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Dell EMC VxBlock 350 Converged Infrastructure VMware vSphere 6.0 to VMware vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Guide PDF

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Summary of Content for Dell EMC VxBlock 350 Converged Infrastructure VMware vSphere 6.0 to VMware vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Guide PDF

Dell EMC Converged System Upgrade Guide from VMware vSphere 6.0 to VMware vSphere 6.5

January 2021 Rev. 1.11

Notes, cautions, and warnings

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid

the problem.

WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.

2018 - 2021 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Revision history..........................................................................................................................................................................5

Chapter 1: Introduction................................................................................................................. 7

Chapter 2: Part I - Upgrade prerequisites......................................................................................8 Hardware, software, and license requirements............................................................................................................8 Upgrade best practices......................................................................................................................................................9 Required skills....................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Chapter 3: Part II - Pre-upgrade tasks..........................................................................................11 Downloading VMware vSphere files for upgrade........................................................................................................11 Backing up the system and hosts................................................................................................................................... 11 Upgrading components to the minimum required RCM versions........................................................................... 11 Preparing for the VMware vCenter Server upgrade................................................................................................. 12 Estimating upgrade time...................................................................................................................................................12 Pre-Upgrade Considerations for Enhanced Link Mode (ELM)............................................................................... 13

Chapter 4: Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5................................................................14 Upgrade recommendations..............................................................................................................................................14 Upgrading the AMP components................................................................................................................................... 14

VMware vCenter server components upgrade consideration scenarios........................................................ 14 Registering the vSphere Replication Appliance with vCenter Single Sign-On (PSC) [for AMP-2RP

only].............................................................................................................................................................................15 Upgrade the external VMware Platform Services Controller (PSC)...............................................................16 Upgrading the VMware NSX Environment............................................................................................................ 19 Upgrading the VMware vCenter Server Appliance from version 6.0 to version 6.5................................... 19 Migrating the VMware vCenter Server on Windows from version 6.0 to version 6.5...............................20

Upgrading VMware vSphere Replication Appliance (for AMP-2RP)....................................................................22 Pausing VMware vSphere AMP VM replication activity....................................................................................22 Take a snapshot of VMware vCenter Server Appliance and VMware vSphere Replication

Appliance................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Upgrading the VMware vSphere Replication Appliance.................................................................................... 22 Removing snapshots of VMware vCenter Server Appliance and VMware vSphere Replication

Appliance................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Resuming VMware vSphere AMP VM replication activity................................................................................ 23

Upgrading VMware vSphere ESXi hosts..................................................................................................................... 23 Upgrading AMP ESXi Hosts......................................................................................................................................23 Upgrading the Compute VMware vSphere ESXi hosts......................................................................................24 Verifying ESXi VIBs in the NSX environment....................................................................................................... 25 Taking a snapshot of all VMware vSphere Management VMs.........................................................................26

Upgrading the VMware vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS).................................................................................. 26 Updating AMP Management virtual machine VMware tools and virtual hardware version............................26

Chapter 5: Part IV - Post-upgrade tasks......................................................................................27 Installing the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in........................................................................................ 27

Contents

Contents 3

Re-registering the Solution in VMware vCenter Server after upgrade or migration........................................27 Verifying VMware vCenter Server Appliance.............................................................................................................28 Verify PSCs are configured in Enhanced Linked Mode (ELM).............................................................................. 28 Verify compliance with the RCM...................................................................................................................................29 Install VMware vCenter Server root certificates on the web browser................................................................29 Verifying VMware vSphere ESX/ESXi advanced settings......................................................................................30 Create Cisco UCS adapter settings..............................................................................................................................30 Create the VMQ connection configuration settings.................................................................................................30 Assign a virtualization preference to a vNIC...............................................................................................................31 Reviewing system security.............................................................................................................................................. 31 Removing the old management VMs............................................................................................................................ 31 Updating AMP VAPP and DRS Rules............................................................................................................................ 31 Performing a new full backup of the system..............................................................................................................32

4 Contents

Revision history

Date Document

revision

Description of changes

January 2021 1.11 Removed information about the Vblock System 720.

September 2019 1.10 Added information about External and Embedded PSCs. The following topics were modified: Part I - Upgrade prerequisites

Hardware software and license requirements Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5

Upgrade recommendations Upgrading the AMP components

VMware vCenter server components upgrade consideration scenarios Registering the vSphere Replication Appliance with vCenter Single Sign-On

(PSC) [for AMP-2RP only] Upgrading the External Platform Services Controller (PSC)

- (Optional) Deploy External PSCs and reconfigure vCenter Server to an external PSC

May 2019 1.9 Updated: Introduction Hardware, software, and license requirements VMware vCenter components upgrade consideration scenarios Upgrading the Compute VMware vSphere ESXi hosts

December 2018 1.8 Moved NSX 6.2.x to 6.4.x upgrade information to a standalone guide, including the following topics: NSX prerequisites Upgrading to NSX 6.4.x using Upgrade Coordinator Upgrading to NSX 6.4.x using the manual upgrade path Updating the DRS VM group for Controller clusters Verifying the VMware NSX upgrade is complete

Updated: Estimating Upgrade time Hardware software and license requirements Upgrading the VMware NSX environment Verifying ESXi VIBs in the NSX environment

November 2018 1.7 Updated the Introduction to include more information about the upgrade path.

September 2018 1.6 Updated Hardware, software, and license requirements.

September 2018 1.5 For VMware NSX 6.2 to 6.4 upgrade:

Updated: NSX prerequisites Upgrading to NSX 6.4.x using manual upgrade path Updating the External Platform Service Controllers Verifying ESXi VIBs in the NSX environment

Added: Upgrading to NSX 6.4.x using Upgrade Coordinator Verifying the VMware NSX upgrade is complete Updating the DRS VM group for Controller clusters

Updated Hardware, software, and license requirements for EH-285.

Revision history 5

Date Document

revision

Description of changes

May 2018 1.4 Hardware, software, and license requirements - updated second bullet item

Updating AMP VAPP and DRS rules - removed reference to vCenter HA.

Swapping the HBA card QLE2462 with the QLE2562 card - Added step to:

Enter PWWNs into the database. Activate MDS Zoneset. Commit the zone VSAN.

February 2018 1.3 Added support for VMware ELM 6.0 to 6.5 upgrade.

February 2018 1.2 Added support for VMware NSX 6.2 to 6.3 upgrade.

January 2018 1.1 Added Vblock 240 and VxBlock 240 and Vblock 720.

January 2018 1.0 Initial version

6 Revision history

Introduction Use this guide to upgrade Converged Systems from RCM releases that support VMware vSphere 6.0 to an RCM release that supports VMware vSphere 6.5. This document also provides prerequisites and strategies to minimize system downtime.

See the RCM Portal on the Dell EMC Technical Resource Center for supported RCM releases for the Converged Systems.

This upgrade procedure is for Converged Systems that include the VMware vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS).

The target audience for this document includes build teams, deployment and installation personnel, sales engineers, field consultants, advanced services specialists, and customers.

See the following table for information about other upgrade instructions:

To upgrade this product Document

VMware vSphere 6.0 or 6.5 to 6.7 Dell EMC Upgrade Guide from VMware vSphere 6.0 or VMware vSphere 6.5 to VMware vSphere 6.7

Vision Intelligent Operations Dell EMC Vision Intelligent Operations Upgrade Guide

One RCM release to another within the same RCM train, for example, upgrading from RCM release 6.5.x to the next 6.5.x release.

Dell EMC upgrade guide for the Converged System you need to upgrade

VxBlock Central Dell EMC VxBlock Central Upgrade Guide

NOTE: In this document, all upgrades are on AMP-2V/AMP-2P/AMP-2HA/AMP-2RP/AMP-2S.

NOTE: Starting with VMware vSphere 6.5, the Cisco Nexus 1000V is not supported. Dell EMC recommends migrating from

the Cisco Nexus 1000V switch to the VMware Virtual Distributed Switch (VDS) before upgrading to vSphere 6.5.

The Glossary provides terms, definitions, and acronyms.

1

Introduction 7

Part I - Upgrade prerequisites

Hardware, software, and license requirements This topic contains information about hardware, software, and license requirements for upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5.

Before upgrading a Converged System to VMware vSphere 6.5, review the following:

To upgrade to RCM 6.5.x without detrimental consequences to the system, the Converged System requires the following: A minimum Release Certification Matrix (RCM) of 6.0.15 VMware vSphere 6.0 Update 3 If the system does not have these prerequisites, upgrade to RCM 6.0.15 or higher, first, before proceeding with the upgrade to RCM 6.5.X.

For the upgrade to VMware vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) components, one temporary IP address is required. The IP address must be on the same subnet as the VMware vCenter Server and accessible by the current VMware vCenter Server environment. The temporary IP address is required to migrate configuration and services data to vCSA 6.5 from: VMware vCenter Server 6.0 PSC VMware vCenter Server for Windows vCSA

If the Platform Services Controller (PSC) is migrating from embedded to external, it requires two more permanent IP addresses.

Starting with VMware vSphere 6.5, VMware vCenter Server 6.0 running on Windows and vCSA 6.0 is upgraded and migrated to support vCSA 6.5 with Embedded PSCs or External PSCs.

NOTE: See the latest RCM for VMware vSphere support of Embedded PSCs.

NOTE: VMware vSphere 6.7 is the last VMware vSphere release to support the deployment of external VMware PSCs.

Updates to VMware vSphere 6.x support Enhanced Linked Mode in embedded VMware PSCs, making external VMware

PSCs no longer necessary. Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.7 update 1 or VMware vSphere 6.5 update 2d enables you

to migrate external VMware PSCs to embedded VMware PSCs. For more information about changing to embedded

VMware PSCs from external VMware PSCs, consult with your Dell Technologies Sales Engineer.

Vblock Systems must be migrated from an environment using Cisco Nexus 1000V Switch virtual switch to one using VMware VDS. Contact Support and Deploy Services (SDS) to migrate from the Cisco Nexus 1000V switch to VMware VDS.

For compute Cisco UCS B-Series Servers, Dell EMC recommends a boot LUN size of 15 GB to facilitate VMware vSphere ESXi core dumps. See the Administration Guide associated with your Converged System to extend the size of the LUN from 10-15 GB.

Verify that the firmware version of the Cisco UCS B and C-Series servers in your Converged System is compatible with VMware vSphere 6.5. See the Converged System Release Certification Matrix and the Converged System Release Notes for the release to which you are upgrading for more information.

If your Converged System is running a high-availability AMP, add memory to accommodate the increased hardware requirements of VMware vSphere 6.5 management VMs. The recommended memory for AMP servers is 128 GB. For AMP servers configured with 96 GB, evaluate the amount of active/consumed memory on the VM. If the active/consumed memory exceeds the amount of physical memory, you must upgrade to 128 GB.

Ensure that you review and comply with the license requirements as specified in the Converged System Release Notes for the release of software on your Converged System. For information about upgrading to other releases on other platforms, see the Software and Firmware Upgrade guide for your Converged System.

Verify that the new vCSA and PSC meet the hardware requirements, including the additional required disk storage and memory. See the System Requirements section of the VMware vSphere Upgrade documentation: https:// docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-upgrade-guide.pdf

Verify that all components are in a ready state and free from errors and alarms. Verify that Vision Intelligent Operations is at version 3.1.2 or higher. If you need to upgrade, see the appropriate Vision

Intelligent Operations Upgrade Guide.

2

8 Part I - Upgrade prerequisites

If you need to update VxBlock Central, see the VxBlock Central Upgrade Guide. If the environment has VMware NSX, upgrade to VMware NSX 6.4.x before upgrading VMware vCenter Server to 6.5.

VMware NSX 6.2.x is incompatible with VMware vCenter Server 6.5. See the Dell EMC Converged Systems Upgrade Guide from VMware NSX 6.2.x to VMware NSX 6.4.x for VMware NSX upgrade procedures. See the VMware compatibility Matrix for compatibility between NSX and vSphere: http://partnerweb.vmware.com/comp_guide2/sim/ interop_matrix.php#interop&2=2332,2136&93=2349,2528,2436

Upgrade best practices The following guidelines ensure minimum impact on the production traffic.

Use the following guidelines as you prepare for the upgrade:

Refer to the following important backup information: Best practices for upgrading to VMware vCenter Server 6.5: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2147686 Important information before upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2147548

Plan and prepare for the VMware vSphere 6.5 upgrade to ensure minimum impact on production traffic. Review this entire upgrade document and each referenced document before you begin the upgrade. Follow your companys best practices for performing upgrades. If possible, perform the upgrade during scheduled

maintenance windows. Schedule adequate downtime for system maintenance. Downtime applies to all virtual infrastructure hosts and servers,

including the virtual machines (VMs) that are running in the environment. Power down the VMs before upgrading to the latest recommended virtual hardware version. Also, you may need to restart VMs after completing the VMware Tools upgrade.

For AMP-2V running along with production workload, plan and prepare for the upgrade to ensure minimum impact to production workload.

For components in a cluster configuration, upgrade and verify the subordinate component before you upgrade the primary component. After you successfully upgrade the subordinate and primary components, verify the status of the components again to ensure that there are no new alarms.

Do not change the system configuration during the upgrade. Check that network time protocol (NTP) is properly configured and functioning on all upgrade-related components or

services. Ensure that clocks (time, time zone, and dates) on all hosts and that AMP VMs are synchronized before beginning the upgrade.

Verify that Domain Name Service (DNS) (including type A and PTR records) and any local hosts files are properly configured for all upgrade-related components or services.

Verify that the domain user account has the following permissions if the operating system is joined to the active directory domain: Is a member of the Administrators group. Acts as part of the operating system. Logs on as a service.

Verify that the Network Service account has read permission on the folder in which VMware vCenter Server is installed and on the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM) registry.

Verify that the connection between the host machine and the domain controller is working. When upgrading the VNXe software used for management, check the lockdown status on all management ESXi servers. If

the lockdown status is enabled, disable it before upgrading and enable it after upgrading. Active solutions like VMware vCenter Server or NSX manager should not point to the PSC during an upgrade. Verify the SSO and OS do not have the same root password You do not need to break the partnership between PSCs to upgrade the Enhanced Link Mode (ELM) configuration..

Required skills To perform the upgrade, you should have the following knowledge and technical skills:

Microsoft Windows administration as required by the system architecture Virtual machine technology and data center operations Converged Systems concepts and terminology Converged Systems troubleshooting skills

If there is a question regarding abilities and skills, engage Professional Services to perform the upgrade.

Part I - Upgrade prerequisites 9

In addition to these skills, you must:

Have a computer with network access to the Converged Systems and the management systems. Understand the entire upgrade process before you upgrade the Converged Systems.

10 Part I - Upgrade prerequisites

Part II - Pre-upgrade tasks

Downloading VMware vSphere files for upgrade This procedure explains how to download the files needed to upgrade to VMware vSphere 6.5. Each item is listed in the Converged System RCM 6.5.

Downloading the VMware vSphere 6.5 software

Download the following files on a Vblock System or VxBlock System from the Flexera Download Center:

VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 ISO VMware vSphere Replication ISO image Dell EMC Custom ESXi 6.5 ISOs (AMP and Compute)

NOTE: For AMP Management VMware vSphere ESXi hosts only, ensure the image does not contain PowerPath modules.

Backing up the system and hosts This procedure explains the order in which you should back up systems and hosts.

Use this procedure to back up Converged Systems and hosts:

1. Back up the Converged System configuration and hosts. Refer to the appropriate Administration Guide for instructions. Follow the backup procedures for your organizations.

2. Back up the VMware vCenter Server database on the AMP. Windows with SQL DB use the procedure following the procedure in the KB article: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/

2012138 For vCSA 6.0 follow the procedure outlined in the KB article: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2091961

3. Back up PSCs using procedure from the following KB article: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2110294 4. Back up vCSA 6.0 certificates on the AMP. For Windows using external SSL certificates, make a copy of the SSL folder. The

default path is C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter. 5. Perform a visual inspection of all hardware components to verify that there are no visible faults indicated by amber lights. All

components should be in ready state and free from errors and alarms. 6. NOTE: Perform the management VMs cloning during the maintenance window.

7. If you have an NSX environment, back up the NSX manager and the configuration of each VDS. Refer to NSX Backup and Restore.https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-NSX-for-vSphere/6.4/com.vmware.nsx.upgrade.doc/ GUID-72EFCAB1-0B10-4007-A44C-09D38CD960D3.html

Upgrading components to the minimum required RCM versions Upgrade all Converged System components, except the VMware components, to the required versions in the Converged System Release 6.5 RCM to which you are upgrading.

See the respective Converged Systems Software and Firmware Upgrade Guides for your Converged System for information about the process and order of upgrading these components.

3

Part II - Pre-upgrade tasks 11

Preparing for the VMware vCenter Server upgrade To prepare for the VMware vCenter Server upgrade, address the customer-specific configuration requirements.

Steps

1. Refer to following information to estimate the upgrade time:

Estimating the time for migration of VMware vCenter Server 6.0 to VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.5: https:// kb.vmware.com/s/article/2147711.

2. Review the following sections in the VMware vSphere Upgrade documentation.

System Requirements in the section Upgrading the vCenter Server Appliance and Platform Services Controller Appliance System Requirements for Migrating vCenter Server Deployments to vCenter Server Appliance Deployments

Estimating upgrade time Review the following considerations to ensure that you provide adequate scheduled maintenance windows to complete the upgrade.

Use the following table to calculate the time to upgrade the software and firmware on each component. If the Converged System that you are upgrading does not have a specific component in the table, skip that component.

For cluster configurations, include both the primary and the subordinate components in the calculated time for the component.

Plan your upgrade maintenance windows according to your environment. Do not upgrade all hosts at the same time. Retain an adequate number of hosts in a connected state to reduce impact to production traffic.

For each upgrade task, record the total estimated upgrade time in the Your Calculated Time of the following table.

NOTE: The estimates do not include the time for preparation, configuration, backup, and download. Estimated times are

may differ depending on applications running on your Converged System.

Order Component Minimum upgrade time (minutes)

Restart Required Your Calculated Time

1 VMware vCenter Server Appliance with external Platform Services Controller

60 Yes

2 VMware vSphere Replication Appliance (AMP-2RP only)

60 Yes

3 VMware vCenter for Windows Migrate or vCSA upgrade

60 Yes

4 VMware ESXi hosts 35 per host Yes

5 Virtual Machines hardware version and VMware Tools

10 Yes

The following are time estimates for migration of VMware vCenter Server 6.0 to VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.5. Refer to the following KB article: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2147711

Database size 40 GB 75 GB 150 GB 250 GB

Migrating inventory and configuration data only (7 GB database)

30 minutes 30 minutes 30 minutes 30 minutes

Migrating inventory, configuration, event, and task data

1 hour, 4 minutes 1 hour, 49 minutes 3 hours, 19 minutes 5 hours, 48 minutes

Migrating all data (including performance

1 hour, 40 minutes 3 hours, 8 minutes 6 hours, 22 minutes 10 hours, 45 minutes

12 Part II - Pre-upgrade tasks

Database size 40 GB 75 GB 150 GB 250 GB

and other historical data)

Pre-Upgrade Considerations for Enhanced Link Mode (ELM) Consider the following before starting the Enhanced Link Mode (ELM) upgrade.

If you have PSCs configured in ELM, consider the points below before proceeding with the upgrade Upgrading a VxBlock System in a VMware vSphere 6.0 ELM configuration requires a corresponding upgrade for any other

VxBlock System joined to the same VMware vSphere SSO domain. Create a backup of all PSCs configured in ELM. Create simultaneous backups of all PSCs and VMware vCenter Servers

participating in the ELM ring topology. Inventory and document all PSCs and VMware vCenter Servers participating in the same SSO domain before upgrade. Configure NTP for all PSCs. Verify that no active VMware vCenter Server points to the PSC during the upgraded. Verify the current status of the PSC by logging into the web interface for each PSC https:// :5480 using

the username root and the Dell EMC standard password unless otherwise noted.

Navigate to the summary screen. Verify that the build version is correct. Verify that the Overall Health status is Good. Verify that the SSO Domain Status is RUNNING. If either status does not meet the above conditions, do not proceed with the upgrade until the PCSs meet these

conditions. Enable SSH access to the PSC.

NOTE: Make sure the partner server is 0 changes behind. If any of the PSCs are not synchronized with each other,

do not proceed with the upgrade until all PSCs display Partner is 0 changes behind. Refer to Verifying PSC and

PSC Partner Status in the Administration Guide for your Converged System.

Part II - Pre-upgrade tasks 13

Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5

Upgrade recommendations Some Converged System components are optional or specific to a customer environment. If the Converged System that you are upgrading does not have a specific component, skip that component. When the component is in a cluster configuration, upgrade the subordinate component before you upgrade the primary component.

Upgrade the AMP before upgrading the Converged System. You can upgrade the AMP in a separate maintenance window.

Make sure your Converged System is upgraded according to the RCM. See Upgrading components to the minimum required RCM versions.

NOTE: VMware vSphere 6.7 is the last VMware vSphere release to support the deployment of external VMware PSCs.

Updates to VMware vSphere 6.x support Enhanced Linked Mode in embedded VMware PSCs, making external VMware

PSCs no longer necessary. Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.7 update 1 or VMware vSphere 6.5 update 2d enables you to

migrate external VMware PSCs to embedded VMware PSCs. For more information about changing to embedded VMware

PSCs from external VMware PSCs, consult with your Dell Technologies Sales Engineer.

Upgrading the AMP components The topics in this section explain how to upgrade the AMP components.

VMware vCenter server components upgrade consideration scenarios

This topic provides scenarios for upgrading VMware vCenter Server components.

NOTE: Dell EMC does not support the following two target upgrade/migrations:

VMware vCenter Server 6.0 on Windows/vCSA with Embedded SSO to VMware vCenter Server 6.5 with embedded PSC VMware vCenter Server 6.0 on Windows to VMware vCenter Server 6.5 on Windows

NOTE: VMware vSphere 6.7 is the last VMware vSphere release to support the deployment of external VMware PSCs.

Updates to VMware vSphere 6.x support Enhanced Linked Mode in embedded VMware PSCs, making external VMware

PSCs no longer necessary. Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.7 update 1 or VMware vSphere 6.5 update 2d enables you

to migrate external VMware PSCs to embedded VMware PSCs. For more information about changing to embedded

VMware PSCs from external VMware PSCs, consult with your Dell Technologies Sales Engineer.

As a part of the upgrade, these components are converted as noted in the Destination VMware vSphere 6.5U1C or higher column of the next table.

NOTE: If upgrading a system with multiple VMware vCenter Servers in the same domain, complete the steps on each

VMware vCenter Server. Repeat each procedure on each VMware vCenter Server one at a time.

The following table describes supported scenarios:

Scenario Source VMware vSphere 6.0 Destination VMware vSphere 6.5U1C or higher

vCSA with External PSC

VMware vCenter Server Appliance External PSC

VMware vCenter Server Appliance External PSC

4

14 Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5

Scenario Source VMware vSphere 6.0 Destination VMware vSphere 6.5U1C or higher

Embedded database External VUM

Embedded DB-Postgres Internal VUM

vCSA with Embedded PSC

VMware vCenter Server Appliance

Embedded PSC Embedded database External VUM

VMware vCenter Server Appliance

Embedded PSC (see the supported RCM) Embedded DB-Postgres Internal VUM

vCenter for Windows with External PSC

VMware vCenter for Windows

External PSC External database External VUM

VMware vCenter Server Appliance

External PSC Embedded DB-Postgres Internal VUM

vCenter for Windows with

Embedded PSC

VMware vCenter for Windows

Embedded PSC External database External VUM

VMware vCenter Server Appliance

Embedded PSC (see the supported RCM) Embedded DB-Postgres Internal VUM

vCSA with vCenter

Replication appliance -

Embedded PSC

VMware vCenter Server Appliance with VMware vSphere vCenter Replication Appliance

Embedded PSC Embedded database External VUM vSRA

VMware vCenter Server Appliance with VMware vSphere vCenter Replication Appliance

Embedded PSC (see the supported RCM) Embedded database Internal VUM vSRA

NOTE: If deploying, upgrading, migrating, or restoring to VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 release fails, see the

following KB article: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/51124

Registering the vSphere Replication Appliance with vCenter Single Sign-On (PSC) [for AMP-2RP only]

After migrating to the external PSC, register the Replication Appliance with vCenter Single Sign-On (SSO). This task is applicable for AMP-2RP only.

About this task

CAUTION: Perform this procedure only if your migration included an External PSC.

Steps

1. Use a supported browser to log in to the VMware vSphere Replication Virtual Appliance Management Interface (VAMI). Use the following URL for the VAMI:

https://vr-appliance-address:5480 2. Type the root user name and password for the appliance.

3. Click the Configuration tab.

4. In the LookupService Address text box, enter the IP address or domain name of the VMware vCenter SSO (PSC) server where the lookup service runs.

5. Enter the credentials of a user with administrator privileges to VMware vCenter SSO.

NOTE: Initially, only the user administrator@vsphere.local has these privileges.

6. Click Save, then Restart Service.

Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5 15

Upgrade the external VMware Platform Services Controller (PSC)

Upgrade the external PSC from version 6.0 to version 6.5 before upgrading VMware vCenter Server.

About this task

Dell EMC suggests upgrading the secondary PSC first and then the primary PSC. After upgrading the secondary PSC, repoint the VMware vCenter to the upgraded secondary PSC. The primary PSC is then upgraded and then VMware vCenter Server is repointed to primary PSC.

NOTE: If the environment has VMware NSX, repoint the NSX Manager to the primary PSC after the successful upgrade.

Follow the instructions provided in VMware KB: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2113917

Steps

1. Log in to the PSC GUI https://PSC-FQDN:5480 using the root password. Change the root password to a temporary password. Refer to the following KB article: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2150683.

NOTE: A long-term root password is set during the appliance deployment GUI.

2. Download the vCSA installer ISO file and mount it to a network VM or physical server from which you want to perform the image upgrade: VMware-VCSA-all-version- - .iso

3. Confirm that the md5sum is correct.

4. Mount or extract the ISO image to the client machine from which you want to upgrade the appliance.

5. In the vCSA installation directory found in Windows explorer, go to the vcsa-ui-installer\win32 folder, click installer.exe.

6. Click Upgrade to proceed.

7. Accept the license agreement.

8. Upgrade the existing PSC appliance using the information in the following table:

Connect to source appliance Selection

Appliance FQDN or IP address FQDN of secondary PSC

Appliance HTTPS port 443 (default)

Appliance (operating system) root password Root password

VMware vCenter Server name vCenter FQDN

HTTPS port 443 (default)

User name administrator@vsphere.local

Password SSO password

SSL Cert Accept SSL Cert warning

Appliance deployment target Selection

VMware ESXi host or VMware vCenter Server name vCenter FQDN

HTTPS port 443 (default)

VMware vCenter User name administrator@vsphere.local

SSO Password SSO password

Setup Target Appliance VM Selection

VM Name New temporary secondary PSC VM name

root password Root password - confirm the password

Select Datastore Selection

Datastore PSC Storage location

16 Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5

Select Datastore Selection

Enable Thin Disk mode Thin Disk Mode

Configure network settings Selection

Network ESXi MGMT VLAN

IP Version IPv4

IP Assignment Static

Temporary IP Address Temporary IP address on the ESX MGMT subnet

Subnet Mask or Prefix Length Subnet mask

Default Gateway Default GW on the ESX MGMT subnet

DNS Server DNS server IP address

9. Follow the wizard and set up the newly deployed PSC appliance. Follow the instructions to repoint the VMware vCenter Server to the upgraded secondary PSC in the same domain provided in VMware KB: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/ 2113917.

NOTE: For systems with VMware NSX, follow the tasks to point the NSX Manager to secondary PSC.

Pointing NSX Manager to secondary PSC

For systems with NSX follow this task to point the NSX Manager to the upgraded secondary PSC.

Steps

1. Open the browser and enter FQDN or the IP address of each NSX Manager.

2. Login using admin credentials.

3. Click Manage vCenter Registration.

4. Click edit under Lookup Service URL.

5. Type FQDN and SSO admin credentials of the upgraded secondary PSC. Click OK.

6. Click Yes to Accept Trust Certificate to complete the registration.

7. Follow the instructions to repoint the vCenter to the upgraded primary PSC in the same domain provided in VMware KB: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2113917

Pointing NSX Manager to the primary PSC

For systems with NSX, use this procedure to repoint NSX Manager to the upgraded primary PSC.

Steps

1. Open a browser and enter the FQDN or IP address of each NSX Manager.

2. Log in using admin credentials.

3. Click Manage vCenter Registration.

4. Click edit under Lookup Service URL.

5. Enter the FQDN and SSO admin credentials of the upgraded PSC and click OK.

6. To complete the registration, click Yes when prompted to Accept Trust Certificate.

Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5 17

Deploy External PSCs and reconfigure the VMware vCenter Server to an external PSC (Optional)

Use this procedure to deploy external PSCs, and reconfigure the VMware vCenter Server to an external PSC. This procedure applies if the PSC services are embedded with the VMware vCenter Server.

About this task

CAUTION: Perform this procedure only if you require External PSC deployment.

Before deploying external PSCs, migrate the VMware vCenter Server with the embedded SSO from version 6.0 to version 6.5. See Upgrading the vCenter Server from version 6.0 to version 6.5.

Steps

1. Deploy a new PSC connecting with the existing SSO domain running embedded to the vCSA. This step requires more hostnames (VM names) and IP addresses. Use the steps that are documented in VMware documentation Deploy a Platform Services Controller Appliance by using the GUI: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/ com.vmware.vsphere.install.doc/GUID-DDC08EBF-425E-4E22-AA9C-CA0303D21A83.html

2. The following are recommended wizard settings to deploy the PSC:

Stage 1 Wizard Settings:

Appliance deployment target Selection

VMware vSphere ESXi host or VMware vCenter Server name

Target host address

HTTPS port 443

User Name root

Password root password

Setup Target Appliance VM Selection

VM Name New appliance VM name

Root Password root password

Confirm root password Confirm root password.

Select datastore Selection

Datastore VCSA storage location

Appliance size Select Medium for most implementations. If the configuration exceeds 400 hosts and 4000 VM limits, select Large.

Enable Thin Disk mode Check Thin Disk Mode

Network settings Selection

Network VMware vSphere ESXi Management Network

IP version IPV4

IP Assignment Static

Temporary IP Address temporary IP address

Subnet Mask or Prefix Length subnet mask

Default Gateway default gateway

DNS Server DNS server IP address

Stage 2 Wizard Settings

18 Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5

Appliance Configuration Selection

Time Synchronization mode Synchronize time with the NTP server.

NTP Server NTP server IP

SSO Configuration Join existing SSO domain.

Platform service controller Embedded PSC IP/FQDN

HTTPS port 443 (default)

SSO domain name sphere.local

SSO user name administrator

SSO Password SSO password

SSO Site Name Default-first-site /site name that is given in vSphere 6.0

Configure CEIP Optional

NOTE: If the VMware vCenter Server is a member of an Active Directory, add the newly deployed PSC into same active

directory domain.

Follow the VMware KB article https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2127057 to verify the replication agreement and status

with PSCs.

3. After you deploy the PSC, reconfigure the vCSA 6.5 to the external PSC so that vCSA 6.5 is pointing to the external PSC.

4. See the following VMware documentation: Reconfigure a Standalone vCenter Server with an Embedded Platform Services Controller to a vCenter Server with an External Platform Services Controller: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware- vSphere/6.5/com.vmware.vsphere.install.doc/GUID-E7DFB362-1875-4BCF-AB84-4F21408F87A6.html

5. Repeat Step 1 to deploy the secondary PSC and join to the new external PSC domain to make it a replication partner.

Upgrading the VMware NSX Environment

VMware NSX 6.4.x or higher is required before continuing the VMware vSphere or vCenter upgrade to version 6.5.

If VMware NSX 6.2.x is in your environment, see the Dell EMC VxBlock Systems Upgrade Guide from VMware NSX 6.2.x to VMware NSX 6.4.x.

Upgrading the VMware vCenter Server Appliance from version 6.0 to version 6.5

Upgrading the VMware vCenter Server Appliance

Use this procedure to upgrade the VCSA with external VUM to VCSA 6.5 with integrated VUM.

About this task

Before the upgrade, you must run the migrations assistant tool on the VUM server to collect the required data and integrate with vCSA 6.5.

Perform this upgrade only if you can resolve vCSA FQDN using DNS. Make sure all the prerequisites of DNS/FQDN and NTP are configured according to VMware guidelines.

The VMware vCenter server appliance upgrade process runs in three stages: Stage1 - Run the migrations assistant tool on the VUM server to collect the required data and integrate with VCSA 6.5. Stage 2 - Launch the upgrade to deploy the vCSA 6.5. Stage 3 - Point to the existing PSC and migrate the data to newly deployed vCSA.

Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5 19

Steps

1. Log in to the vCSA GUI (https://VCSA-FQDN:5480) using the root password and change the root password to a temporary password. Set the root password to a longer term password during the appliance deployment GUI.

2. Verify that all prerequisites are performed as indicated in the Before Upgrading vCenter Server topic of the VMware vSphere Upgrade documentation: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65- upgrade-guide.pdf.

3. Identify the IP address on same subnet as the existing vCSA VM for temporary assignment during the upgrade process.

4. Mount the vCSA 6.5 Installer ISO on the VUM and copy the Migration Assistant folder on the ISO to the VUM Windows machine. Run VMWare-Migration-Assistant.exe from the local copy. Enter the SSO password in the dialog box and follow the instructions for a VCSA upgrade.

5. Perform the tasks that are outlined in the Upgrading the vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 to 6.5 in the VMware vSphere Upgrade documentation: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-upgrade- guide.pdf.

NOTE: If the configuration requires a VMware vCenter ESXi host with the following characteristics, the appliance

deploy size must be large or extra large:

More than 512 LUNs

More than 2048 paths to the vCenter server appliance

Repeat the VMware vCenter upgrade/migration procedure for other VMware vCenters Servers in the same domain. Repeat each procedure on each VMware vCenter Server one at a time.

6. After the vCSA upgrade is complete, log in to the VMware vSphere Web Client to validate that the vCSA is operational. For example: https:// /vSphere-client

NOTE: The following is a known issue: During phase 2 of the vCSA upgrade (importing data from the update manager

machine to the new vCSA) you might encounter the following error:

Error attempting Vcintegrity Export file does not exist or is corrupted, abort import

According to VMware KB: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2150982 this issue occurs when you import the VUM information which is running on a separate Windows machine.

Migrating the VMware vCenter Server on Windows from version 6.0 to version 6.5

Migrating from the VMware vCenter 6.0 Server running on Windows to vCSA 6.5

Use this procedure to upgrade VMware vCenter Server running on Microsoft Windows.

About this task

Use this procedure to migrate the VMware vCenter Server with external VUM and External Microsoft SQL database and validate the installation.

Prerequisites

Before you migrate the Windows-based VMware vCenter, upgrade PSCs as described in Upgrading the Platform Services Controller Appliance. Follow the Migrating vCenter Server for Windows to vCSA in the VMware vSphere Upgrade documentation in Chapter-4: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-upgrade- guide.pdf

Steps

1. Verify that the VMware vCenter Server configuration and database are backed up.

2. Follow the VMware KB article https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2148010 to set the Process Level Token for the vcenterSA user. As the vcenterSA user, replace the Process Level Token under Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy > Local Policies > User Rights Assignment > Add > Replace a process level token. Add the VMNAME\vcenterSA user.

20 Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5

3. Mount the vCSA 6.5 Installer ISO on the VUM. Log in to the VUM Server through RDP as a vumSA user. Copy the Migration Assistant folder on the VUM Windows machine and run VMWare-Migration-Assistant.exe.

a. Copy the Migration Assistant folder on the VUM Windows machine. b. Run VMWare-Migration-Assistant.exe.

c. Enter the SSO password in the dialog box. Go to the next step to run the Migration Assistant on the vCenter server.

4. Mount the vCSA 6.5 Installer ISO on the VMware vCenter 6.5. Log in to VMware vCenter Server through RDP as a vCenterSA user.

a. Copy the Migration Assistant folder on the desktop. b. Run the VMWare-Migration-Assistant.exe.

c. Enter the SSO password, then the vCenterSA password when prompted with the dialog box. d. Make a note of the recommended size (or larger) to use in a subsequent step in this task.

NOTE: You get an error stating add process level token. As the vcenterSA user, replace the Process Level

Token under Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy > Local Policies > User Rights

Assignment. See the following: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2148010

5. Mount the vCSA 6.5 Installer ISO on the Element Manager machine. Connect to the Element Manager using RDP and run the CDROM:/vcsa-ui-installer/win32/installer.exe.

6. Select Migrate in the Installer.

a. Click Next on the introduction page. b. Accept EULA, and click Next. c. Dell EMC suggests entering the VMware vCenter Server FQDN. Or you can enter the IP address and leave the Migration

Assistant port to default (for example, 9123). Enter the SSO credentials, and click Next. d. Click YES on SSL certificate warning. e. From the Appliance Deployment Target page, enter the VMware vCenter FQDN with SSO login credentials. f. Accept the Certificate Warning by clicking YES. g. Select the Virtual Datacenter where the Target ESXi (AMP) is present and click Next. h. Select the ESXi host, and click Next on the Select Compute resource page. i. On the Setup Target appliance VM page, enter a VM name for VMware vCenter Server Appliance and enter the root

password. j. Select the deployment size as per the client size and click Next depending on the existing implementation (usually

Medium). If the configuration exceeds 400 hosts and 4000 VM limits, then select Large. k. Select the target datastore for VMware vCenter Server and check Enable Thin Disk mode and click Next. l. On Configure network settings page, keep the values listed in the following table:

Wizard setting Selection

Network vcesys_esx_mgmt

IP Version IPV4

IP Assignment Static

Temporary IP Address Temporary IP address

Subnet Mask or Prefix Length Subnet mask

Default Gateway Default GW

DNS Server Enter a list of DNS server IP addresses, separating the addresses with commas.

m. Verify the given details, and click Finish.

7. After the deployment finishes, click Continue.

8. Click Next on the Introduction page.

9. Close the warning.

10. If the VMware vCenter is a member of an Active Directory, you are prompted to enter an AD user ID. The user ID must have permissions to add a host to the AD domain and must have the following format: user@ADdomainName

11. On the Select Migration data, select the option that is based on the system requirements and click Next.

12. Review the settings, check the box for backup, and click Finish.

13. Click OK to continue on the Warning.

The wizard continues to migrate data, after which it:

Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5 21

Powers off the old VMware vCenter Server Starts the vCSA 6.5 with an internal vPostgress database and internal VUM

NOTE: During the process of data migration, there is a service disruption to the VMware vCenter Server logins.

However, all VMware vCenter operations are not affected.

NOTE: Repeat the VMware vCenter upgrade and migration procedure for other VMware vCenter in the same domain.

Repeat each procedure on each VMware vCenter one at a time.

Upgrading VMware vSphere Replication Appliance (for AMP-2RP) This task applies to AMP-2RP only. If you do not have AMP-2RP, skip this section and refer to Upgrading the AMP components.

Pausing VMware vSphere AMP VM replication activity

Before upgrading AMP-2RP components, pause the VMware vSphere AMP VM replication activity.

Use the following steps to pause VMware vSphere AMP VM replication activity:

1. Log in to the VMware vCenter Server Appliance using the VMware vSphere Web Client and click Home. 2. Select vSphere Replication on the left pane. 3. Ensure that the Home tab is selected and select the vCSA instance. 4. Select the Monitor tab. 5. Select Incoming Replications. 6. Right-click a management VM and click Pause. Repeat this step for each management VM. 7. Terminate the replication for the VMware vCenter Server Appliance VM. Right-click the VMware vCenter Server Appliance

and click Stop.

Take a snapshot of VMware vCenter Server Appliance and VMware vSphere Replication Appliance

Take a snapshot of the VMware vCenter Server Appliance and VMware vSphere Replication Appliance.

1. From the vSphere Web Client click Home > Hosts and Clusters. 2. Right-click the VMware vCenter Server Appliance VM and select Take Snapshot. 3. Type an appropriate name and description and click OK. 4. Repeat these steps for the VMware vSphere Replication Appliance VM.

Upgrading the VMware vSphere Replication Appliance

Use this procedure to upgrade the VMware vSphere Replication Appliance.

NOTE: Before you initiate an upgrade, verify that the VMware vSphere Replication Appliance has an OVF environment or

context. Refer to Checking and Restoring the OVF Context of the vSphere Replication Appliance (2106709).

Before upgrading the VMware vSphere Replication Appliance, update the vCSA to version 6.5.

CAUTION: Do not select the Update > Settings option in the VAMI to automatically update the VMware vSphere

Replication Appliance. If you select automatic updates, VAMI updates VMware vSphere Replication Appliance to

the latest version. Leave the setting at No automatic updates.

1. Review VMware vSphere Replication 6.5 Release Notes for known issues and workarounds before continuing the upgrade. 2. Verify that all prerequisites are performed as indicated in the Upgrading vSphere Replication section of the VMware vSphere

Replication Administration documentation.

3. Refer to the Upgrade vSphere Replication by Using the Downloadable ISO Image section of the VMware vSphere Replication Administration documentation for the upgrade procedure.

22 Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5

4. After the upgrade is complete, log in to the vCSA using the VMware vSphere Web Client. Verify that the VMware vSphere Replication Appliance can authenticate with the vCSA.

NOTE: You may need to restart the VMware vSphere Web Client service in the VAMI for the replication actions to be

displayed in the vCSA.

Removing snapshots of VMware vCenter Server Appliance and VMware vSphere Replication Appliance

Remove snapshots of the VMware vCenter Server Appliance and vSphere Replication Appliance.

Use the following steps to remove snapshots of the VMware vCenter Server Appliance and vSphere Replication Appliance:

1. From the vSphere Web Client, click Home > Hosts and Clusters. 2. Right-click the VMware vCenter Server Appliance VM and select Manage Snapshots. 3. Select the snapshot to remove and click Delete. 4. Repeat these steps for the VMware vSphere Replication Appliance VM.

Resuming VMware vSphere AMP VM replication activity

To resume VMware vSphere AMP VM Replication activity, use this procedure.

1. Log in to the vCSA using the VMware vSphere Web Client. 2. Click Home > vSphere Replication > Monitor. 3. Click Incoming Replications. 4. Select the VM and right-click resume. 5. Repeat the step for all the Management VMs to resume the replication. 6. Verify that the replication for all VMs resumes successfully. 7. Also, configure replication for the newly created VMs such as the PSCs and vCSA 6.5.

Upgrading VMware vSphere ESXi hosts This section defines the workflow for upgrading to VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5. AMP hosts will be upgraded separately from compute hosts

Upgrading AMP ESXi Hosts

Complete this task to update the AMP VMware vSphere ESXi hosts.

About this task

Before upgrading the AMP Management VMware vSphere ESXi hosts, be aware of the following considerations: Although VMware provides several ways to upgrade VMware vSphere ESXi hosts, you use VUM and a custom VMware

vSphere AMP-specific ESXi ISO image to upgrade the hosts in the Converged System. Verify that PowerPath modules are not present. If they exist, remove them before proceeding with the upgrade.

NOTE: This statement does not apply to AMP-2V because it utilizes production servers.

If upgrading a non-HA AMP (AMP with a single Cisco UCS C-Series Server) shut down all the AMP VMs and upgrade the Cisco UCS C-Series Server interactively. Use the AMP-specific ESXi ISO image obtained in Pre-upgrade tasks. Refer to the Upgrade Hosts Interactively section of the VMware vSphere Upgrade documentation: https://docs.vmware.com/en/ VMware-vSphere/6.5/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-upgrade-guide.pdf.

If you have DPM, HA admission control, or Fault Tolerance enabled, temporarily disable these features in the Remediation Cluster Settings to make sure that the remediation is successful.

If the VUM displays a warning about incompatibility, confirm the NTP client is configured. If it is not, for each host configure NTP, reboot, and rescan against the AMP-specific VMware vSphere ESXi ISO upgrade image. Refer to Configuring the NTP client section in the Converged System Administration Guide.

Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5 23

If the VUM displays upgrade warnings you cannot resolved, you may need to upgrade the hosts interactively. Refer to the Upgrade Hosts Interactively section of the VMware vSphere Upgrade documentation: https://docs.vmware.com/en/ VMware-vSphere/6.5/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-upgrade-guide.pdf.

If upgrading an HA AMP, place one of the Cisco UCS C-Series Servers in maintenance mode and upgrade the VMware vSphere ESXi host: Ensure that you have access to the AMP-specific VMware vSphere ESXi ISO image obtained in the pre-upgrade tasks. Use VUM to complete the upgrade to VMware vSphere 6.5. Refer to the Using the Remediate Hosts against an Upgrade

Baseline section of the Installing and Administering VMware vSphere Update Manager documentation. https:// docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/vsphere-update-manager-651-install-administration-guide.pdf

Prerequisites

Perform the following steps to upgrade VMware vSphere ESXi hosts with the following AMPs: AMP-2RP, AMP-2HA, AMP-2P and AMP-2S.

NOTE: For AMP-2V skip this section and continue to the topic Upgrading Compute VMware vSphere ESXi hosts.

Steps

1. Record all VMware vSphere ESXi host and datastore locations of all management AMP VMs, which may be needed for the end of the procedure.

2. Perform a vMotion on all AMP VMs from the primary management VMware vSphere ESXi host to the secondary management VMware vSphere ESXi host using VMware vSphere Web Client. For AMP-2RP, change both the host and the datastore.

3. Place the primary AMP host in maintenance mode.

4. Ensure that you have access to the custom ISO image obtained in the pre-upgrade tasks. Upgrade the Management VMware vSphere ESXi primary host. Refer the section Upgrade Hosts Interactively at https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware- vSphere/6.5/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-upgrade-guide.pdf.

5. Verify the VMware vSphere ESXi host reconnects to VMware vCenter successfully and exit maintenance mode.

NOTE: If the VMware vSphere ESXi host does not reconnect, restart the VMware vCenter Agent to reconnect to the

vCSA.

6. Perform a vMotion on all AMP VMs from the secondary management VMware vSphere ESXi host to the primary management VMware vSphere ESXi host using VMware vSphere Web Client. For AMP-2RP, change both the host and datastore.

7. Place the secondary AMP host in maintenance mode.

8. Ensure that you have access to the custom ISO image obtained in the pre-upgrade tasks. Upgrade the Management VMware vSphere ESXi secondary host. Refer the section Upgrade Hosts Interactively at https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware- vSphere/6.5/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-upgrade-guide.pdf

9. Verify that the VMware vSphere ESXi host reconnects to VMware vCenter successfully and exit maintenance mode.

NOTE: If the VMware ESXi host does not reconnect, restart the VMware vCenter Agent to reconnect to the vCSA.

10. Perform a vMotion on all AMP VMs to the VMware ESXi host locations recorded in Step 1. For an AMP-2RP configuration, restore the VMs to their original VMware vSphere ESXi host and datastore locations for replications to resume.

11. Repeat this process for any other Cisco UCS C-Series Server.

Upgrading the Compute VMware vSphere ESXi hosts

This topic provides the guidelines and instructions for upgrading the compute VMware vSphere ESXi hosts.

About this task

ESXi ISOs are loaded into Update Manager, baselines are created, and ESXi upgrades are run on compute hosts.

Prerequisites

Before upgrading the Converged System Compute VMware vSphere ESXi hosts, be aware of the following considerations: VMware provides several ways to upgrade vSphere ESXi hosts. Use VMware vSphere Update Manager and custom VMware

vSphere ESXi ISO image to upgrade the hosts in the Converged System. Upgrade only some of the hosts at one time. Keep enough hosts online to reduce impact to production traffic. To ensure that the remediation is successful, temporarily disable the following features in the Remediation Cluster Settings:

24 Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5

VMware Distributed Power Management (DPM) HA admission control Fault Tolerance

If the VMware vSphere Update Manager displays a warning about incompatibility, confirm that the NTP client is configured and clocks are synchronized. If it is not, for each host configure NTP, reboot, and rescan against the custom ISO upgrade image. Refer to Configuring the NTP client section in the Converged System Administration Guide for your Converged System.

Dell EMC recommends a VMware vSphere 6.5 boot LUN size of 15 GB to facilitate the ESXi scratch partition.

For any VMware vSphere Update Manager upgrade warnings that cannot be resolved, upgrade the hosts interactively. See the Upgrade or Migrate Hosts Interactively section of the VMware vSphere Upgrade documentation: https:// docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-upgrade-guide.pdf

Dell EMC recommends that the VMware vSphere 6.5 boot LUN size is a minimum of 15 GB to facilitate the ESXi core dumps. Consult your Converged System Administration Guide for steps to expand LUNs.

To increase the boot LUN size: 1. Connect to the storage management and select the host you want to change.

For Unity, use the Unisphere Storage Management tool. For XIO, use the XMS Storage Management tool. For VMAX, use the Navisphere Storage Management tool.

2. Select the boot LUN and edit the size. 3. Save the changes and reboot the host to reflect the new boot LUN size. 4. After the host reboots, extend the size of hostname_localstorage.

Steps

1. Launch the vSphere Web Client and select Hosts and Clusters.

2. Select a compute cluster. Select the Update Manager tab. Click Go to Admin View button.

3. Click the Manage tab, then select ESXi images.

4. Click Import ESXi image. Select the upgrade ISO image to upload.

5. Select the imported ESXi image and click Create baseline. Name the upgrade baseline, then click OK.

6. Click Go to Compliance view > Attach baseline.

7. Select the upgrade baseline that was created in step 5 and click OK.

8. Click Scan for Updates button and Select Upgrades checkbox, clear the rest of the options, and click OK.

9. Click Stage Patches which enables you to download the Upgrade Patch to each ESXi host, making the upgrade faster.

10. Click the Remediate button to apply the staged upgrade.

a. Follow the instructions in the VMware vSphere upgrade documentation under Remediating vSphere Objects > Remediating Hosts > Remediate Hosts against an Upgrade Baseline.

11. If there are NSX UCS C series servers in the deployment, repeat the preceding steps to import, create upgrade baseline, and upgrade NSX Edge Servers.

Verifying ESXi VIBs in the NSX environment

Complete this task to upgrade ESXi VIBs in the NSX environment.

Steps

1. Verify the ESXi of the compute and edge cluster.

2. Upgrade the NSX VIBs.

a. Navigate to Networking & Security > Installation and Upgrade > Host Preparation b. Select Edge cluster and click Actions > Resolve to trigger the NSX VIB upgrade. c. Select each compute cluster and click Actions > Resolve to trigger the NSX VIB upgrades.

NOTE: If you are upgrading from ESXi 6.0 and the cluster has DRS enabled, DRS will attempt to put the host into

maintenance mode in a controlled fashion that allows the VMs to continue running. If DRS fails for any reason, the

resolve action halts. In this case, you may need to move the VMs manually and then retry the Resolve action or put

the host into maintenance mode manually.

d. For Cross-vCenter, select each secondary NSX manager and perform step c for all Compute clusters.

Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5 25

Taking a snapshot of all VMware vSphere Management VMs

Take a snapshot of VMware vSphere Management VMs (vCSA and PSC).

Use the following steps to take a snapshot of VMware vSphere Management VMs.

NOTE: If the AMP is AMP-2RP, pause replication for the VMs during the upgrade process.

To take a snapshot of all VMware vSphere Management VMs refer to VMware guide: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware- vSphere/6.0/com.vmware.vsphere.hostclient.doc/GUID-878C36BA-6922-4269-8803-7FC419B947B7.html

Upgrading the VMware vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) Use the following procedure to upgrade the VMware vSphere Distributed Switch.

Steps

1. Connect to the VMware vCenter Server using the VMware vSphere Web client.

2. Refer to the Upgrade a vSphere Distributed Switch to a Later Version procedure of the Setting Up Networking with vSphere Distributed Switches section within the VMware vSphere Networking documentation: https:// docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/com.vmware.vsphere.networking.doc/ GUID-330A0689-574A-4589-9462-14CA03F3F2F4.html

3. Repeat this procedure for each VDS configured.

Updating AMP Management virtual machine VMware tools and virtual hardware version Use the following procedure to upgrade the VMware tools and virtual hardware version on the AMP Management VM.

1. Upgrade the VM hardware to Version 11 for the Management VMs that have Microsoft Windows Server OS (Element/Fabric Manager VMs).

2. Upgrade the VMware tools for the Management VMs that have Microsoft Windows Server OS (Element/Fabric Manager VMs) using the Upgrading Virtual Machines and VMware Tools section of the VMware vSphere Upgrade documentation: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-upgrade-guide.pdf.

NOTE: VMware vSphere Replication does not support upgrading the VMware Tools package in the vSphere Replication

appliance as mentioned in the VMware vSphere Replication 6.5 Release Notes.

26 Part III - Upgrading to VMware vSphere 6.5

Part IV - Post-upgrade tasks

Installing the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug- in Complete this task to install the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in.

About this task

See the instructions on installing the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug in the VMware document: https:// docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-E640124B-BB55-4D29- AADD-296E01CF88C8.html

Steps

1. Connect to Element manager using Remote Desktop connection.

2. Log in using local administrator credentials.

3. Open a web browser, and type the URL for the vSphere Web Client.

4. At the bottom of the vSphere Web Client login page, click Download Enhanced Authentication Plug-in.

5. If the browser blocks the installation either by issuing certificate errors or by running a pop-up blocker, follow the Help instructions for your browser to resolve the problem.

6. Save the plug-in, and run the executable.

7. Step through the installation wizard for both the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in and the VMware Plug-in Service, which are run in succession.

8. When the installations are complete, restart your browser.

Re-registering the Solution in VMware vCenter Server after upgrade or migration After the VMware vCenter server upgrade, re-register a previously registered solution and any third party client plug-in packages with vCenter Server when the certificate has been re-generated during the upgrade or migration process.

About this task

VMware suggests re-registering VMware vCenter extensions after an upgrade following their upgrade document: https:// docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-65-upgrade-guide.pdf. Refer to the topic: After Upgrading or Migrating vCenter Server -> Reregister solution in vCenter Server after Upgrade or Migration.

Consult the vendor documentation for any solution-based VMware vCenter extensions and client plug-ins for instructions to re- register after a VMware vCenter upgrade.

5

Part IV - Post-upgrade tasks 27

Verifying VMware vCenter Server Appliance Ensure that the VMware vCenter Server components are upgraded correctly.

About this task

If the Converged Systems that you upgraded do not have a specific component in the following list, skip that component and proceed with the next component.

Steps

Verify the following items to ensure VMware vCenter Server Appliance upgrade success for the AMP and for the Converged Systems:

VMware vCenter Server Appliance instances are accessible. Inventory data is successfully migrated. VMware vCenter Server Appliance numbers comply with the supported versions in the Converged Systems Release

Certification Matrix. All VMware licenses are applied and are not running in evaluation mode. The Update Manager tab in VMware vSphere

Update Manager is available on the Web Client. Updated versions appear in the version column of the VMware vCenter Plug-in Manager in the VMware vSphere Update

Manager. Those versions comply with the supported versions in the Converged Systems Release Certification Matrix. VMware vSphere ESXi build numbers on the management environment and VMware ESXi hosts comply with the supported

versions in the Converged Systems Release Certification Matrix. There is network connectivity to virtual machines, VLAN, and VSAN. The time, date, and time zones are synchronized across all VMs and hosts.

Verify PSCs are configured in Enhanced Linked Mode (ELM) Verify PSCs are configured in Enhanced Linked Mode (ELM).

Steps

1. Enable SSH and BASH on the PSCs.

a. Open web browser to https:// :5480/ui and log in with root credentials.

b. Click Access, and then click Edit to enable SSH and BASH. Set the timeout to 20 minutes. c. Repeat steps 1a and 1b for each PSC.

2. Verify that the current partner servers exist for the upgraded PSC using the following steps:

a. Use SSH to connect to the upgraded PSC. b. Launch the BASH shell by typing shell.

c. Type cd /usr/lib/vmware-vmdir/bin d. Type ./vdcrepadmin -f showpartners -h localhost -u administrator

NOTE: When prompted, enter administrator SSO password.

e. The command should display two partners for each PSC in a ring topology and single peer in a dual PSC deployment. The following is an example of the output:

epscl:~# epscl:~# cd /usr/lib/vmware-wmdir/bin epsc1:/usr/lib/vmware-vmdir/bin # ./vdcrepadmin -f showpartner -h localhost -u administrator password: ldap://epsc2.pde.lab.vce.com ldap://epsc7.pde.lab.vce.com

3. Verify the current partner server status for the upgraded PSC using the following command:

a. Type /vdcrepadmin -f showpartnerstatus -h localhost -u administrator

28 Part IV - Post-upgrade tasks

b. This command shows a sequence number for both PSCs. Each PSC uses a unique change number and should be zero changes behind. The following is an example of the output:

epsc1:/usr/lib/vmware-vmdir/bin # ./vdcrepadmin -f showpartnerstatus -h localhost - u administrator password: Partner: espc2.pde.lab.vce.ocm Host available: Yes status available: Yes My last change number: 12605 Partner is 0 changes behind.

Partner: epsc7.pde.lab.vce.com Host available: Yes Status available: Yes My last change number: 12605 Partner has seen my change number: 12605 Partner is 0 changes behind.

4. Repeat the preceding steps for all PSCs in the ELM topology.

5. Disable SSH and BASH after verifying the PSC partners and status.

NOTE: After the VMware vCenter Server upgrade, the higher version (upgraded) VMware vCenter Server that is

configured in ELM can manage the lower version VMware vCenter Server. However, the lower version VMware vCenter

Server cannot manage the upgraded higher version VMware vCenter Server in ELM.

Verify compliance with the RCM Verify that the upgraded components match the versions that are listed in the RCM.

Confirm that the Converged System components match the versions of software, firmware, and hardware listed in the Release Certification Matrix for your Converged System.

See the appropriate Release Notes for information about installing necessary patches or updates.

Install VMware vCenter Server root certificates on the web browser Verify that root certificates are installed. If not, follow the steps to install them.

About this task

Install the trusted root certificate authority (CA) certificates. Perform this procedure on Internet Explorer (IE) only. For browsers other than Internet Explorer, see the respective browser documentation.

Steps

1. Open web browser and go to https:// .

2. In the VMware vCenter Getting Started page, select Download trusted root CA certificates and save the file locally.

3. Unzip the downloaded files.

4. Go to the win folder inside the unzipped folder.

5. Right-click each .crt file and click Open.

6. In the dialog box, click Install Certificate.

7. Select Local Machine > Next > Finish.

Part IV - Post-upgrade tasks 29

Verifying VMware vSphere ESX/ESXi advanced settings Verify that the NFS settings are configured for optimal Converged System performance.

In VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5, the number of outstanding IOs with competing worlds parameter is limited to the Max Queue Depth of a device. This might require a change in Disk.SchedNumReqOutstanding (DSNRO) on ESXi depending on the storage array.

Verify that the NFS settings are configured for optimal Converged System performance.

Refer to the Configuring advanced settings section of the Administration Guide for your Converged System.

The vStorage APIs for array integration (VAAI) primitives are enabled by default upon the initial installation of VMware vSphere ESXi. They should remain set to their current value (enabled or disabled) for all VMware ESXi hosts, except for the following conditions: If there is a specific customer or vendor reason for all primitives to be disabled If there is a recall of a primitive based upon outstanding issues in related software releases

Create Cisco UCS adapter settings Review and verify that the Ethernet Adapter policy and Virtual Machine Queue (VMQ) connection policies are configured in the Cisco UCS Manager using standard practices. Verify that the service profiles are updated. Create VMQ policies and apply them to the Ethernet adapters.

About this task

Verify that the policies exist and values are set as described in this procedure. If they do not exist, create them using the steps in this procedure. The steps apply only to a VxBlock System with a Cisco UCS Ethernet Adapter Policy for compute Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers running VMware ESXi. A service-profile that is associated with the respective compute blades uses the policy.

Steps

1. From the UCS Manager, select Servers.

2. Select Policies > root > Adapter Policies.

3. Select Add a new Ethernet Adapter Policy to provide a name and description (for example: VMQ-Default).

4. Under Resources, enter the following settings:

Transmit Queues = 8 (The number of transmit queue resources to allocate.) Receive Queues = 4 (The number of receive queue resources to allocate.) Completion Queues = 12 (The number of completion queue resources to allocate. In general, allocate the number of

completion queue resources equal to the number of transmit queue resources plus the number of receive queue resources.)

Interrupts = 14

5. Under Options, select Enabled for Receive Side Scaling (RSS). All other values remain as default.

Create the VMQ connection configuration settings Verify that the VMQ policies exist. If not, create them using the steps in this procedure.

Steps

1. In the UCSM Navigation window, click LAN.

2. Expand LAN > Policies.

3. Expand the node for the organization where you want to create the policy.

4. If the system does not include multitenancy, expand the root node.

5. Right-click the VMQ Connection Policies node and select Create VMQ Connection Policy.

30 Part IV - Post-upgrade tasks

6. In the Create VMQ Connection Policy dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name field: The VMQ connection policy name Number of VMQs: 16 (The number of VMQs per adapter must be one more than the maximum number of VM NICs) Number of Interrupts: 34 (The number of CPU threads or logical processors available in the server)

7. Click OK.

Assign a virtualization preference to a vNIC Assign the VMQ connection policy to a vNIC.

Steps

1. In the UCSM Navigation window, click Servers.

2. On the Servers tab, expand Servers > target service profile > root > vNICs.

3. Select the vNIC name.

4. In the Connection Policies section, click VMQ and select the VMQ Connection Policy from the drop-down. In the Properties area, the Virtualization Preference for the vNIC changes to VMQ.

Reviewing system security Ensure that the Converged Systems adhere to your established security settings.

The upgrade does not change security for Converged Systems. See the following Converged Systems security document to ensure system adheres to security standards after vSphere 6.0 to vSphere 6.5 Upgrades.

Hardening security on the Management Virtual Machines (vSphere 6.5)

Refer to the following links for important Security Considerations:

Status of TLSv1.1/1.2 Enablement and TLSv1.0 Disablement across VMware products (2145796)

Managing TLS protocol configuration for vSphere 6.5 (2147469)

Removing the old management VMs Power off and remove the VMs that are no longer needed.

Steps

1. After the successful completion of the VMware vSphere 6.5 upgrade, perform the following steps:

a. Power off the Windows database server. b. Power off the Windows VUM and remove the following powered off management VMs from the vCenter:

VCSA/VMware vCenter PSCs DB VUM

2. Rename PSCs and vCenter VCSA from their temporary name to permanent names in VMware vSphere Web Client.

Updating AMP VAPP and DRS Rules Complete this task to update AMP VAPP and DRS rules. The task is not applicable for AMP-2P.

Prerequisites

Rename the PSCs and VCSA from their temporary name to permanent names in the VMware vSphere Web Client. Update the AMP VAPP and DRS Rules.

Part IV - Post-upgrade tasks 31

Update the VAPP and power on settings to include new PSCs, VCSA(s), and NSX Manager(s) VMs and update AMP DRS rules for new VMs.

Steps

1. Add virtual machines PSC1, PSC2 and VCSA into the resource pool. If the resource pool already exists you may move the VMs there. If not, create a new resource pool and move them. Follow the steps to move the VMs:

a. Right-click the virtual machines PSC1, PSC2, and VC01. Select Move To b. At the Move To expand the Datacenter, Hosts and Clusters, AMP-CORE cluster, and Local Management Workload

resource pools. c. Highlight the new resource pool (for example. Local Management Workload) and click OK.

2. From the Web client, select AMP-Core Cluster then select the Configure tab. Under the Configuration sub menu, select VM/Host Rules.

Name Type Members

PSC1-PSC2_SVM Separate Virtual Machines PSC1

PSC2

PSC1-VC01_SVM Keep Virtual Machines Together PSC1

VC01

3. Select VM/Host Groups to create virtual machine and host groups.

Name Type Members

v01234PSC1 VM Group PSC1

v01234VC01 VM Group VC01

4. Select VM/Host Rules, create DRS rule(s) to create host affinity:

Group Name Type Members

VC01_PSC_VMTVM Virtual Machines To Virtual Machines First restart VMs in VM group:

VM Group: v01234PSC1

Then restart VMs in VM group:

VM Group: v01234VC01

Performing a new full backup of the system

Steps

After the VMware vSphere environment successfully upgrades to version 6.5, take a complete backup of the vSphere components including PSCs and VCSA. See the Administration Guide associated with your Converged System.

Manualsnet FAQs

If you want to find out how the EMC Dell works, you can view and download the Dell EMC VxBlock 350 Converged Infrastructure VMware vSphere 6.0 to VMware vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Guide on the Manualsnet website.

Yes, we have the VMware vSphere 6.0 to VMware vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Guide for Dell EMC as well as other Dell manuals. All you need to do is to use our search bar and find the user manual that you are looking for.

The VMware vSphere 6.0 to VMware vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Guide should include all the details that are needed to use a Dell EMC. Full manuals and user guide PDFs can be downloaded from Manualsnet.com.

The best way to navigate the Dell EMC VxBlock 350 Converged Infrastructure VMware vSphere 6.0 to VMware vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Guide is by checking the Table of Contents at the top of the page where available. This allows you to navigate a manual by jumping to the section you are looking for.

This Dell EMC VxBlock 350 Converged Infrastructure VMware vSphere 6.0 to VMware vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Guide consists of sections like Table of Contents, to name a few. For easier navigation, use the Table of Contents in the upper left corner.

You can download Dell EMC VxBlock 350 Converged Infrastructure VMware vSphere 6.0 to VMware vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Guide free of charge simply by clicking the “download” button in the upper right corner of any manuals page. This feature allows you to download any manual in a couple of seconds and is generally in PDF format. You can also save a manual for later by adding it to your saved documents in the user profile.

To be able to print Dell EMC VxBlock 350 Converged Infrastructure VMware vSphere 6.0 to VMware vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Guide, simply download the document to your computer. Once downloaded, open the PDF file and print the Dell EMC VxBlock 350 Converged Infrastructure VMware vSphere 6.0 to VMware vSphere 6.5 Upgrade Guide as you would any other document. This can usually be achieved by clicking on “File” and then “Print” from the menu bar.