  • Before upgrading, take snapshots of both the HCX Connector and HCX Cloud VM. Do not take snapshots of Fleet appliances (IX/NE).
  • Service Mesh appliances (IX and NE) should be upgraded to the same version as HCX Managers once the HCX Manager upgrade is completed.
  • If mobility operations are in progress using IX appliances, or networks are extended using NE appliances, you can delay upgrading Service Mesh appliances until the operations have been completed, and plan the appliance upgrade during a separate maintenance window. This should be informed to VMware prior to the upgrade to review the Interop Matrix.
  • Upgrading the IX requires no migrations ongoing/scheduled for switchover.
  • Upgrading the NE requires a downtime, requiring 30 seconds or more to re-establish data traffic across extended networks.
  • In case of HCX NE HA, failover can happen within a few seconds or less. The actual time to forwarding traffic depends on the overall environment.
  • After completing the Service Mesh upgrade, the HCX manager snapshot rollback is not possible.
  • If an upgrade failure occurs, please request an uplift in case severity.

Environment

HCX

Resolution

Open a Upgrade Awareness Case via Broadcom Support.

The purpose of a proactive Upgrade Case is to prepare in advance for the HCX upgrade.

This is not an exhaustive health check of the environment, if this is required please engage VMware by Broadcom Professional Services.

*Please note: Broadcom Support will not be able to provide dedicated support to be on standby during the maintenance window.  If you experience issues during your scheduled change, please reach out on your proactive case and request an uplift in severity and the next available technical support engineer will contact you.

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