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Upgrading VMware vSphere software from vSphere 7.0 to 8.0

Upgrading VMware vSphere software from vSphere 7.0 to 8.0

You can upgrade the VMware vCenter Server® vSphere software on your instances to version 8.0. After that, you can migrate your NFS and gateway clusters to VMware vSphere® 8.0.

Procedure to upgrade vCenter Server vSphere software from 7.0 to 8.0

Before you begin

  • If you encounter a problem during the upgrade process, use the IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions upgrade ticket that you opened at the beginning of the process to contact IBM Support. If required, IBM Support will open tickets with Broadcom Support.
  • You must follow the support process to ensure that IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions provides Broadcom Support with all the information about the vCenter Server design and setup, and the IBM Cloud information.
  • By following the support process, you ensure that accurate information is shared with Broadcom Support, which shortens the support experience. After IBM Support provides the necessary information to Broadcom Support, you can interact with Broadcom Support directly.
  • Ensure that you keep a record of all the new passwords and credentials that you create as part of the upgrade process. IBM Support requires these credentials at the end of the upgrade process to update their internal database.

Procedure to set the cluster Distributed Resource Schedule to manual

You must set the cluster Distributed Resource Schedule (DRS) to manual to prevent unexpected migrations during the upgrade process.

Complete the following steps from the vCenter Server user interface.

  1. Select Host and Clusters > Cluster > Configure > DRS.
  2. Click EDIT.
  3. Set the DRS field to Manual.

Procedure to create a standard switch for the new vCenter Server Appliance

Temporarily install the new vCenter Server Appliance that you deploy onto a vSphere Standard Switch. One of the existing vmnics is reassigned from the distributed switch during the upgrade.

Complete the following steps from the vCenter Server user interface.

  1. Select Hosts and Clusters > HOST > Configure > Virtual Switches. Select a host for the new vCenter Server Appliance.
  2. For the private network switch, select Managed Physical Adapters. The private network switch name ends with -private.
  3. Select uplink1/vmnic2, then click the Close icon Close icon to delete the adapter. Click OK.
  4. Return to the Virtual Switches panel and click Add Networking.
    1. Select Virtual Machine Port Group for a standard switch and click Next.
    2. For New Standard Switch, set the MTU to 9000 and click Next.
    3. Click the green Add icon Add icon to add an adapter. Click OK, then Next to accept vmnic2.
    4. For Connection Settings, keep the VM Network and VLAN ID None defaults. Click Next, then Finish. Standard Switch: vSwitch0 is displayed in the list of switches.
  5. Make a note of the Network Setting for the vCenter Server Appliance VM. You must update the new vCenter appliance to match.
    • From the vCenter Server user interface, click the VM for the vCenter appliance. Note the name, ending with vc.
    • From the middle pane, click the Networks tab. Note the name of the distributed port group, ending with -dpg-mgmt.

Procedure to upgrade vCenter Server

Follow the VMware instructions for upgrading vCenter. For more information, see Upgrade a vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 or 6.7 with an embedded Platform Services Controller by using the GUI.

Ensure to complete the following requirements during the upgrade:

  • Mount the VMware-VCSA ISO, go to the visa-ui-installer\win32 directory, and run the installer.
  • In the vCenter Server installer dialog, select the Upgrade flow and complete the steps in the installer.
  • You must use the IP and credentials (administrator and root) for the current vCenter Server appliance. Use the IP and root password for the ESXi host of the current vCenter Server Appliance and the host where you want to deploy the new 8.0 or later vCenter Server Appliance. You must use a new temporary IP address, gateway, and subnet mask for the new vCenter Server Appliance during installation.
  • Complete Stage 2 when prompted. Ensure to note any warnings and take the appropriate actions.

Updating vCenter Server licenses

After you upgrade the vCenter Server to vSphere 8, you must update the licenses on the vCenter Server. If you have a vSAN cluster, you must update the vSAN license. Contact IBM Support to obtain the new licenses for vSphere 8.

Procedure to update the vCenter Server license

Complete the following steps from the vCenter Server user interface.

  1. Select Administration menu > Licensing > Licenses.
  2. From the Licenses page, click + Add New Licenses.
  3. Enter the new vCenter Server license key in the New Licenses field. Then, enter a name for the license and click OK.
  4. From the Assets page, select the vCenter instance under VCENTER SERVER SYSTEMS and click Assign License. Then, select the new license and click OK.
  5. From the Licenses page, find the license with the product name VMware vCenter Server 6 Standard and click Remove Licenses.

Procedure to update the vSAN cluster license

  1. From the Licenses page, click + Add New Licenses.
  2. Enter the new vSAN license keys in the New Licenses field. If you have multiple vSAN license keys, enter all the licenses in the New Licenses field, specify a name for each license, and then click OK.
  3. Complete the following steps from the Assets page.
    1. Select VSAN CLUSTERS.
    2. Select the vSAN cluster and click Assign License.
    3. Select one of the new vSAN license keys and click OK.
    4. Repeat this step for each vSAN cluster.
  4. From the Licenses page, select all the old vSAN cluster licenses and click Remove Licenses.

Procedure to remove the temporary standard switch

Reassign the vmnic that you temporarily used on the standard switch back to the distributed switch it was originally associated with.

Complete the following steps from the vCenter Server user interface.

  1. Go to the new vCenter Server appliance.
  2. Under Actions click Edit Settings.
  3. For network adapter 1, browse to the name of the distributed port group that ends with -dpg-mgmt that you previously noted. Save the changes.
  4. Go to the host where you deployed the new appliance. Select Hosts and Clusters > HOST > Configure > Virtual Switches. Then, click MANAGE PHYSICAL ADAPTERS for vSwitch0.
  5. Select vmnic2 and click the red X to delete the adapter. Click OK. The There are no active physical network adapters for the switch. warning is displayed. Click OK.
  6. Click the ... in the vSwitch0 display and then select Remove. Click OK to confirm you want to remove the switch.
  7. In the same display, select the private switch and click MANAGE PHYSICAL ADAPTERS.
  8. Select uplink1 and click +. vmnic2 is displayed.
  9. Click OK, and then OK again to exit the window.

Procedure to upgrade Stor VIB (Broadcom driver)

You must upgrade the Broadcom driver before you upgrade the ESXi host.

  1. Extract the 007.1316.0000.0000_Unified_StorCLI_PUL.zip file to a directory on your windows jump server.
  2. Locate the vmware-storcli.vib file in the extracted file contents.
  3. Copy the .vib file to either a vSAN or NFS data store that is mounted on the ESXi hosts for the instance. Use vCenter Server to reference the extracted file on your jump server.
  4. SSH into each ESXi host and run the following VIB Upgrade command: esxcli software vib update -v /<path to vsan or nfs datastore from step 3>/vmware-storcli.vib --no-sig-check The following installation results are displayed. Message: Operation finished successfully.    Reboot Required: false    VIBs Installed: Broadcom_bootbank_vmware-storcli_007.1316.0000.0000-01    VIBs Removed: LSI_bootbank_vmware-storcli_007.0916.0000.0000-01    VIBs Skipped:
  5. Run the following command to validate the installation: > esxcli software vib list |grep vmware-storcli vmware-storcli 007.1316.0000.0000-01    Broadcom  PartnerSupported  2020-04-16
  6. Repeat for each host.

Procedure to upgrade the ESXi hosts (Sapphire Rapids only)

  1. From the vCenter Server user interface, go to LCM menu > LifeCycle Manager.
  2. Select IMPORT ISO > IMPORT ISO. Then, select the ISO file.
  3. Create the baseline. Select BASELINE > CREATE and use the imported ISO from the previous step.
  4. For each host, choose the host in the vCenter browser tree. Then, select update (located in the far left in the main window).
  5. If the Zerto VRA is present on the host, put the host into maintenance mode first. Recent releases of Zerto stop the VRA, which otherwise would prevent the update.
  6. Complete the update.
    1. [ATTACH] Baseline, select the previously created baseline.
    2. Select Baseline and [REMEDIATE].
  7. Remediate each host in turn. After remediation, ensure to pull the host out of maintenance mode.

There are several methods to upgrade your ESXi hosts. For more information, see Overview of the ESXi Host Upgrade Process. If you need to access an ISO file or upgrade bundle as part of your selected method, contact IBM Support.

If the upgrade process fails immediately and the host cannot enter maintenance mode error message is displayed, shut down the Zerto ZVAs and try again. The ZVRA VMs automatically start as each server comes out of remediation. For more information about continuing Zerto replication during the upgrade process, see How to place a host with an associated VRA into maintenance mode.

Procedure to update ESXi host licenses

  1. From the Licenses page, click + Add New Licenses.
  2. Enter the new vSphere 8 license keys in the New Licenses field. If you have multiple vSphere 8 license keys, input the all of the licenses in the New Licenses filed, enter a name for each license, and click OK.
  3. Complete the following steps from the Assets page.
    1. Select HOSTS.
    2. Select the host and click Assign License.
    3. Select one of the new vSphere 8 license keys and click OK.
    4. Repeat this step for each upgraded host.
  4. From the Licenses page, select all of the old vSphere 6 licenses and click Remove Licenses.

Procedure to migrate from vSphere 7.0 to vSphere 8.0

You cannot migrate a vSAN cluster to vSphere 8.0.

If you have a gateway cluster with vSphere 7.0 and you want to migrate it to vSphere 8.0, complete the following tasks:

  1. Create a new vSphere 8.0 gateway cluster.
  2. Carefully coordinate the migration of your gateway virtual machines and configuration from the old cluster to the new cluster. This way your protected VLANs do not lose service or connectivity. This action includes migration of the virtual machines and their configuration, or creation of new virtual machines with duplicate configuration. As part of this sequence, remove your protected VLANs from protection of the old cluster and assign them to the new cluster.
  3. Remove the original gateway cluster.

If you have an NFS cluster with vSphere 7.0 and you want to migrate it to vSphere 8.0, perform a rolling replacement of servers in the cluster. For each vSphere 7.0 server, complete the following tasks:

  1. Create a new vSphere 8.0 server.
  2. Ensure that the vSphere 8.0 server is configured to your needs and remove it from maintenance mode.
  3. Put the vSphere 7.0 server into maintenance mode.
  4. Remove the vSphere 7.0 server from your cluster.