Prepare Your JSON Configuration File for CLI Upgrade

Before you run the CLI command to upgrade a vCenter Server appliance, you must prepare a JSON file with configuration parameters and their values for your upgrade specification.

The vCenter Server installer contains JSON templates for all upgrade types. For information about the templates, see JSON Templates for CLI Upgrade of the vCenter Server Appliance.

You can upgrade an appliance with minimum configurations by setting values to the configuration parameters in the JSON template for your specification. You can edit the preset values, remove configuration parameters, and add configuration parameters for custom configurations.

For a complete list of the configuration parameters and their descriptions, navigate to the installer subdirectory for your operating system and run the vcsa-deploy upgrade --template-help command or see Upgrade Configuration Parameters for CLI Upgrade of vCenter Server Appliance.

Prerequisites

You must be familiar with the JSON syntax.
Download and Mount the vCenter Server Installer.

Procedure

In the vCenter Server Appliance installer, navigate to the vcsa-cli-installer directory, and open the templates subfolder.
Copy the upgrade templates from the upgrade subfolder to your workspace.

Important: The path to the JSON configuration files must contain only ASCII characters. Extended ASCII and non-ASCII characters are unsupported.
Open the template file for your use case in a text editor.
To ensure the correct syntax of your JSON configuration file, use a JSON editor.
Fill in the values for the required configuration parameters and, optionally, enter additional parameters and their values.
For example, if you want to use an IPv4 DHCP assignment for the temporary network of the new appliance, in the temporary_network subsection of the template, change the value of the mode parameter to dhcp and remove the default configuration parameters that are for a static assignment.
```
        "temporary_network": {
            "ip_family": "ipv4",
            "mode": "dhcp"
        },
```
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-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, that is, a value can be either true or false. For example, "ssh_enable":false.
(Optional) Use a JSON editor of your choice to validate the JSON file.
Save in UTF-8 format and close the file.

What to do next

You can create and save additional templates if needed for your upgrade specification.

JSON Templates for CLI Upgrade of the vCenter Server Appliance

The vCenter Server appliance installer contains JSON templates that are located in the vcsa-cli-installer/templates directory. In the upgrade subfolder, you can find the JSON templates with the minimum configuration parameters for all upgrade types.

For each upgrade type, there is one template for deploying the new appliance on an ESXi host and another template for deploying the new appliance on a vCenter Server instance.

Table 1. Upgrade JSON Templates Included in the vCenter Server Appliance Installer
Location	Template	Description
vcsa-cli-installer\templates\upgrade\vcsa\6.7	embedded_vCSA_on_ESXi.json	Contains the minimum configuration parameters that are required for upgrade of a vCenter Server appliance 6.7 with an embedded Platform Services Controller to vCenter Server appliance 8.0 on an ESXi host.
	embedded_vCSA_on_VC.json	Contains the minimum configuration parameters that are required for upgrade of a vCenter Server appliance 6.7 with an embedded Platform Services Controller vCenter Server appliance 8.0 on a vCenter Server instance.
	vCSA_on_ESXi.json	Contains the minimum configuration parameters that are required for upgrade of a vCenter Server appliance 6.7 with an external Platform Services Controller to vCenter Server appliance8.0 on an ESXi host.
	vCSA_on_VC.json	Contains the minimum configuration parameters that are required for upgrade of a vCenter Server appliance 6.7 with an external Platform Services Controller to vCenter Server appliance 8.0 on a vCenter Server instance.
vcsa-cli-installer\templates\upgrade\vcsa\7.0	embedded_vCSA_on_ESXi.json	Contains the minimum configuration parameters that are required for upgrade of a vCenter Server appliance 7.0 with an embedded Platform Services Controller to vCenter Server appliance 8.0 on an ESXi host.
vcsa-cli-installer\templates\upgrade\vcsa\7.0	embedded_vCSA_on_VC.json	Contains the minimum configuration parameters that are required for upgrade of a vCenter Server appliance 7.0 with an embedded Platform Services Controller to vCenter Server Appliance8.0 on a vCenter Server instance.

About Upgrading a vCenter Server with an External Platform Services Controller Using the CLI

When upgrading a vCenter Server appliance that uses an external Platform Services Controller, it is converted to a vCenter Server instance with those services embedded in the appliance. For this reason, you must specify replication partner parameters in the JSON upgrade templates.

When upgrading a vCenter Server appliance that uses an external Platform Services Controller, you must specify replication partner parameters in the JSON upgrade template. These parameters indicate if the upgrade is for one of the following vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller upgrade scenarios.

A single vCenter Server and a single Platform Services Controller instance within an SSO domain.
The first vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller instance within an SSO domain containing more than one vCenter Server.
Replicating vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller instances within an SSO domain, which you must point to an existing vCenter Server 7.0 instance as the replication partner.

Important: It is not possible to upgrade an external Platform Services Controller. The upgrade process converges the Platform Services Controller services into the vCenter Server appliance. For more information, see Removal of Platform Services Controller.

Deployments using an external Platform Services Controller are often called an MxNdeployment, where M represents the vCenter Server, and N represents the external Platform Services Controller. When representing multiple instances of vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller in a domain, this is expressed as MnxNn, where n is the number of instances. For example, M2xN2 indicates two vCenter Server instances and two Platform Services Controller instances within the same domain. When upgrading such a deployment, you first upgrade one instance to version 8.0, and then upgrade the second instance to 8.0, specifying the first of the two instances as the replicating partner.

The replication parameters in the JSON upgrade template are located in the sso section of the template, and are first_instance and replication_partner_hostname.

Parameter Name	Description
`first_instance`	The `first_instance` parameter identifies the vCenter Server as either the first instance in your vCenter Server SSO domain, or as a replicating partner. If it is the first vCenter Server instance, set `first_instance` to `true` For additional instances of vCenter Server in the same SSO domain, set `first_instance` to `false`.
`replication_partner_hostname`*	If you set `first_instance` to `false`, you must specify the FQDN or IP address of a vCenter Server that has already been upgraded to version 8.0, and whose external PSC has been converged into the vCenter Server appliance.

When you perform the CLI upgrade of a single vCenter Server appliance that uses an external Platform Services Controller, the process is as follows:

Upgrade the vCenter Server instance in your topology using the vCSA_on_ESXi.json template when upgrading on ESXi, or the vCSA_on_VC.json template when upgrading on a vCenter Server deployment.
For a deployment topology consisting of a single vCenter Server and a Platform Services Controller (an M1xN1 deployment), edit the sso section of the template such that the first_instance parameter is set to true, and remove the replication_partner_hostname parameter.
```
"sso": {
"__comments": [ This is the first instance (M1) vCenter Server management node, with "first_instance" set to "true" and "replication_partner_hostname" removed.
],
"first_instance": true
}
```
Specify the remaining upgrade configuration parameters in the JSON template, and upgrade vCenter Server to version 8.0 using the CLI. See Upgrade a vCenter Server Appliance by Using the CLI.
After successfully upgrading vCenter Server, decommission the Platform Services Controller. See Decommission the Platform Services Controller.
Important: Decommission the Platform Services Controller instances only after upgrading and converging all vCenter Server instances in your topology.

For a deployment consisting of two or more vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller instances (an M2xN2 deployment), you first upgrade the M1 vCenter Server instance to version 8.0, and then upgrade the second, replicating vCenter Server instance.

Upgrade the vCenter Server instances in your deployment using the vCSA_on_ESXi.json template when upgrading on ESXi, or the vCSA_on_VC.json template when upgrading on a vCenter Server deployment.

For the first vCenter Server instance ( M1), edit the sso section of the template such that the first_instance parameter is set to true, and remove the replication_partner_hostname parameter.

"sso": {
"__comments": [ This is the first instance (M1) vCenter Server management node, with "first_instance" set to "true" and "replication_partner_hostname" removed.
],
"first_instance": true
}

For the remaining vCenter Server instance ( M2), edit the sso section of the template such that the first_instance parameter is set to false, and provide the FQDN or IP address of the vCenter Server instance to which you want to replicate the second node. The replication partner is the first vCenter Server instance ( M1) you upgraded to version 8.0, which has been converged with its Platform Services Controller instance.
```
"sso": {
"__comments": [ This is the second instance (M2) vCenter Server management node, with "first_instance" set to "false" and "replication_partner_hostname" set to the hostname of the replication partner.],
"first_instance": false,
"replication_partner_hostname": "FQDN_or_IP_address"
```
Specify the remaining upgrade configuration parameters in the JSON templates, and finish the upgrade using the CLI. See Upgrade a vCenter Server Appliance by Using the CLI.
After successfully upgrading all vCenter Server instances in the topology, decommission the Platform Services Controller instances. See Decommission the Platform Services Controller.
Important: Decommission the Platform Services Controller instances only after upgrading and converging all vCenter Server instances in your topology.

Upgrade Configuration Parameters for CLI Upgrade of vCenter Server Appliance

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 2. 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-8.0.0.XXXX-YYYYYYY_OVF10.ova" sets the path G:\vcsa\VMware-vCenter-Server-Appliance-8.0.0.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 3. 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 4. 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 5. 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.
`license`	string	Optional. License key to be applied to the appliance. If the license key is not provided, evaluation license will be used.

Table 6. 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 7. 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 from an Existing vCenter Server Appliance.

Table 8. 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 9. 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 10. 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 11. 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 12. 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.