If the computer on which you install the skip level upgrade tool has access to depot.vmware.com, the Dell EMC depot, and SDDC Manager, you can perform an online skip-level upgrade to update SDDC Manager and its services to the correct version for the target VMware Cloud Foundation release.

In an online skip-level upgrade, the skip-level upgrade tool downloads the bundles required to upgrade SDDC Manager and its services, copies the bundles to SDDC Manager, and applies the bundles to achieve the target version. It also downloads, copies, and uploads install bundles for the target release that are required for new workload domain creation. It downloads, but does not apply, the bundles required to upgrade VxRail Manager and the other VMware Cloud Foundation components. You can apply those bundles from the SDDC Manager UI after SDDC Manager and its services are upgraded.
Note: The skip-level upgrade tool does not download bundles for the vRealize suite components. To download bundles for the vRealize Suite components, use the Bundle Transfer Utility. See Download Bundles for VMware Cloud Foundation on Dell EMC VxRail with the Bundle Transfer Utility.
Note: The Bundle Transfer Utility & Skip Level Upgrade Tool is the only supported method for downloading bundles. Do not use third-party tools or other methods to download bundles.

For information about which versions of VMware Cloud Foundation support skip-level upgrades, see VMware Cloud Foundation on VxRail Skip-Level Upgrade.

For complete usage information for the VMware Cloud Foundation SDDC Skip-Level Upgrade Tool command line interface (CLI), see Skip-Level Upgrade Tool CLI.

You should always use the latest version of the skip-level tool to ensure that you can take advantage of all of its features. When you use any of the following options, the skip-level tool checks to see if you are using the latest version:
  • -c,--copy-bundles
  • -d,--download-bundles
  • --dm, --download-manifest
  • -e,--enable-cumulative-upgrades
  • -u,--upgrade
  • --up,--upgrade-precheck
  • --vb,--verify-bundles

Prerequisites

The Skip-Level Upgrade Tool is a CLI-based tool with support for both Windows and Linux platforms. You must have a Windows or Linux computer that meets the following requirements:
  • Java 8 runtime environment.
  • Connectivity to depot.vmware.com.
  • Connectivity to the Dell EMC depot (download.emc.com).
  • Connectivity to SDDC Manager and the management domain vCenter Server over SSH and HTTPS.
  • SDDC Manager and the computer on which you run the skip-level upgrade tool should be in the same timezone and have the same NTP server configured.
  • Minimum free space of 180 GB.
  • 12 GB of free space in the user’s home directory.

If it does not meet these requirements, you can perform an offline skip-level upgrade. See Perform an Offline Skip-Level Upgrade for VMware Cloud Foundation on VxRail.

Additional prerequisites:
  • The /nfs/vmware/vcf/nfs-mount/bundle/ directory on the SDDC Manager VM must have a minimum free space of 180 GB.
  • Take a snapshot of the management VMs.
  • Do not run any domain operations while an upgrade is in progress. Domain operations are creating a new VI workload domain, adding hosts to a cluster or adding a cluster to a workload domain, and removing clusters or hosts from a workload domain.
  • Ensure that there are no failed workflows in your system and none of the Cloud Foundation resources are in activating or error state. If any of these conditions are true, resolve the issue before starting the upgrade.
  • Confirm that the passwords for all Cloud Foundation components are valid. Keep a record of the passwords in a secure location.
  • If you are upgrading from VMware Cloud Foundation 3.7.x or 3.8.0 on Dell EMC VxRail, you must configure dual authentication.
  • Run an upgrade precheck from SDDC Manager and resolve any issues before performing a skip-level upgrade.
    1. On the SDDC Manager Dashboard, click Inventory > Workload Domains.
    2. Click a workload domain and then click the Updates/Patches tab.
    3. Click Precheck.
    You can also run a precheck on the management domain using the skip-level upgrade tool. See Skip-Level Upgrade Tool CLI.

Procedure

  1. Download the Bundle Transfer Utility & Skip-Level Upgrade Tool from My VMware to a Windows or Linux computer.
  2. Extract the file lcm-tools-3x-<build_number>.tar.gz.
  3. (Optional) To use a proxy server with the skip-level upgrade tool:
    Note: The skip-level upgrade tool only supports proxy servers that do not require authentication.
    1. Open the /conf/application-skiplevelupgrade.properties file.
    2. Modify the Depot proxy properties section: 
      lcm.depot.adapter.proxyEnabled=true
lcm.depot.adapter.proxyHost=<proxy IP address or FQDN>
lcm.depot.adapter.proxyPort=<proxy port>
  4. Open a command line utility, change to the bin directory that contains the executables, and execute the following command to download the manifest and bundles and copy them to SDDC Manager:
    For Windows: 
    sddcmanager-skip-level-upgrade.bat -d -c
    For Linux: 
    ./sddcmanager-skip-level-upgrade -d -c
  5. Enter the following information:
    • Fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) of the SDDC Manager VM.
    • SDDC Manager super user name (primary user), for example: vcf.
    • SDDC Manager REST API user name (basic auth user), for example: admin.
    • Password for the primary user.
    • Password for the root user.
    • Password for the basic auth user.
    • Path to a local directory where the downloaded bundles will be temporarily saved before they are copied to SDDC Manager.
    • Target version of SDDC Manager. Enter latest to upgrade to the latest version supported by the tool.
    • VMware Depot (My VMware) user name.
    • VMware Depot (My VMware) password.
    • Dell EMC Depot (Dell EMC Support account) user name.
    • Dell EMC Depot (Dell EMC Support account) password.
    The tool displays the required bundles for the target version, downloads them, and copies them to SDDC Manager.
  6. After the bundles are successfully copied to SDDC Manager, run the following command to verify the bundles: 
    ./sddcmanager-skip-level-upgrade --vb
  7. Enter the following information:
    • Fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) of the SDDC Manager VM.
    • SDDC Manager super user name (primary user), for example: vcf.
    • SDDC Manager REST API user name (basic auth user), for example: admin.
    • Password for the primary user.
    • Password for the root user.
    • Password for the basic auth user.
    • Path to the local directory where the bundles were downloaded.
    The skip-level upgrade tool verifies the bundles and lists any missing bundles that you need to download before you start the upgrade. It also lists any missing install bundles required for the target release.
  8. Run the following command to start the upgrade: 
    ./sddcmanager-skip-level-upgrade -u
  9. Enter the following information:
    • Fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) of the SDDC Manager VM.
    • SDDC Manager super user name (primary user), for example: vcf.
    • SDDC Manager REST API user name (basic auth user), for example: admin.
    • Password for the primary user.
    • Password for the root user.
    • Password for the basic auth user.
    • Path to the local directory where the bundles were downloaded.
    • Temporary IP Address of the target SDDC Manager VM. This may not be required depending on the version of VMware Cloud Foundation from which you are upgrading.
    • Subnet mask of the target SDDC Manager VM. This may not be required depending on the version of VMware Cloud Foundation from which you are upgrading.
    • Network gateway of the target SDDC Manager VM. This may not be required depending on the version of VMware Cloud Foundation from which you are upgrading.
    • Password of the primary user on the target SDDC Manager VM. This may not be required depending on the version of VMware Cloud Foundation from which you are upgrading.
    • Root password on the target SDDC Manager VM. This may not be required depending on the version of VMware Cloud Foundation from which you are upgrading.
    • Basic authentication password on the target SDDC Manager VM. This may not be required depending on the version of VMware Cloud Foundation from which you are upgrading.
    You can monitor upgrade progress in the SDDC Manager Dashboard.
    When the upgrade is complete, you will see a message similar to following: 
    2021-03-08 07:57:31.360-0800 INFO  SDDC Manager Skip Level Upgrade completed with success
2021-03-08 07:57:31.360-0800 INFO  Archiving Skip Level Upgrade tool data and logs

What to do next

From the SDDC Manager UI, upgrade VxRail Manager and the other VMware Cloud Foundation components required for the target version ofVMware Cloud Foundation on Dell EMC VxRail. The components that you must upgrade and the order in which you upgrade them will vary based on the version of VMware Cloud Foundation on Dell EMC VxRail from which you are upgrading.

  • vCenter Server and Platform Services Controllers
  • NSX Data Center for vSphere
  • NSX-T Data Center
  • VxRail Manager
  • vRealize Suite components

See Upgrade VMware Cloud Foundation on Dell EMC VxRail.