You can use vSphere Lifecycle Manager baselines for upgrade operations in environments with NSX 3.0. Starting with vSphere 7.0 Update 1 and NSX 3.1, you can also use vSphere Lifecycle Manager images to manage clusters that have NSX enabled.

Using vSphere Lifecycle Manager Baselines to Upgrade ESXi Hosts in an Environment With VMware NSX® 3.0

You can use vSphere Lifecycle Manager to upgrade the ESXi hosts in an environment where you have NSX enabled.

Requirements

  • Verify that the ESXi hosts to upgrade are version 6.7 or later.
  • vCenter Server version 6.7 or earlier
  • NSX 3.0
  • Verify that the vmknics on the ESXi host are properly configured and the DHCP server works properly.

Workflow

  1. Upgrade vCenter Server to version 7.0.

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

  2. Import an ESXi 7.0 ISO image to the vSphere Lifecycle Manager depot.

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

  3. Download the NSX 3.0.0 NSX Kernel Module for VMware ESXi 7.0 from http://customerconnect.vmware.com.
  4. Import the kernel module to the vSphere Lifecycle Manager depot.

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

  5. Create an upgrade baseline with the imported ESXi 7.0 ISO image.

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

  6. Create an extension baseline with the uploaded NSX kernel module.

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

  7. Create a baseline group that contains the newly created upgrade and extension baselines.

    For more information, see Create a Host Baseline Group.

  8. Attach the baseline group to a cluster.

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

  9. Remediate the cluster against the attached baseline group.

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

Using vSphere Lifecycle Manager Images in an Environment With NSX 3.1

You can use NSX on a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image. As a result, you can use NSX Manager to install, upgrade, or remove NSX components on the ESXi hosts in a cluster that you manage with a single image.

Requirements

  • Verify that all ESXi hosts in the cluster are version 7.0 Update 1 or later.
  • Verify that vCenter Server is version 7.0 Update 1 or later.
  • Verify that NSX is version 3.1 or later.
  • Verify that a vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) is configured to manage the NSX traffic.

Supported Workflows

The following workflows are supported for clusters that are enabled for both vSphere Lifecycle Manager images and NSX.
  • You can enable NSX on a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image.

    You perform the operation by configuring a transport node profile (TNP) for the cluster in the NSX Manager. In the NSX Manager, you can either manually add a TNP to the cluster, or automatically generate one in the Getting Started wizard. You can continue leveraging individual transport node configurations, but you must always use a TNP for the clusters that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image. You cannot enable NSX on a cluster that uses a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image if you choose to only use individual transport node configurations for the hosts in the cluster.

  • You can add hosts to a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image and that is enabled with NSX. You can also remove hosts from such a cluster.

    You perform the add and remove host operations in the vSphere Client. When you add a host to the cluster, vSphere Lifecycle Manager automatically installs the NSX component to the newly added host. To add a host to a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image, the host must be added to the VDS associated with the TNP. Otherwise, the host cannot fully work with NSX.

    When you move a host from one cluster that uses a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image to another, vSphere Lifecycle Manager applies the target cluster's image together with the target NSX component to the newly added host. If a host is deleted from the vCenter Server inventory, the NSX component is uninstalled from the host.

    For more information about adding and removing hosts to and from a cluster, see the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation.

  • You can upgrade NSX 3.1 to a later version in a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image.

    You perform the operation from the NSX Manager.

  • You can upgrade both NSX and ESXi in a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager remediation task. The workflow is supported only if you upgrade from NSX version 3.1.

    In the NSX Manager, you stage the NSX upgrade as part of the image that the cluster uses. From the vSphere Lifecycle Manager user interface in the vSphere Client, you can further edit the image and you initiate remediation of the cluster. During remediation, vSphere Lifecycle Manager applies both the NSX and ESXi upgrades to the hosts in the cluster. For more information, see the Upgrading NSX Guide documentation.

  • You can switch from using vSphere Lifecycle Manager baselines to using a vSphere Lifecycle Manager image for a cluster that is enabled with NSX.
  • You can uninstall NSX from a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image.
  • You can check the compliance, generate a remediation pre-check report, and remediate a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image and that is enabled with NSX.

    You perform the check compliance, generate a remediation pre-check, and remediation operations in the vSphere Client. Whenever you change the NSX configuration in the NSX Manager, the compliance state of the cluster that you see on the Updates tab for the cluster in the vSphere Client changes to non-compliant. You can remediate non-compliant hosts and clusters in the vSphere Client or you can solve the issues that cause non-compliance in the NSX Manager.

  • You can back up and restore NSX.
  • You can export the vSphere Lifecycle Manager image of a cluster that is enabled with NSX and import this image to another cluster that has both vSphere Lifecycle Manager images and NSX enabled.

For detailed information about all workflows that you perform in the NSX Manager, see the NSX Administration documentation.

Upgrading the NSX Components in a vSAN Cluster

To upgrade the NSX components installed on the hosts in a cluster, you must remediate the cluster against a vSphere Lifecycle Manager image that contains the latest version of those NSX components.

In a vSAN cluster with configured fault domains, vSphere Lifecycle Manager recognizes the configured fault domains for the cluster and performs the solution upgrade in accordance with the fault domain configuration. If the vSAN cluster is a stretched cluster, you must upgrade the witness host separately, after vSphere Lifecycle Manager finishes remediating all fault domains. For more information about remediating vSAN stretched clusters and vSAN clusters configured with fault domains, see Using vSphere Lifecycle Manager Images to Remediate vSAN Clusters with Configured Fault Domains. For more information about stretched clusters, see the vSAN Planning and Deployment documentation.

Scalability

For information about the scalability that vSphere Lifecycle Manager supports, visit the VMware Configuration Maximums Matrix at https://configmax.vmware.com/.

Using vSphere Lifecycle Manager Images for Standalone Hosts with NSX 4.2 and later

You can use NSX on a standalone host that you manage with a vSphere Lifecycle Manager image. As a result, vSphere Lifecycle Manager becomes responsible for installing, upgrading, and removing NSX components on the host.

Requirements

  • Verify that the standalone ESXi host and the vCenter Server instance are of version 8.0 Update 3 and later.
  • Verify that NSX is of version 4.2 and later.

Supported Workflows

  • You can enable NSX on a standalone host that uses vSphere Lifecycle Manager images.

    You perform the operation by configuring NSX on the individual host in the NSX Manager UI. For more information about how to configure individual hosts as transport nodes, see the Prepare ESXi Individual Hosts as Transport Nodes procedure in the NSX Installation Guide.

  • You can uninstall NSX from a standalone host that you manage with a vSphere Lifecycle Manager image.
  • You can switch from using vSphere Lifecycle Manager baselines to using vSphere Lifecycle Manager images for an existing standalone host that is prepared as a transport node.
    During the eligibility check on the transport node, vSphere Lifecycle Manager performs several additional checks and allows the operation to continue in case all of the following conditions are met:
    • The vCenter Server instance is of version 8.0 Update 3 and later.
    • The ESXi host is of version 8.0 Update 3 and later.
    • The NSX version on the standalone host is 4.2 and later.
    • The Multi NSX mode is not enabled on the vCenter Server instance. See Multiple NSX Managers Managing a Single VMware vCenter in the NSX Installation Guide.
  • You can upgrade both NSX and ESXi on the standalone host by using a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager remediation task. You run the remediation operation in the vSphere Client.
  • You can add a standalone host that has NSX already installed to a data center or a folder and enable vSphere Lifecycle Manager on the host during this process.
    During the eligibility check on the host, vSphere Lifecycle Manager performs several additional checks and allows the operation to continue in case all of the following conditions are met:
    • The vCenter Server instance is of version 8.0 Update 3 and later.
    • The ESXi host is of version 8.0 Update 3 and later.
    • The NSX version on the standalone host is 4.2 and later.
    • The Multi NSX mode is not enabled on the vCenter Server instance. See Multiple NSX Managers Managing a Single VMware vCenter in the NSX Installation Guide.
  • If you take a host out of a cluster that is prepared with a transport node profile (TNP) and is managed with a vSphere Lifecycle Manager image, the host becomes standalone. The host can retain the image of the cluster in case the following criteria are met:
    • The vCenter Server and ESXi host are of version vSphere 8.0 Update 3 and later.
    • NSX is of version 4.2 or later.
    • During the move operation the host stays connected or reachable.

    Otherwise, the image is removed from the host and the host is reverted back to using baselines.

  • You can add a standalone host that used baselines to a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image and that is enabled with NSX.

    When you add the standalone host to the cluster, vSphere Lifecycle Manager automatically installs the NSX component to the newly added host. To add a host to a cluster that you manage with a single vSphere Lifecycle Manager image, the host must be added to the VDS associated with the TNP. Otherwise, the host cannot fully work with NSX.