The upgrade bundle for VMware vCenter Server is used to upgrade the vCenter Server instances managed by SDDC Manager. Upgrade vCenter Server in the management domain before upgrading vCenter Server in VI workload domains.

Prerequisites

  • Download the VMware vCenter Server upgrade bundle. See Downloading VMware Cloud Foundation Upgrade Bundles.

  • If you are upgrading from VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5.x, allocate a temporary IP address for the vCenter Server migration. The IP address must be in the management subnet.

  • Take a file-based backup of the vCenter Server appliance before starting the upgrade. See Manually Back Up vCenter Server.

    Note:

    After taking a backup, do not make any changes to the vCenter Server inventory or settings until the upgrade completes successfully.

  • If your workload domain contains Workload Management (vSphere with Tanzu) enabled clusters, the supported target release depends on the version of Kubernetes (K8s) currently running in the cluster. Older versions of K8s might require a specific upgrade sequence. See KB 92227 for more information.

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 tab.
  3. Click Precheck to run the upgrade precheck.

    Resolve any issues before proceeding with the upgrade.

  4. In the Available Updates section, click Update Now or Schedule Update next to the VMware Software Update for vCenter Server.
  5. Click Confirm to confirm that you have taken a file-based backup of the vCenter Server appliance before starting the upgrade.
  6. If you selected Schedule Update, click the date and time for the bundle to be applied and click Schedule.
  7. If you are upgrading from VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5.x, enter the details for the temporary network to be used only during the upgrade.
    Image showing the temporary network settings when upgrading vCenter Server from 4.5.x to 5.x.
  8. Monitor the upgrade progress. See Monitor VMware Cloud Foundation Updates.
  9. After the upgrade is complete, remove the old vCenter Server appliance.

    If the upgrade fails, resolve the issue and retry the failed task. If you cannot resolve the issue, restore vCenter Server using the file-based backup. See Restore vCenter Server.

What to do next

Once the upgrade successfully completes, use the vSphere Client to change the vSphere DRS Automation Level setting back to the original value (before you took a file-based backup) for each vSphere cluster that is managed by the vCenter Server. See KB 87631 for information about using VMware PowerCLI to change the vSphere DRS Automation Level.