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.

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.

Table 1. Sections and Subsections of Configuration Parameters in the JSON Upgrade Files
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 new_vcsa Section, vc Subsection.

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 esxi subsection.

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 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 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 source_vum Section, run_migration_assistant Subsection.

Note: The Migration Assistant uses port 9123 by default. If port 9123 is used by another service on the Update Manager machine, Migration Assistant automatically finds another free port. You cannot set a custom port for Migration Assistant.
ceip - describes joining the VMware Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP). settings

Contains only the ceip_enabled configuration parameter to join or not to join the VMware Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP). See Configuration Parameters in the ceip Section, settings Subsection.

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.

Important: The string values, including the passwords, must contain only ASCII characters. Extended ASCII and non-ASCII characters are unsupported.

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-7.0.0.XXXX-YYYYYYY_OVF10.ova" sets the path G:\vcsa\VMware-vCenter-Server-Appliance-7.0.0.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

Table 2. Configuration Parameters in the new_vcsa Section, esxi Subsection
Name Type Description
hostname string The IP address or FQDN of the target ESXi host on which you want to 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 managing_esxi_or_vc configuration parameter) network configuration.

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 stops 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 to NONE. 

"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 NONE, the CLI displays the server's self-signed certificate thumbprint, and prompts you to accept or reject the certificate thumbprint.

You may also specify that the CLI ignore the self-signed using the vcsa-deploy upgrade command parameter --no-ssl-certificate-validation. See Syntax of the CLI Upgrade Command .

Table 3. Configuration Parameters in the new_vcsa Section, vc Subsection
Name Type Description
hostname string The IP address or FQDN of the target vCenter Server instance on which you want to 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 array

The vCenter Server data center that contains the target ESXi host or DRS cluster on which you want to deploy the new appliance.

If the data center is located in a folder or a structure of folders, specify the as a comma-separated list of strings. For example, 
["parent_folder", "child_folder", "datacenter_name"]

If there is no folder path on the data center, then use only the data center 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 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 datacenter parameter. This path must end with a cluster name, ESXi hostname, or resource pool name.

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 later in this section.

If the target cluster, ESXi host, or resource pool is located in a folder or a structure of folders, specify the value as a comma-separated list of strings. For example, 
["parent_folder", "child_folder", "esxi-host.domain.com"]
If the target ESXi host is part of a cluster, specify the path as a comma-separated list of strings. For example, 
["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 virtual machine (VM) folder to which to add the new appliance.
Table 4. Configuration Parameters in the new_vcsa Section, appliance Subsection
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.
  • Set to tiny if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 10 hosts and 100 virtual machines with the default storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 2 CPUs, 10 GB of memory, and 300 GB of storage.

  • Set to tiny-lstorage if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 10 hosts and 100 virtual machines with the large storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 2 CPUs, 10 GB of memory, and 825 GB of storage.

  • Set to tiny-xlstorage if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 10 hosts and 100 virtual machines with the x-large storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 2 CPUs, 10 GB of memory, and 1700 GB of storage.

  • Set to small if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 100 hosts and 1,000 virtual machines with the default storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 4 CPUs, 16 GB of memory, and 340 GB of storage.

  • Set to small-lstorage if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 100 hosts and 1,000 virtual machines with the large storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 4 CPUs, 16 GB of memory, and 870 GB of storage.

  • Set to small-xlstorage if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 100 hosts and 1,000 virtual machines with the x-large storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 4 CPUs, 16 GB of memory, and 1750 GB of storage.

  • Set to medium if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 400 hosts and 4,000 virtual machines with the default storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 8 CPUs, 24 GB of memory, and 525 GB of storage.

  • Set to medium-lstorage if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 400 hosts and 4,000 virtual machines with the large storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 8 CPUs, 24 GB of memory, and 1025 GB of storage.

  • Set to medium-xlstorage if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 400 hosts and 4,000 virtual machines with the x-large storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 8 CPUs, 24 GB of memory, and 1905 GB of storage.

  • Set to large if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 1,000 hosts and 10,000 virtual machines with the default storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 16 CPUs, 32 GB of memory, and 740 GB of storage.

  • Set to large-lstorage if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 1,000 hosts and 10,000 virtual machines with the large storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 16 CPUs, 32 GB of memory, and 1090 GB of storage.

  • Set to large-xlstorage if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 1,000 hosts and 10,000 virtual machines with the x-large storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 16 CPUs, 32 GB of memory, and 1970 GB of storage.

  • Set to xlarge if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 2,000 hosts and 35,000 virtual machines with the default storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 24 CPUs, 48 GB of memory, and 1180 GB of storage.

  • Set to xlarge-lstorage if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 2,000 hosts and 35,000 virtual machines with the large storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 24 CPUs, 48 GB of memory, and 1230 GB of storage.

  • Set to xlarge-xlstorage if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance for up to 2,000 hosts and 35,000 virtual machines with the x-large storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 24 CPUs, 48 GB of memory, and 2110 GB of storage.

  • Set to management-tiny if you want to deploy a vCenter Server appliance with an external Platform Services Controller for up to 10 hosts and 100 virtual machines with the default storage size.

    Deploys an appliance with 2 CPUs, 10 GB of memory, and 300 GB of storage.

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.

Table 5. Configuration Parameters in the new_vcsa Section, temporary_network Subsection
Name Type Description
ip_family string

IP version for the temporary network of the new appliance.

Set to ipv4 or ipv6.

mode string

IP assignment for the temporary network of the new appliance.

Set to static or dhcp.

ip string

Temporary IP address for the new appliance.

Required only if you use a static assignment, that is, if you set the mode parameter to static.

You must set an IPv4 or IPv6 address that corresponds to the temporary network IP version, that is, to the value of the ip.family parameter.

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 mode parameter to static.

prefix string

Network prefix length for the temporary network of the new appliance.

Use only if the mode parameter is set to static. Remove if the mode parameter is set to dhcp.

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 0 and 32.

For IPv6 version, the value must be between 0 and 128.

gateway string

IP address of the default gateway for the temporary network of the new appliance.

For IPv6 version, the value can be default.

Table 6. Configuration Parameters in the new_vcsa Section, user_options Subsection
Name Type Description
vcdb_migrateSet string

Select the types of data to migrate from the old appliance to the new appliance. Data is copied from the source vCenter Server to the target server. The original source of the data remains unchanged.

  • Set to core if you want to transfer only the configuration data. This option provides the fastest data migration, keeping system downtime to a minimum.
  • Set to core_events_tasks if you want to transfer the configuration and historical data (events and tasks) immediately. vCenter Server will not start until all data has been migrated from the source vCenter Server appliance.
  • Set to all if you want to transfer the configuration, historical, and performance metrics data immediately. vCenter Server will not start until all data has been migrated from the source vCenter Server for Windows. This option transfers the largest amount of data, and requires more downtime than other data migration options.
  • Set to transfer_events_tasks_after_upgrade if you want to transfer the historical data (events and tasks) in the background after the upgrade finishes. During this time, vCenter Server performance might not be optimal.
  • Set to transfer_stats_events_tasks_after_upgrade if you want to transfer historical data and performance metrics data in the background after the upgrade finishes. During this time, vCenter Server performance might not be optimal.
Note: To minimize the 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 existingvCenter Server to the new, upgradedvCenter Server, see Transferring Data After Upgrade or Migration.

Table 7. Configuration Parameters in the new_vcsa Section, sso Subsection
Name Type Description
first_instance string

Set first_instance to true if this is the first converge upgrade operation in your vCenter Server SSO domain, or if you do not want to set the replication partner for this node.

If you want to set the replication partner for this node, set first_instance to false and provide the value of the replication_partner_hostname as the FQDN of a previously converged node which is currently in an embedded vCenter Server topology.

For more information on specifying the first_instance and replication_partner_hostname parameters, see About Upgrading a vCenter Server with an External Platform Services Controller Using the CLI.
replication_partner_hostname string Host name of the replication partner. Remove if it is the first_instance.

Configuration Parameters in the source_vc Section

Table 8. Configuration Parameters in the source_vc Section, managing_esxi_or_vc Subsection
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.

Table 9. Configuration Parameters in the source_vc Section, vc_vcsa Subsection
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

Table 10. Configuration Parameters in the source_vum Section, run_migration_assistant Subsection
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

Table 11. Configuration Parameters in the ceip Section, settings Subsection
Name Type Description
ceip_enabled Boolean Set to true to join the CEIP for the new upgraded appliance.