VMware Cloud Foundation 4.x to 5.x upgrade dependency on vSphere with Tanzu/WCP

Products

• VMware Cloud Foundation

Issue/Introduction

This article informs the users regarding the supported/un-supported paths on WCP-enabled VCF setups.

 

Symptoms:

On VMware Cloud Foundation environment with vSphere with Tanzu / WCP deployed/enabled, the vCenter Server upgrade is blocked when performing upgrade from VCF 4.3.X , 4.4.X, 4.5.0/1 to VCF 5.0 and VCF 4.4.X , 4.5.X to 5.1

Environment

Vmware Cloud Foundation 5.1
VMware Cloud Foundation 5.0
VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1.1

Cause

vCenter upgrade will be blocked when the source Tanzu Kubernetes release is not compatible with the target vCenter Server version.

Please refer vSphere with Tanzu - Upgrade, Support and Kubernetes Versions to get details of the supported Tanzu Kubernetes release with respect to vCenter Version.

Resolution

Follow the specific upgrade sequence based on the target VMware Cloud Foundation and Kubernetes versions.

Workaround:

While performing upgrade to VCF 5.1.1

For VCF 4.5.X
Note : Needs 2 vCenter Async Patches before upgrading to VCF 5.1.1

If the environment is on VCF 4.5.1 or VCF 4.5.2 and Supervisor cluster is on 1.23 then apply the Async patch to upgrade vCenter to 7.0.U3p and then upgrade the Supervisor cluster to 1.25 before upgrading to VCF 5.1.1.

If the environment is on VCF 4.5 and the Supervisor cluster is on 1.22 then apply the Async patch to upgrade the vCenter to 7.0.U3n and then upgrade the Supervisor cluster to 1.24. Once the Supervisor Cluster is on 1.24 then apply the Async patch to upgrade vCenter to 7.0.U3p and upgrade the Supervisor cluster to 1.25 before upgrading to VCF 5.1.1.

For VCF 4.4.X
Note : Needs 2 vCenter Async Patches before upgrading to VCF 5.1.1

If the environment is on VCF 4.4.X and the Supervisor cluster is on 1.21, apply Async patch to upgrade the vCenter to 7.0.U3l and then upgrade the Supervisor cluster to 1.23. Once the Supervisor Cluster is on 1.23 then apply the Async patch to upgrade vCenter to 7.0.U3p and upgrade the Supervisor cluster to 1.25 before upgrading to VCF 5.1.1.

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While performing upgrade to VCF 5.1

For VCF 4.5.X

If the environment is on VCF 4.5.1 or VCF 4.5.2 and Supervisor cluster is on 1.23 then apply the Async patch to upgrade vCenter to 7.0.U3n and then upgrade the Supervisor cluster to 1.24 before upgrading to VCF 5.1.

If the environment is on VCF 4.5 and the Supervisor cluster is on 1.22 then apply the Async patch to upgrade the vCenter to 7.0.U3n and then upgrade the Supervisor cluster to 1.24 before upgrading to VCF 5.1.

For VCF 4.4.X

If the environment is on VCF 4.4.X and the Supervisor cluster is on 1.21, upgrade to VCF 4.5.X and Supervisor cluster version to 1.22 before applying the Async patch to upgrade vCenter to 7.0.U3n. Post this upgrade the Supervisor cluster to 1.24 before upgrading to VCF 5.1.

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While performing upgrade to VCF 5.0

For VCF 4.5.X

If the environment is on VCF 4.5 and above, then upgrade Supervisor Cluster to 1.22 and proceed to upgrade to VCF 5.0.

For VCF 4.3.X and VCF 4.4.X

If vSphere with Tanzu /WCP is installed on VCF 4.3, skip upgrade to VCF 4.5.X and upgrade the Supervisor Cluster to 1.22 before upgrading to VCF 5.0.

For VCF 4.3.X and VCF 4.4.X the following are the options

• Option 1  

• Upgrade to VCF 4.5.X and Supervisor cluster 1.22 before upgrading to VCF 5.0.

• Option 2

• Use the VCF Async patch tool to patch the vCenter to minimum version of 7.0.U3f. Please refer Applying individual product updates to VMware Cloud Foundation environments using Async Patch Tool for more details.

• Upgrade Supervisor cluster to 1.22

• Upgrade to VCF 5.0 from VCF LCM

For VCF 4.3.X and VCF 4.4.X  and  have applied vCenter Async patch

• If the current vCenter version is lower than 7.0.U3f , use the VCF Async patch tool to patch the vCenter to minimum version of 7.0.U3f. Please refer Applying individual product updates to VMware Cloud Foundation environments using Async Patch Tool for more details

• Upgrade Supervisor cluster to 1.22

• Upgrade to VCF 5.0 from VCF LCM