VMware releases certified VMware Data Services Manager database templates and software updates to Tanzu Network. You can manage software updates for Agent and Database VMs and updates to database templates with or without configuring the Tanzu Net Token.
If you have configured a Tanzu Net Token, the Provider checks for new releases once a day at 12:00 AM according to the NTP server configured for the Provider VM. If a new release is available, the Provider VM downloads the bits and pushes them to the Provider Repo.
If you have deployed VMware Data Services Manager in an air-gapped environment (an environment with no internet connectivity), you obtain the database templates and software updates available in a new release from Tanzu Network or VMware Customer Connect as described in Manually Populating Database Templates and Software Updates, and manually populate the software in the Provider Repo.
If an update is available, and the update is compatible with the current Agent version, the Agent:
- Downloads the update.
- Transitions to VM maintenance mode.
- Completes in-flight operations, rejects new operation requests.
- Initiates the software update.
If the software update fails, manual intervention on your part is required; you may be required to recover the Agent VM.
About Automatic Agent Updates
Upto Release 1.4.0 of VMware Data Services Manager, the Agent VM software is updated automatically by VMware Data Services Manager. The Agent polls the Provider 3 times a day for updates, at 12:00 AM, 8:00 AM, and 4:00 PM according to the NTP server configured for the Agent VM.
After an Agent is upgraded to Release 1.4.0 of VMware Data Services Manager, software update of all the Agent appliances occur automatically and simultaneously after:
- All the Provider appliances are updated.
- When a new update is available for the Agent.
The time at which the update is triggered and the duration for which the update can be processed is based on the maintenance configuration by a Provider Administrator. This feature provides control over software updates of Agents because the Provider Administrator can configure a time and duration of such updates, as required, without affecting daily database operations and management. With this feature, you can plan the downtime of appliances.
Limitations for Automatic Agent Updates
Consider the following limitations for automatic Agent updates:
- Only a Provider Administrator can configure a time and duration of Agent's automatic software updates.
- A maximum of three attempts, with an interval of 10 minutes, are made for software updates of appliances during the configured maintenance duration.
- You cannot deactivate automatic updates after you have activated it.
About Manual Agent Updates
A new VMware Data Services Manager release may include software updates for the Agent VM. If updates to the Agent appliances fails during the configured maintenance period, the Provider Administrator can manually install the updates for the environment that is onboarded by each Agent appliance.
For each environment onboarded by an Agent, the software updates that are available are listed in the Available Updates table of the Update Manager tab. The status of the immediately applicable update is marked as Ready to Install in the Update Status column of the table. The status of all the other updates is listed as Not an Immediate Update. The updates that have already been applied previously are listed in the History table of the Update Manager tab.
Limitations for Manual Agent Updates
Consider the following limitations for automatic Agent updates:
- Only a Provider Administrator can perform manual software updates for Agent appliances.
- You can only install the next available software update. You cannot skip the immediate update and install the later updates listed in the table whose status is marked as Not an Immediate Update.
- You can install a software update of a version for the Agent appliance only after the Provider appliances are updated to that version.
Procedure for Manual Agent Updates
Perform the following steps to install a software update for the onboarded environment of an Agent:
Log in as a Provider Administrator to the VMware Data Services Manager console, and then navigate to the Environment pane.
In the Onboarded Environments table, click the environment for which you want to perform software update.
The Details tab of the environment appears.
Click the Update Manager tab, and then click INITIATE NEXT UPDATE in the left side of the Available Updates section.
The update moves from the Available Updates table to the History table with the status Stage In Progress, and the INITIATE NEXT UPDATE button is deactivated.
(Optional) You can monitor the software update of the Agent in the Operations pane.
About Database Updates
A new VMware Data Services Manager release may include updated database templates. A database template is comprised of a set of software packages:
- Core Service
- Engine
- Adapter
- Operating System (OS)
The database polls the Agent every 10 minutes for updates. If an update is available, it must be compatible with the current version of the software components on the database:
- Engine updates must be compatible with the current version of the Engine.
- Core Service and Adapter updates must be compatible with the current version of the Agent.
- Operating System updates must be compatible with the current version of the OS running on the database.
Core Service, Adapter, and OS software updates that do not require a reboot are always automatically applied to a database by VMware Data Services Manager. VMware Data Services Manager applies database updates that require a service or VM restart only during the maintenance window configured for the database.
VMware Data Services Manager applies Engine updates during the maintenance window configured for a database only when the user turned on Enable Auto Minor Version Upgrade during database creation. If this property is turned off, you are required to manually update the Engine software using the VMware Data Services Manager API.
If VMware Data Services Manager finds that a requested update is compatible:
The Agent determines if the update requires a reboot. If so, it waits until the time reaches the maintenance window.
The Agent sends an update request to the database.
The database transitions to VM maintenance mode.
The database completes in-flight operations, and rejects new operation requests.
The database initiates the software update. The database Status changes based on the type of update being applied:
Status Description CONTROL_PLANE_UPDATE_IN_PROGRESS A control plane software update is in progress. DB_ENGINE_UPDATE_IN_PROGRESS An Engine software update is in progress. OS_UPDATE_IN_PROGRESS An operating system software update is in progress.
If the update is successful, the database is back ONLINE.
If the update fails, you may be required to restore the database from the last available snapshot.
Initiating an On-Demand Engine Software Update
If you did not check the Enable Auto Minor Version Upgrade property when you created a database, the only way to update the Engine software is using the VMware Data Services Manager API.
Prerequisites
Before you initiate an on-demand Engine software update on a database, ensure that the database has no running VMware Data Services Manager or system-level tasks in progress. VMware Data Services Manager will not apply an Engine software update when there are tasks running on the database.
You must also obtain the database identifier for the database. You can obtain the identifier by invoking the /provider/databases endpoint of the VMware Data Services Manager API, locating the database in the output, and then extracting its id.
Procedure
You invoke the following VMware Data Services Manager API endpoint to initiate an on-demand Engine update of a database:
PATCH /databases/<db-id>/update-db-engine
About Software Updates and Version Compatibility
VMware Data Services Manager guarantees compatibility between versions n and n-1 releases of the Agent API. If you do not have access to release deliverables that meet this criteria, you must manually update the Agent using the VMware Data Services Manager API.
