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Process of upgrading VxRail VCSA & ESXi Versions?
Hey folks,
I've been attempting to look up information on what exactly we need to do in order to upgrade our VxRail environment, specifically VCSA as well as ESXi versions. There are two vulnerabilities that I would like to mitigate:
VCSA: VMSA-2021-0020.1 (https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2021-0020.html)
ESXi: VMSA-2022-0004 (https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2022-0004.html)
Our current VxRail environment consists of 4 hosts (3x S470 / 1x S570) and is reported as VxRail Version 4.7.530-26975664.
I've been scouring Solve's website regarding trying to find information about how to upgrade everything; the order of things to upgrade, where to obtain the files, etc but I haven't been able to find anything. Our environment is completely offline, so I would have to download the files and transfer them to the VxRail to upgrade.
Does anyone have any pointers on where I can go to find this information so that we can upgrade things?
Thanks!
DELL-Naoyuki K
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March 14th, 2022 23:00
I'm not still sure whether your VxRail is configured with Internal VC or External.
Please check page below from vSphere Client of your VxRail.
This example shows that this vxrail cluster is configured with Internal(Embedded) VCSA and Internal (Embedded) PSC.
Note that PSC is displayed as External even if it's Internal VCSA and Internal PSC, because PSC is always external from VCSA perspective. not VxRail Manager perspective, I know it's so confusing for everyone. So you don't have to care about PSC. Only thing to look is if vCenter is Embedded or not because there is no supported combination of Internal(VxRail-managed) VCSA and External (Customer-Managed) PSC.
If it shows as Embedded, it's internal VCSA configuration.
On the other hands, if it's External VCSA from VxRail perspective, it shows as below
as you can see, nothing appears in the same location.
This example if from VxRail 7.x but i think it's the same as 4.7 you are using.
Once you can determine the type of VCSA and PSC of your VxRail, you can take a next action.
if it's internal(VxRail Managed) ones, VxRail Upgrade process automatically upgrade VCSA/PSC, so you do not have to do it by yourself.
if it's external one. both VCSA and PSC must be upgraded by yourself, VxRail does not upgrade External(Customer-managed) VCSA and PSC.
In general, the newer the better. However there are some caveat.
If you are using another vmware solution or 3rd party solution that communicate with vSphere, you should check compatibility information first.
Maybe you should choose the target version within the compatibility or upgrade those other solution, too in order to meet and keep compatibility.
I think the reasonable candidate versions are 4.7.541(latest) and 7.0.350(latest).
Regardless of the type of VCSA/PSC, VxRail always handle of upgrading ESXi in the cluster. So you don't have to worry about it.
DELL-Naoyuki K
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March 14th, 2022 17:00
VxRail Upgrade steps depends on some factors.
First, you should check if your VxRail is configured with Internal VCSA or External one.
If it's internal one, VxRail upgrade covers VCSA Uprade but vice versa, if it's external one VxRail does not upgrade it for you so you have to upgrade the VCSA by yourself.
Second, you should determine which VxRail version you are going to upgrade to.
Once the target version is fixed, you can go to Dell support site and look for upgrade file
https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/vxrail-appliance-family/drivers
If the target is 7.0.350, which include the fix you need, file below is the one you should choose.
Then you can generate a solve procedure for upgrade work.
And then follow the procedure you generate.
Important note:
Make sure that you review all the content of the procedure first, before performing any action.
Punkrulz24
8 Posts
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March 14th, 2022 19:00
Naoyuki,
This is wonderful information, thank you. So I have determined that we are in fact using an External PSC in this installation, so this raises some additional questions.
Thanks!
Punkrulz24
8 Posts
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March 15th, 2022 06:00
Thanks again Naoyuki!
So after following your images, it is confirmed that we are using the embedded vCenter (w/ external PSC as you had described), meaning that upgrading VxRail will perform the upgrade of both the vCenter & the ESXi of all of the hosts.
I think given that information, one final question:
What's the difference between going to 4.7.541 or 7.0.350? They seem to be two different versions that are both the latest in their models.
***EDIT*** - It looks like anything in 4.7.* stays with VCSA 6.7 and anything 7* upgrades to VCSA v7... now I need to figure out if it is worthwhile jumping to that version.
Thanks!
DELL-Naoyuki K
4 Operator
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1.8K Posts
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March 15th, 2022 08:00
Correct.
If you need more detail about each version, you can check support matrix and release note.
VxRail 7.x Support Matrix (dell.com)
VxRail 4.7.x Support Matrix (dell.com)
Dell VxRail™ 7.0.x Release Notes
Dell VxRail™ 4.7.x Release Notes
Punkrulz24
8 Posts
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March 20th, 2022 10:00
Thanks Naoyuki! With your assistance I've managed to get through most of the errors with VxVerify (NTP configuration, EVC not being enabled). There's two that I'm working through now; a hard drive that needs replacing in host 2, and a disk space warning for 33% on the Vxrail manager.
I did try to engage support on prechecking before upgrade, but they immediately want to try remotely updating everything (not possible), and they're also over 2 weeks out on scheduling.
Once I get the disk space and hard drive issue resolved, I need to weigh if it's safe trying to upgrade myself or if I need to engage Dell support. Definitely scary!
DELL-Naoyuki K
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March 21st, 2022 20:00
Yes,,, unfortunately, Dell EMC's free upgrade service can be leveraged only via Zoom or webex.
So in your case, dark site environment, it can be onsite paid-service if you ask dell emc to upgrade your VxRail.
Over time, VxRail upgrade becomes much safer, most of the issue during upgrade can be found in advance by using VxVerify.
If you purchase paid service and ask Dell EMC to upgrade as onsite work, the procedure would be the same as you do (just checking VxVerify and check result, and go upgrade if no error.).
Generally in my country, onsite engineer does not have troubleshooting skill, so once encountering issue during upgrade, Dell Remote Tech Support starts to delve by checking log bundle.
So, I don't think there is much difference whether you do by yourself or purchasing paid service.
taylanduzgun
28 Posts
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March 22nd, 2022 05:00
Hi;
Even if the vxverify reporting is correct, there are places the script does not check.
Always talk to dell engineers before upgrading.