You can use the VMware Update Repository to upgrade the VMware Cloud Director appliance.

Note: You can use the VMware Update Repository only to upgrade VMware Cloud Director to the most recent VMware Cloud Director version. Only the most recent version is available in the VMware Update Repository. If you want to upgrade VMware Cloud Director to a different version, see Upgrade the VMware Cloud Director Appliance by Using an Update Package.

During the upgrade of the VMware Cloud Director appliance deployment, the VMware Cloud Director service stops working and some downtime can be expected. The downtime depends on the time you need to upgrade each VMware Cloud Director appliance and to run the VMware Cloud Director database upgrade script. The number of working cells in the VMware Cloud Director server group reduces until you stop the VMware Cloud Director service on the last VMware Cloud Director appliance. A properly configured load balancer in front of the VMware Cloud Director HTTP endpoints should stop routing traffic to the cells that are stopped.

After you apply the upgrade to every VMware Cloud Director appliance and the database upgrade is complete, you must reboot each VMware Cloud Director appliance.

Prerequisites

  • Take a snapshot of the primary VMware Cloud Director appliance.
    1. When upgrading from version 10.1 or later or when patching, if the automatic failover in case of a primary database service failure is enabled, change the failover mode to Manual for the duration of the upgrade. After the upgrade, you can set the failover mode to Automatic. See Automatic Failover of the VMware Cloud Director Appliance.
    2. Log in to the vCenter Server instance on which resides the primary VMware Cloud Director appliance of your database high availability cluster.
    3. Navigate to the primary VMware Cloud Director appliance, right-click it, and click Power > Shut Down Guest OS.
    4. Right-click the appliance and click Snapshots > Take Snapshot. Enter a name and, optionally, a description for the snapshot, and click OK.
    5. Right-click the VMware Cloud Director appliance and click Power > Power On.
    6. Verify that all nodes in your database high availability configuration are in a good state. See View the VMware Cloud Director Appliance Cluster Health and Failover Mode.
  • Verify that the VMware Cloud Director appliance has access to https://vapp-updates.vmware.com.
  • Familiarize yourself with the VMware Cloud Director 10.3.1 and later backup procedure. See Back Up the Primary VMware Cloud Director Appliance Version 10.3.1 and Later.

Procedure

  1. In a Web browser, log in to the appliance management user interface of a VMware Cloud Director appliance instance to identify the primary appliance, https://appliance_ip_address:5480.
    Make a note of the primary appliance name. You must use the primary appliance when backing up the database.
  2. Log in directly or by using an SSH client to the primary appliance console as root.
  3. Reset the update repository to point to the VMware Update Repository. 
    vamicli update --repo ""
  4. Check for updates to verify that the VMware Update Repository has the desired upgrade.
    By default the vamicli command points to the VMware Update Repository. 
    vamicli update --check
    The upgrade release appears as an Available Update.
  5. Shut down VMware Cloud Director by running the following command: 
    /opt/vmware/vcloud-director/bin/cell-management-tool -u <admin username> cell --shutdown
  6. Depending on your VMware Cloud Director version, backup the primary appliance or the embedded database.
    • For VMware Cloud Director 10.3.1 and later, create a backup using the primary or standby appliance management UI. You cannot use the application cell to perform a backup.
    • For VMware Cloud Director 10.3, continuing from the primary appliance, back up the VMware Cloud Director appliance embedded database. 
      /opt/vmware/appliance/bin/create-db-backup
    Note: You must backup the appliance only once. Do not back up the appliance after applying the available upgrade.
  7. Apply the available upgrade. 
    vamicli update --install latest
  8. Log in to the remaining standby and application cells and repeat steps 3, 4, 5, and 7 on each appliance.
  9. From any appliance, run the VMware Cloud Director database upgrade utility. 
    /opt/vmware/vcloud-director/bin/upgrade
  10. Reboot each VMware Cloud Director appliance. 
    shutdown -r now

What to do next

  • Verify that the upgrade is successful.
    • Log in to the VMware Cloud Director Service Provider Admin Portal.
    • Log in to the VMware Cloud Director appliance management UI and confirm that all the appliances appear with a Healthy status.
  • If there is a vamicli update --install latest command failure, see Installing the Latest Update of VMware Cloud Director Fails.
  • If the upgrade is successful, you can delete the snapshot of the VMware Cloud Director appliance.
  • If the upgrade is not successful, you can roll back the VMware Cloud Director appliance to the snapshot that you took before the upgrade. See Roll Back a VMware Cloud Director Appliance When an Upgrade Fails.