Upgrade NSX-T Data Center in the management domain before you upgrade VI workload domains.

Upgrading NSX-T Data Center involves the following components:
  • Upgrade Coordinator
  • NSX Edge clusters (if deployed)
  • NSX Edge
  • Host clusters
  • NSX Manager cluster

NSX-T VI workload domains can share the same NSX Manager cluster and NSX Edge clusters. When you upgrade these components for one NSX-T VI workload domain, they are upgraded for all NSX-T VI workload domains that share the same NSX Manager or NSX Edge cluster. You cannot perform any operations on the NSX-T workload domains while NSX-T is being upgraded.

The upgrade wizard provides some flexibility when upgrading NSX-T Data Center for workload domains. By default, the process upgrades all NSX Edge clusters in parallel, and then all host clusters in parallel. Parallel upgrades reduce the overall time required to upgrade your environment. You can also choose to upgrade NSX Edge clusters and host clusters sequentially. The ability to select clusters allows for multiple upgrade windows and does not require all clusters to be available at a given time.
Note: The NSX Manager cluster is upgraded only if the Upgrade all host clusters setting is enabled on the Host Clusters tab. NSX Manager is upgraded after all host clusters in the workload domain are upgraded. New features introduced in the upgrade are not configurable until the NSX Manager cluster is upgraded.

Prerequisites

All applicable updates must have been applied to all NSX-T workload domains for the NSX-T upgrade bundle to be available for download. Otherwise, the status of the NSX-T bundle is displayed as Pending instead of Available for all workload domains.
  • Validate that the NSX-T Manager password is valid.
  • Download the VMware Software Update bundle for NSX-T Data Center bundle. See Downloading Bundles.
  • Back up the NSX-T Data Center configuration and download the technical support logs.
  • Review Operational Impacts of NSX-T Data Center Upgrade in NSX Upgrade Guide to understand the impact that each component upgrade might have on your environment.
  • Ensure there are no active alarms on hosts or vSphere clusters using the vSphere Client.

Procedure

  1. In the navigation pane, click Inventory > Workload Domains.
  2. On the Workload Domains page, click the domain you are upgrading and then click the Updates/Patches tab.
    When you upgrade NSX-T components for a selected VI workload domain, those components are upgraded for all NSX-T VI workload domains that share the NSX Manager cluster.
  3. Run the upgrade precheck. See Perform Update Precheck.
    The NSX-T precheck is run on all NSX-T VI workload domains in your environment that share the NSX Manager cluster.
  4. In the Available Updates section, select the target release.
  5. Click Update Now or Schedule Update next to the VMware Software NSX-T bundle.

    The Schedule Update wizard appears.

  6. On the NSX-T Edge Cluster page, select the NSX Edge clusters you want to upgrade and click Next.
    By default, all NSX Edge clusters are upgraded. To select specific NSX Edge clusters, select the Upgrade NSX-T edge clusters only checkbox and select the Enable edge selection option. Then select the NSX Edges you want to upgrade.
  7. Click Next.
  8. By default, all vSphere clusters across all workload domains are upgraded. If you want to select specific vSphere clusters to be upgraded, turn off the Upgrade all host clusters setting. Host clusters are upgraded after all Edge clusters have been upgraded.
    Note: The NSX-T Manager cluster is upgraded only if the Upgrade all host clusters setting is enabled.
    • If you have a single cluster in your environment, enable the Upgrade all host clusters setting.
    • If you have multiple host clusters and choose to upgrade only some of them, you must go through the NSX-T upgrade wizard again till all host clusters have been upgraded. When selecting the final set of clusters to be upgraded, you must enable the Upgrade all host clusters setting so that NSX-T Manager is upgraded.
    • If you have upgraded all host clusters without enabling the Upgrade all host clusters setting, run through the NSX-T upgrade wizard again and schedule the upgrade to upgrade NSX-T Manager.
  9. Click Next.
  10. On the Upgrade Options dialog, select the upgrade optimizations and click Next.
    By default, Edge clusters and host clusters are upgraded in parallel. You can enable sequential upgrade by selecting the relevant checkbox.
  11. If you had selected the Schedule Upgrade option, specify the date and time for the NSX-T bundle to be applied.
  12. Click Next.
  13. On the Review page, review your settings and click Finish.

    The NSX-T Data Center upgrade begins and the upgrade components are displayed. The upgrade view displayed here pertains to the workload domain where you applied the bundle. Click the link to the associated workload domains to see the components pertaining to those workload domains.

  14. Monitor the upgrade progress. See Monitor Updates.
    If a component upgrade fails, the failure is displayed across all associated workload domains. Resolve the issue and retry the failed task.

Results

When all NSX-T Data Center workload components are upgraded successfully, a message with a green background and check mark is displayed.

What to do next