© 2010 VMware Inc. All rights reserved

Tales from the Trenches:

Upgrading to vSphere 6

2

Introduction

• 5 Active VMware Certifications

• Cisco CCENT, EMCISA, Veeam,

NetApp

•Paul Woodward Jr.

•Twitter - @ExploreVM

•Systems Engineer, Presidio

3

What’s New in vSphere 6?

• Platform Services Controller

• Improved Web Client!

• Cross-Datacenter vMotion

• 100ms RTT

• Fault Tolerant VMs up to 4 vCPUs

• Increased Compute:

• VMs – 128 vCPU, 4TB vRAM

• Hosts – 480 CPU, 12 TB RAM, 1024 VMs per, 64 Nodes per Cluster

• NVIDIA GRID vGPU

• Per VM Network IO Control on vDS

• Content Library

4

Upgrade Order

1. Platform Services Controller

2. vCenter Server

3. vSphere Replication

4. Site Recovery Manager

5. ESXi Hosts

5

PSC & vCenter Server

“Platform Services Controller (PSC) is a component of the VMware Cloud

Infrastructure Suite. PSC deals with identity management for administrators

and applications that interact with the vSphere platform”

Platform Services controller provides the following services:

VMware Appliance Management Service – Appliance Only

VMware License Service

VMware Component Manager

VMware Identity Management Service

VMware HTTP Reverse Proxy

VMware Service Control Agent

VMware Security Token Service

VMware Common Logging Service

VMware Syslog Health Service

VMware Authentication Framework

VMware Certificate Service

VMware Directory Service

6

Platform Services Controller Continued

Placement of the PSC is important!

Embedded works well for small environments

PSC can be migrated the following ways (vSphere 6.0 U1):

• Internal to External

• External to External within a site

• External to External across sites

You CANNOT migrate from an external PSC to an embedded PSC

7

vCenter Server Upgrade

Windows vCenter

Connect the vCenter 6 ISO

2 Options:

• Simple Install

• Install each component manually

Simple – all features on the

same box

Use manual to break up

features to different servers

vCenter Server Appliance

VCSA 5.1 U3 or VCSA 5.5+

Client Integration Plug In

Launch the Installer

Point to the existing vCSA

Enter appliance size, datastore, and

network information

Finish wizard and verify completion in

the console session

8

vSphere Replication & Site Recovery Manager

vSphere Replication

• Must be upgraded before SRM

• Attach the ISO to the appliance

• Connect to the VAMI interface via

web browser

• Verify “Use CDROM Updates”

• Scan for updates, Install, Reboot

• Clear Browser Cache – Log back in

• Configure the connection to Lookup

Services & SSO

• Save and Restart services

Site Recovery Manager

• Upgrade the protected site first

• Download the .exe from VMware

• Follow the Install Wizard

• Enter PSC & SSO info

• Verify vCenter & vCenter Extension

info

• Verify SRM Database info

• Verify remote vCenter IP

• Log out of the web client, clear

cache, and log back in to view

upgraded SRM plugin

9

VUM & ESXi Host Upgrading

Update Manager

Now available in the Web Client

• Plugin will appear after upgrade to VUM

6.0

Package available on the vCenter

ISO

Take sizing into consideration if

deploying Update Manager

Download Service

Host Upgrade

Same as before!

• Download updates

• Scan hosts

• Remediate

10

Other VMware Components

• vRealize Automation, Config Manager, Business Manager

• vCloud Director, Networking & Security

• NSX Manager & Controllers

• View Composer & Connection Server

11

Other Components Continued

12

Bugs Encountered

• vSphere Replication from 5.8 failed

• Per VMware support, upgrading to 6.0/6.1 is “very buggy”

• Embedded database fails to upgrade – New parameters in the 6.0+ DB

• FIX: Rebuild vSphere Replication & Site Recovery Manager environment

• Hosts Disappear from the Web Client Hosts & Clusters View

• Hosts vanish after refreshing web client or trying to view host information

• Performance / services are not affected

• FIX: Stop Web Services, Clear the Serenity Database

• C:\Programdata\vmware\vCenterServer\data\vSphere Web Client\SerentiyDB\Serentiy

• Unable to load OVF Templates via the Web Client After Upgrade

• “Unable to verify that the OVF can be uploaded” & “Unable to connect to the host”

• Issue unknown by VMware Support

• FIX: Disable IPv6 on the Host?

• FIX: Rebuild vCenter

13

Tips & Recommendations

• Release notes are your friend!

• Leave yourself an out

• Snapshots are also your friend

• However, do not forget to delete your friendly snapshot afterwards

• Prepare for the upgrade:

• Have a check list laid out of each component in the order you need to upgrade

• Stage the update files

• Passwords, IPs, Database locations, etc…

14

Shameless Self Promotion!

VMworld 2016 Call for Papers

Voting Ends Today!

May 24th, 2016

15

Resources and Links

My Blog: ExploreVM.com

Slide Deck: http://www.slideshare.net/PaulWoodwardJr/20160523-

wivmug-user-con-vsphere-6-upgrade

VMware Hands On Labs: http://labs.hol.vmware.com

Update Sequence for vSphere 6: http://vexpert.me/KB2109760

Upgrading to 6.0 Best Practices: http://vexpert.me/KB2109772

vSphere DB Upgrade KB: http://vexpert.me/VR

vSphere PSC FAQ: http://vexpert.me/KB2113115

© 2010 VMware Inc. All rights reserved

Thank You!Any questions?