Upgrading your NSX Federation Deployment

Follow the workflow for upgrading NSX Federation appliances depending on the version you are upgrading from.

Global Manager (GM) and Local Manager (LM) upgrades can occur in any order. Starting in NSX Federation 4.2, the GM and LM continue to sync in any combination if they are at different versions between 3.2 and 4.2. Upgrades can occur on LM first, then GM or GM first and then LM.

Global Managers support the same interoperability as Local Managers. Refer to the Local Manager (LM) and Global Manager (GM) Upgrade table for LM and GM version compatibility.

For example:

• If you have 3.2 LMs and 3.2 GMs, all can be upgraded to NSX 4.2.
• If you have 3.2 LMs and 4.1.2 on the standby GM and the active GM, all can be upgraded to NSX 4.2.

Note: Refer to the VMware NSX Release Notes for a resolved issue that requires Global Manager and Local Manager sites running 4.1.x to upgrade before moving to NSX 4.2.

The Local Manager (LM) and Global Manager (GM) Upgrade table shows the software and the valid versions that will continue to sync with both the earlier and the latest LM and GM versions. All maintenance releases are supported for upgrade, but for the supported minor release versions or upgrade chain requirements be sure to refer to the VMware Product Interoperability Matrix. For table asterisk (*), refer to the Interoperability Matrix for the supported minor release versions or upgrade chain requirements at the VMware Product Interoperability Matrix or the VMware NSX Release Notes for the latest upgrade and issue details.

Table 1. Local Manager (LM) and Global Manager (GM) Upgrade

From \ To	4.2
3.1	First upgrade to 3.2.2 or later
3.2.x	Supported*
4.0.x	Supported*
4.1.x	Supported*

Upgrade VMware Cloud Foundation Deployments with NSX Federation

The VMware Cloud Foundation™ Deployments with Local Manager (LM) and Global Manager (GM) Upgrade table shows the software and the valid versions that are on the upgrade path for NSX Federation in a VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) environment.

Note: For prior releases of VMware Cloud Foundation, you must first upgrade to VCF 4.5.x.

Table 2. VMware Cloud Foundation Deployments with Local Manager (LM) and (GM) Upgrade

From/To	Steps
VCF 4.5.x to 5.2 LM any version from 3.2.x to 4.2 GM any version from 3.2.x to 4.2	Manually upgrade the standby GM, then the active GM from 3.2.x to 4.2. Upgrade from VCF 4.5.x to 5.2 with SDDC Manager, which upgrades from LM 3.2.x to 4.2.
VCF 5.0.x to 5.2 LM any version from 4.1.x to 4.2 GM any version from 4.1.x to 4.2	Manually upgrade the standby GM, then the active GM from 4.1. x to 4.2. Upgrade from VCF 5.0.x to 5.2 with SDDC Manager, which upgrades from LM 4.1.x to 4.2.
VCF 5.1.x to 5.2 LM any version from 4.1.x to 4.2 GM any version from 4.1.x to 4.2	Manually upgrade the standby GM, then the active GM from 4.1.x to 4.2. Upgrade from VCF 5.1.x to 5.2 with SDDC Manager, which upgrades from LM 4.1.x to 4.2.