Use the NSX Manager user interface (UI) to upgrade your current NSX Intelligence 1.2.x installation to NSX Intelligence 3.2 or later.

NSX Intelligence has transitioned from using a VM-based appliance to being hosted on the NSX Application Platform, a Kubernetes cluster-based platform. Before you upgrade to NSX Intelligence 3.2, you must decide whether to migrate the NSX Intelligence traffic flow data that has been collected to date. Migrating the flow data requires preparation of the NSX Intelligence upgrade bundle that is used during the upgrade to NSX Intelligence 3.2. If you choose not to migrate the traffic data, all the traffic data analytics are lost permanently.

Caution:

Do not power off the NSX Intelligence appliance manually during the upgrade process.

Prerequisites

  • Download the NSX Intelligence appliance bundle (.mub) file. See Download the NSX Intelligence Upgrade Bundle.

  • Ensure that the /image partition in the NSX Manager host has enough space for the MUB file to be uploaded to the NSX Manager host.

  • The /image and /tmp partitions of the NSX Intelligence appliance node must have enough space to upload and verify the NSX Intelligence upgrade bundle.

Procedure

  1. From your browser, log in with enterprise administrator privileges to the orchestrator NSX Manager node at https://<nsx-manager-ip-address>.
  2. In NSX Manager, select System > Upgrade.
  3. Locate the NSX Intelligence Appliances card and click Upgrade NSX Intelligence.
  4. In the Upgrade Bundle page, use the following information to decide which method to use to upload the upgrade bundle.
    • Select Upload MUB File if you downloaded the MUB update bundle to a local datastore.

    • Select Upload From Remote Location if you downloaded the MUB update bundle to a remote web server.

  5. Enter the filename of the upgrade bundle using the following information.
    Important:

    The MUB filename entered must match exactly as the upgrade bundle file that you downloaded from the VMware Products Download portal.

    1. If you selected the Upload MUB File method, click Select, navigate to the downloaded MUB file location, and select the file.
    2. If you selected Upload From Remote Location method, enter the full URL of the MUB file you downloaded on your remote web server.
  6. Click Upload.

    The upload might take some time. The progress of the upload and verification of the upgrade bundle is displayed. If you decide to not continue with the upload, click Cancel. A message is displayed to confirm the bundle upload cancellation. You must reupload the bundle again to proceed with the upgrade process.

  7. After the .MUB file is uploaded successfully, click Start Upgrade.

    The Upgrade Coordinator is upgraded with the NSX Intelligence upgrade information. The Upgrade Coordinator runs in NSX Manager. It is a self-contained web application that orchestrates the upgrade process of NSX Intelligence. The Upgrade Coordinator guides you through the proper upgrade sequence. You can track the upgrade process from the user interface.

  8. In the Prepare for Upgrade tab, decide if you want to retain the analytical data collected by NSX Intelligence 1.2 and migrate it to the target NSX Intelligence 3.2 installation.

    Retain Data?

    Instructions

    Yes

    1. Click Yes to retain the analytical data collected by NSX Intelligence.

    2. Read the Note about the data migration and click Confirm.

    3. Click Run Prechecks.

      If errors are encountered during the prechecks, click the Issues found link, review the details about the reported issues, and resolve the issues before continuing.

    4. After the precheck status returns Success or the Next button is enabled, click Next.

    5. Click Prepare for Migration.

      The system proceeds to upload the upgrade bundle, stops the data collection, shuts down all of the services, and prepares the data for migration from your NSX Intelligence 1.2 appliance. Details about the progress is shown on the UI. You can also click Recent Logs to see the progress.

    6. After the appliance is marked as ready for migration, click Finish.

      In the System > Upgrade page, the NSX Intelligence Appliances card displays the Upgrade Summary

    7. On the NSX Intelligence Appliances card, click Show Upgrade History to verify that the target version is correct.

    No

    Caution:

    All analytical data previously collected by NSX Intelligence will be lost when you choose not to migrate the data.

    1. Click No and click Go to Appliances. You can proceed to delete the NSX Intelligence appliance.

    2. Locate the NSX Intelligence card, click Actions, and select Delete from the drop-down menu.

      See Delete NSX Intelligence for details.

  9. Upgrade your NSX-T Data Center 3.1.x installation to NSX-T Data Center 3.2 or later.

    For details, see the NSX-T Data Center Installation Guide for version 3.2 or later at https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-NSX/index.html.

  10. Deploy NSX Application Platform.

    See the Deploying and Managing the VMware NSX Application Platform document that is included with the NSX Data Center version 3.2 or later documentation set at https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-NSX/index.html.

  11. Prepare NSX Intelligence 3.2 or later for activation.
    1. In the System > NSX Application page, locate the NSX Intelligence card and click Get Started.
    2. Review the information shown in the NSX Intelligence dialog box.
    3. Click Yes to confirm that you want to migrate the traffic flow data from earlier NSX Intelligence version and click Migrate.

      This step can take some time depending on the size of the data being migrated.

    4. If you decide not to migrate the data, click No.
  12. When the NSX Intelligence feature card displays the Activate button, click Activate.

    See NSX Intelligence Activation and Usage Workflow for details on the activation process.

What to do next

Navigate to Plan & Troubleshoot > Discover & Take Action and verify that the data flow visualization is intact and new traffic flow data is getting collected as expected.