The VMware Cloud Director installer verifies that the target server meets all upgrade prerequisites and upgrades the VMware Cloud Director software on the server.

VMware Cloud Director for Linux is distributed as a digitally signed executable file with a name of the form vmware-vcloud-director-distribution-v.v.v-nnnnnn.bin, where v.v.v represents the product version and nnnnnn the build number. For example: vmware-vcloud-director-distribution-10.4.0-19780584.bin. Running this executable installs or upgrades VMware Cloud Director.

For a multi-cell VMware Cloud Director installation, you must run the VMware Cloud Director installer on each member of the VMware Cloud Director server group.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the target server as root.
  2. Download the installation file to the target server.
    If you purchased the software on media, copy the installation file to a location that is accessible to the target server.
  3. Verify that the checksum of the download matches the checksum posted on the download page.
    Values for MD5 and SHA1 checksums are posted on the download page. Use the appropriate tool to verify that the checksum of the downloaded installation file matches the checksum shown on the download page. A Linux command of the following form displays the checksum for installation-file. 
    [root@cell1 /tmp]# md5sum installation-file
    The command returns the installation file checksum that must match the MD5 checksum from the download page.
  4. Ensure that the installation file is executable.
    The installation file requires execute permission. To be sure that it has this permission, open a console, shell, or terminal window and run the following Linux command, where installation-file is the full pathname to the VMware Cloud Director installation file. 
    [root@cell1 /tmp]# chmod u+x installation-file
  5. Run the installation file.
    To run the installation file, enter the full pathname, for example: 
    [root@cell1 /tmp]# ./installation-file
    The file includes an installation script and an embedded RPM package.
    Note: You cannot run the installation file from a directory whose pathname includes any embedded space characters.

    If the installer detects a version of VMware Cloud Director that is equal to or later than the version in the installation file, it displays an error message and exits.

    If the installer detects an earlier version of VMware Cloud Director, it prompts you to confirm the upgrade.

  6. Enter y and press Enter to confirm the upgrade.
    The installer initiates the following upgrade workflow.
    1. Verifies that the host meets all requirements.
    2. Unpacks the VMware Cloud Director RPM package.
    3. After all active VMware Cloud Director jobs on the cell finish, stops VMware Cloud Director services on the server and upgrades the installed VMware Cloud Director software.
    If you did not install the VMware public key on the target server, the installer displays a warning of the following form: 
    warning:installation-file.rpm: Header V3 RSA/SHA1 signature: NOKEY, key ID 66fd4949
    When changing the existing global.properties file on the target server, the installer displays a warning of the following form: 
    warning: /opt/vmware/vcloud-director/etc/global.properties created as /opt/vmware/vcloud-director/etc/global.properties.rpmnew
    Note: If you previously updated the existing global.properties file, you can retrieve the changes from global.properties.rpmnew.
  7. (Optional) Update logging properties.
    After an upgrade, new logging properties are written to the file /opt/vmware/vcloud-director/etc/log4j.properties.rpmnew.
    Option Action
    If you did not change existing logging properties Copy this file to /opt/vmware/vcloud-director/etc/log4j.properties.
    If you changed logging properties To preserve your changes, merge /opt/vmware/vcloud-director/etc/log4j.properties.rpmnew with the existing /opt/vmware/vcloud-director/etc/log4j.properties file.

Results

When the VMware Cloud Director upgrade finishes, the installer displays a message with information about the location of the old configuration files. Then the installer prompts you to run the database upgrade tool.

What to do next

If not upgraded yet, you can upgrade the VMware Cloud Director database.

Repeat this procedure on each VMware Cloud Director cell in the server group.

Important:

Do not start the VMware Cloud Director services until you upgrade all cells in the server group and the database.