When you prepare your JSON configuration files for CLI upgrade, you must set parameters and values to provide input data for the upgrade of a vCenter Server Appliance or Platform Services Controller appliance.
Sections and Subsections of Configuration Parameters in the JSON Upgrade Files
The configuration parameters in the JSON configuration files for CLI upgrade are organized in sections and subsections.
| Section | Subsection | Description |
|---|---|---|
new_vcsa - describes the new appliance that you want to deploy |
esxi |
Use only if you want to deploy the new appliance directly on an ESXi host.
Contains the configuration parameters that describe the target
ESXi host. See
Configuration Parameters in the new_vcsa Section, esxi Subsection.
Note: You must fill in either this subsection or the
vc subsection.
|
vc |
Use only if you want to deploy the new appliance on the inventory of a vCenter Server instance. Contains the configuration parameters that describe the target ESXi host or DRS cluster from the vCenter Server inventory. See Configuration Parameters in the
Note: You must fill in either this subsection or the
esxi subsection.
The target vCenter Server instance cannot be the vCenter Server Appliance that you want to upgrade. In such cases, use the |
|
appliance |
Contains the configuration parameters that describe the new appliance. See Configuration Parameters in the new_vcsa Section, appliance Subsection |
|
os |
Contains only the ssh_enable configuration parameter to set the SSH administrator login to the new appliance. |
|
ovftool_arguments |
Optional. Use this subsection for adding arbitrary arguments and their values to the OVF Tool command that the installer generates.
Important: The
vCenter Server Appliance installer does not validate the configuration parameters in the
ovftool_arguments subsection. If you set arguments that the OVF Tool does not recognize, the deployment might fail.
|
|
temporary_network |
Contains the configuration parameters that describe the temporary network settings for the new appliance. See Configuration Parameters in the new_vcsa Section, temporary_network Subsection |
|
user_options |
Contains only the vcdb_migrateSet configuration parameter to set the types of data that you want to transfer from the old appliance to the new appliance. See Configuration Parameters in the new_vcsa Section, user_options Subsection |
|
source_vc - describes the existing appliance that you want to upgrade |
managing_esxi_or_vc |
Contains the configuration parameters that describe the source ESXi host or vCenter Server Appliance instance on which resides the appliance that you want to upgrade. See Configuration Parameters in the source_vc Section, managing_esxi_or_vc Subsection. |
vc_vcsa |
Contains the configuration parameters that describe the source appliance that you want to upgrade. See Configuration Parameters in the source_vc Section, vc_vcsa Subsection. |
|
source_vum - describes the source VMware Update Manager instance Use if you want to automatically run the Migration Assistant on the VMware Update Manager instance. |
run_migration_assistant |
Optional if the source vCenter Server Appliance that you want to upgrade is connected to a VMware Update Manager instance that runs on a Windows virtual machine. Use this subsection if you want to automatically run the Migration Assistant on the source VMware Update Manager instance. Contains the configuration parameters that describe the source VMware Update Manager instance, which will be migrated to the new upgraded vCenter Server Appliance. See Configuration Parameters in the
Note: The
Migration Assistant uses port 9123 by default. If port 9123 is used by another service on the your
Update Manager machine, the
Migration Assistant automatically finds another free port. You cannot set a custom port for the
Migration Assistant.
|
ceip - describes joining the VMware Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) |
settings |
Contains only the Required only if you are upgrading a vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded Platform Services Controller or a Platform Services Controller appliance.
Note: If the
ceip_enabled configuration parameter is set to
true, you must run the CLI deployment command with the
--acknowledge-ceip argument.
For information about the CEIP, see the Configuring Customer Experience Improvement Program section in vCenter Server and Host Management. |
To set a value that contains a backslash (\) or quotation mark (") character, you must precede the character with the backslash (\) character. For example, "password":"my\"password" sets the password my"password, "image":"G:\\vcsa\\VMware-vCenter-Server-Appliance-6.7.0.XXXX-YYYYYYY_OVF10.ova" sets the path G:\vcsa\VMware-vCenter-Server-Appliance-6.7.0.XXXX-YYYYYYY_OVF10.ova.
The Boolean values must contain only lowercase characters. Can be either true or false. For example, "ssh_enable":false.
Configuration Parameters in the new_vcsa Section
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
hostname |
string | The IP address or FQDN of the target ESXi host on which you want deploy the new appliance. |
username |
string | A user name with administrative privileges on the target ESXi host, for example, root. |
password |
string | The password of the user with administrative privileges on the target ESXi host. |
deployment_network |
string | The name of the network to which to connect the new appliance. The network must be part of the target ESXi host or vCenter Server Appliance instance (as identified by the
Note: The network must be accessible from the source
ESXi host or
vCenter Server Appliance instance (as identified by the
managing_esxi_or_vc configuration parameter) on which resides the appliance that you want to upgrade. The network must be also accessible from the client machine from which you are performing the upgrade.
Ignored if the target ESXi host has only one network. |
datastore |
string | The name of the datastore on which to store the virtual machine configuration files and virtual disks of the new appliance. The datastore must be available to the target ESXi host.
Note: The datastore must have at least 25 GB of free space.
|
port |
integer | The HTTPS reverse proxy port of the target ESXi host. The default port is 443. Use only if the target ESXi host uses a custom HTTPS reverse proxy port. |
ssl_certificate_verification |
string | The CLI verifies that a server's security certificate is signed by a Certificate Authority (CA), and establishes a secure connection. If the certificate is self-signed, the CLI will stop the upgrade unless you specify one of the following SSL certificate configuration options: Specify the Secure Hash Algorithm 1 (SHA-1) certificate thumbprint. A certificate thumbprint is a hexadecimal string that uniquely identifies a certificate. The thumbprint is calculated from the content of the certificate using a thumbprint algorithm. "thumbprint": "certificate SHA-1 thumbprint" Set "verification_mode": "NONE" If you are connecting to a server with a self-signed certificate, and fail to either specify the SHA-1 certificate thumbprint or set the verification mode to You may also specify that the CLI ignore the self-signed using the vcsa-deploy upgrade command parameter |
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
hostname |
string | The IP address or FQDN of the target vCenter Server instance on which you want deploy the new appliance. |
username |
string | vCenter Single Sign-On administrator user name on the target vCenter Server instance, for example, [email protected]. |
password |
string | The password of the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator user on the target vCenter Server instance. |
deployment_network |
string | The name of the network to which to connect the new appliance. The network must part of the target ESXi host or DRS cluster network configuration.
Note: The network must be accessible from the source
ESXi host on which resides the appliance that you want to upgrade. The network must be also accessible from the client machine from which you are performing the upgrade.
Ignored if the target ESXi host or DRS cluster has only one network. |
datacenter |
string or array | The vCenter Server datacenter that contains the target ESXi host or DRS cluster on which you want to deploy the new appliance.
If the datacenter is located in a folder or a structure of folders, the value must be either a comma-separated list of strings or a comma-separated list as a single string. For example,
["parent_folder", "child_folder", "datacenter_name"]or "parent_folder, child_folder, datacenter_name" If there is no folder path on the datacenter, then use only the datacenter name. For example, ["datacenter_name"]or "datacenter_name"
Note: The value is case-sensitive.
|
datastore |
string | The name of the datastore that you want to store all virtual machine configuration files and virtual disks of the new appliance.
Note: The datastore must be available to the target
ESXi host or DRS cluster.
The datastore must have at least 25 GB of free space. |
port |
integer | The HTTPS reverse proxy port of the target vCenter Server instance. The default port is 443. Use only if the target vCenter Server instance uses a custom HTTPS reverse proxy port. |
target |
string or array | The target cluster, ESXi host, or resource pool on which you want to deploy the new appliance. This is the target you specified with the
Important: You must provide the name that is displayed in the
vCenter Server inventory. For example, if the name of the target
ESXi host is an IP address in the
vCenter Server inventory, you cannot provide an FQDN.
Note: All values are case-sensitive.
If you want the deployed appliance to be listed in a different location within the data center's hierarchy, use the vm_folder parameter described below.
If the target cluster,
ESXi host, or resource pool is located in a folder or a structure of folders, the value must be a comma-separated list of strings or a comma-separated list as a single string. For example,
["parent_folder", "child_folder", "esxi-host.domain.com"]or "parent_folder, child_folder, esxi-host.domain.com"
If the target
ESXi host is part of a cluster, use a comma-separated list of strings or a comma-separated list as a single string to provide the path. For example,
["cluster_name", "esxi-host.domain.com"]or "cluster_name, esxi-host.domain.com" If you are deploying to a resource pool, include the label Resources before the resource pool name. For example: ["cluster_name", "Resources", "resource_pool_name"]
Note: Pre-checks verify only the memory of the resource pool.
|
vm_folder |
string | Optional. The name of the VM folder to which to add the new appliance. |
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
thin_disk_mode |
Boolean | Set to true to deploy the new appliance with thin virtual disks. |
deployment_option |
string | The size for the new appliance.
Note: You must consider the database size of the appliance that you want to upgrade. For an external database, see
Determine the Oracle Database Size and the Storage Size for the New Appliance.
|
image |
string | Optional. A local file path or URL to the vCenter Server Appliance installation package. By default the installer uses the installation package that is included in the ISO file, in the vcsa folder. |
name |
string | The VM name for the new appliance. Must contain only ASCII characters except a percent sign (%), backslash (\), or forward slash (/) and must be no more than 80 characters in length. |
ovftool_path |
string | Optional. A local file path to the OVF Tool executable file. By default the installer uses the OVF Tool instance that is included in the ISO file, in the vcsa/ovftool folder. |
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
ip_family |
string | IP version for the temporary network of the new appliance. Set to |
mode |
string | IP assignment for the temporary network of the new appliance. Set to |
ip |
string | Temporary IP address for the new appliance. Required only if you use static assignment, that is, if you set the You must set an IPv4 or IPv6 address that corresponds to the temporary network IP version, that is, to the value of the An IPv4 address must comply with the RFC 790 guidelines. An IPv6 address must comply with the RFC 2373 guidelines. |
dns_servers |
string or array | IP addresses of one or more DNS servers for the temporary network of the new appliance.
To set more than one DNS server, use a comma-separated list of strings or a comma-separated list as a single string to provide the path. For example,
["x.y.z.a", "x.y.z.b"]or "x.y.z.a, x.y.z.b" Required only if you use static network mode for the temporary IP address allocation, that is, if you set the |
prefix |
string | Network prefix length for the temporary network of the new appliance. Use only if the The network prefix length is the number of bits that are set in the subnet mask. For example, if the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0, there are 24 bits in the binary version of the prefix length, so the network prefix length is 24. For IPv4 version, the value must be between For IPv6 version, the value must be between |
gateway |
string | IP address of the default gateway for the temporary network of the new appliance. For IPv6 version, the value can be |
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
vcdb_migrateSet |
string | Select the types of data to migrate from the old appliance to the new appliance. Data will be copied from the source vCenter Server to the target server. The original source of the data will remain unchanged.
Note: To minimize upgrade time and the amount of storage required for the new vCenter Server appliance, use the
core value.
For more information on the types of data you can transfer from your existing vCenter Server to the new, upgraded vCenter Server, see Transferring Data from an Existing vCenter Server Appliance. |
Configuration Parameters in the source_vc Section
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
hostname |
string | The IP address or FQDN of the source ESXi or vCenter Server host on which resides the appliance that you want to upgrade. |
username |
string | A user name with administrative privileges on the source ESXi host, for example, root. |
password |
string | The password of the user with administrative privileges on the source ESXi host. |
port |
integer | The HTTPS reverse proxy port of the source ESXi host. The default port is 443. Use only if the source ESXi host uses a custom HTTPS reverse proxy port. |
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
hostname |
string | The IP address or FQDN of the source appliance that you want to upgrade. |
username |
string | vCenter Single Sign-On administrator user on the source appliance, for example [email protected].
Important: The user must be administrator@
your_domain_name.
|
password |
string | The password of the vCenter Single Sign-On administrator user on the source appliance. |
root_password |
string | The password for the root user of the operating system of the source appliance. |
export_dir |
string | Directory to export source configuration and data. |
Configuration Parameters in the source.vum Section
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
esxi_hostname |
string | The IP address or FQDN of the ESXi host on which resides the source VMware Update Manager instance. If an FQDN is provided, it must be resolvable from the client machine from which you run the upgrade. |
esxi_username |
string | A user name with administrative privileges on the ESXi host, for example, root. |
esxi_password |
string | The password of the user with administrative privileges on the ESXi host. |
esxi_port |
string | The HTTPS reverse proxy port of the ESXi host. The default port is 443. Use only if the ESXi host uses a custom HTTPS reverse proxy port. |
vum_hostname |
string | The IP address or FQDN of the Windows virtual machine on which the source VMware Update Manager instance runs. If an FQDN is provided, it must be resolvable from the client machine from which you run the upgrade. |
vum_os_username |
string | The administrator user name of the Windows virtual machine on which the source VMware Update Manager instance runs. |
vum_os_password |
string | The administrator password of the Windows virtual machine on which the source VMware Update Manager instance runs. If not provided, you are prompted to enter the password at the command console during the template verification. |
export_dir |
string | Directory to export source configuration and data. |
Configuration Parameters in the ceip Section
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
ceip_enabled |
Boolean | Set to true to join the CEIP for the new upgraded appliance. |
