Starting with vSphere 7.0, the vSphere Distributed Switch supports the NSX functionality. For clusters enabled with NSX, you can migrate the NSX-managed Virtual Distributed Switches on the hosts to vSphere Distributed Switches during an upgrade of a cluster against a vSphere Lifecycle Manager baseline group that contains an ESXi image and NSX VIBs .

Migrating your host switch to vSphere Distributed Switch 7.0 or later ensures optimal pNIC usage, and lets you manage the networking for your NSX hosts from vCenter Server.

During an upgrade remediation, vSphere Lifecycle Manager checks if an NSX virtual distributed switch is present on each of the hosts in the cluster and if it is ready to be migrated. To prepare the NSX virtual distributed switch for migration, you must run the Upgrade Readiness Tool before upgrading the cluster. If the NSX distributed switch on any of hosts in the cluster is not ready to be migrated to a vSphere Distributed Switch, you cannot proceed with the remediation process. In this case, you need to go to NSX Manager and run the Upgrade Readiness Tool.

Requirements

  • ESXi 7.0 Update 2
  • vCenter Server 7.0 Update 2
  • NSX 3.1.1

As a good practice, contact VMware support to assess the impact of migrating to vSphere Distributed Switch 7.0 or later.

Workflow

  1. In NSX Manager, use the Upgrade Readiness Tool to run the migration readiness pre-check, address any configuration issues, review the recommended topology, and apply the new topology.

    For more information about the steps you need to perform in NSX Manager, see "Migrate Host Switch to vSphere Distributed Switch" in the NSX Center Administration documentation.

  2. Upgrade vCenter Server to version 7.0 Update 2.

    For more information about upgrading vCenter Server, see the vSphere Upgrade documentation.

  3. Create a baseline group that contains an ESXi image version 7.0 Update 2 and the NSX kernel module for ESXi 7.0 .
    1. Import an ESXi 7.0 Update 2 ISO image to the vSphere Lifecycle Manager depot.

      For more information, see Import an ISO Image to the vSphere Lifecycle Manager Depot.

    2. Create an upgrade baseline that contains the imported ISO image.

      For more information, see Create, Edit, or Delete vSphere Lifecycle Manager Baselines and Baseline Groups.

    3. From customerconnect.vmware.com, download the NSX kernel module for ESXi 7.0.
    4. Import the downloaded NSX bundle to the vSphere Lifecycle Manager depot.

      For more information, see Import Updates to the vSphere Lifecycle Manager Depot.

    5. Create an extension baseline that contains the imported kernel module.

      For more information, see Create, Edit, or Delete vSphere Lifecycle Manager Baselines and Baseline Groups.

    6. Create a baseline group that contains the ESXi upgrade baseline and the extension baseline with NSX VIBs.

      For more information, see Create a Host Baseline Group.

  4. Attach the baseline group to a cluster.

    For more information, see Attach Baselines and Baseline Groups to Objects.

  5. Remediate the cluster against the attached baseline group.

    During the remediation, vSphere Lifecycle Manager upgrades the ESXi version first and then migrates the host switch, if migration is needed.

    For more information, see Remediate ESXi Hosts Against a Single Baseline or Multiple Baselines.

  6. If you use host profiles to configure the hosts in your environment, re-extract a new host profile from the reference host in the cluster.

    After the upgrade, due to the migration of the host switch, the existing host profiles become invalidated and inapplicable.

    For more information, see the vSphere Host Profiles documentation.