Article Number: 000019482
Prerequisites for a successful RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines upgrade
Access the support site (dell.com/support/home), sign in, and download the ISO files that are needed for the upgrade or upgrades, if doing multiple code steps. For example, the 5.2 P1 ISO file is https://download.emc.com/downloads/DL89822_RecoverPoint-for-Virtual-Machines-5.2-P1-ISO.iso?source=OLS.
Note: Do not rename ISO files as it causes the upgrade to fail.
Note: Always upgrade to the latest version in the code family. For example, if upgrading to 5.2, download 5.2.2.4.
Note: Upgrade all the clusters in the system to the same version before moving on to the next version.
For example, if you are at 5.1.x, upgrade all the clusters to 5.2.x before upgrading any cluster to 5.3.x.
In general, upgrading RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines consists of:
Downloading the upgrade package
Upgrading the vRPA clusters
Upgrading the RecoverPoint for VMs splitters
Upgrading RecoverPoint for VMs plug-in
Deploy HTML5 plug-in server (when upgrading to 5.3 version).
Note: RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines only supports upgrading one RecoverPoint for Virtual Machine cluster in a system at a time. Upgrading multiple clusters in a system leads to configuration issues and requires a complete reinstallation of the system.
Upgrade a vRPA cluster.
Upgrade to 5.3
For upgrades to RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines 5.3, the source version must be a 5.2 version. More verification steps are necessary when upgrading to 5.3.
Ensure vCenter version is 6.5 or later or 6.7U1 if using the HTML5 plug-in. See KB 173920: RecoverPoint for VMs 5.3: VC 6.5 or newer is required for upgrades to 5.3 for details.
Ensure ESXi are at minimum version of 6.5 see KB 182337: RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines - Replication stays in "Initializing 0%" for details.
Ensure that the security level of the cluster is set to "Not authenticated nor encrypted" or "Authenticated and encrypted." Eventually change to one of these two securities before the upgrade. See KB 173921: RecoverPoint for VMs: Upgrade to version 5.3 fails during RPA 1 upgrade with error "ERROR - ConfigureRepositoryVolumeCall failed" for details.
Before initiating the upgrade, ensure that the RPA has an updated vCenter certificate. This can be done by running the CLI command update_vcenter_server_registration and provide all the vCenter details as requested. See KB 173584: RecoverPoint for VMs: Upgrade to 5.3 may fail at 11-12% with internal error "Wrong Certificates" for details.
Ensure you upgrade from version 5.2.2.4 or later (including Jiraf and Splitter version). See Kb 187284: RecoverPoint for Virtual Machine: A full sweep may occur after an upgrade for additional detail, if you are starting from an earlier version first upgrade to version 5.2.2.4.
If vCenter has a more than one level certificate (generally if there is a CA signed certificate), upgrade is expected to fail. The workaround for this situation is available under KB 182619: RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines: Upgrading from 5.2x to 5.3.1 Fails to Complete. The issue is resolved in RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines 5.3.1.1.
Upgrade may fail due to old data structure present in replicated VM. Follow preventive workaround from KB 180298: RecoverPoint for Virtual Machine: Upgrade to 5.3 fail at 11%-12%. The issue is resolved in RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines 5.3.1.
Ensure that SC RPA is RPA1 (for example by rebooting RPA2). See KB 180423: RecoverPoint for Virtual Machine: vRPA NDU/replacement fail for details. The issue is resolved in RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines v.5.3.1.
Upgrade to 5.2
For upgrades to RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines 5.2, the source version must always be RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines 5.1.1.5 (or later 5.1.1.x release). You may have to first upgrade to 5.1.1.5 before you can upgrade to 5.2. Furthermore, before upgrading to 5.2, communication between vRPAs and splitters in RecoverPoint 5.1.1.5 (or later 5.1.1.x release) must be in IP mode (and not iSCSI). Run a procedure to migrate your system from iSCSI to IP mode.
See pertinent install or deployment guides for each code level and simple support matrices regarding VMware/ESXi/vCenter compatibility information.
All existing RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines settings are preserved when upgrading RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines. There is no journal loss and no full sweep.
The RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Deployer supports nondisruptive upgrades for clusters with two or more vRPAs and enables upgrading an ISO image without reprotecting VMs.
Before you begin.
If you are upgrading a cluster that only has one vRPA, the upgrade is disruptive to replication, but occurs without full sweep or journal loss. Also, during the vRPA restart, the Upgrade Progress report may not update, and Deployer may become temporarily unavailable. When the vRPA completes its restart, the user can log back in to Deployer and observe the Upgrade Progress to completion.
When you upgrade a cluster that has two or more vRPAs and is connected to a cluster with a single vRPA, a partially disruptive upgrade occurs. When the first vRPA is upgraded, all consistency groups move to another RPA. However, for consistency groups that are replicated in the single vRPA, replication stops while the first vRPA is upgraded.
Procedure:
In a web browser, type https://<cluster_management-ip-address>/WDM for the vRPA cluster that you want to upgrade.
In the home page, click RecoverPoint for VMs Deployer.
If prompted, type the login credentials for the boxmgmt user, and click Sign in.
Click Upgrade a vRPA cluster. The wizard performs a system check.
In the Upgrade Prerequisites step, ensure that you meet the conditions that are listed on the screen. Select the checkbox: I have fulfilled these conditions.
In the ISO step, choose how you want to provide the ISO image for upgrading RecoverPoint for VMs.
In the Change Version Requirements step, the version requirements file is automatically downloaded and validated to ensure that the system meets the requirements. If the version requirements file fails to download, select one of these options:
Retry downloading the up-to-date requirements from Online Support
Provide version requirements file manually.
Do not check version requirements.
Issues that are found are displayed for you to analyze. It is recommended that you fix blocking issues before continuing.
In the System Diagnostics step, Deployer looks for tweak modifications and signed scripts on the vRPAs. If discovered, these modifications are collected and the user is prompted to send the modifications file to Customer Support for analysis.
In the Upgrade Progress step, the progress bar displays the replacement progress. On reaching 100%, click Finish to return to the Deployer home page.
If upgrading fails, review the displayed error message to identify the cause of the failure. To correct the issue and retry the upgrade, click Back.
If upgrading a vRPA continues to fail, contact Customer Support.
Upgrade splitters
Use this procedure to upgrade splitters on the ESXi host.
Before you begin.
Enable ESXi Shell and SSH access before proceeding. See the VMware documentation for more information.
To keep vRPAs working during the splitter upgrade, ensure that at least two ESXi hosts have an installed splitter.
Procedure:
On the ESXi host, use vMotion to move all VMs to another ESXi host.
At the ESXCLI, enter maintenance mode. From the ESXi host console, use SSH to run the following command:
esxcli system maintenanceMode set -e=true
Note:
For VSAN environments, this command requires an additional switch (see the vSphere documentation for the vSphere version that you are using).
Remove the old RecoverPoint vSphere Installation Bundle on the ESXi host.
esxcli software vib remove -n "RP-Splitter"
Install the splitter by using this method:
To copy the RecoverPoint VIB to the tmp directory, use an SSH client with secure copy protocol:
scp <vib name> <username>@<ESXi host IP>:/scratch
NOTICE:
Do not erase the /scratch space during the upgrade.
Example:
scp kdriver_RPESX-00.5.0.0.0.0.h.152.000.vib
root@10.10.10.10:/scratch
To install the splitter, in the ESXi host console, run the following command:
esxcli software vib install -v /<vib_full_path> --no-sig-check
If installation is successful, the following message appears:
Installation Result
Message: Operation finished successfully.
Reboot Required: false
VIBs Installed: EMC_Recoverpoint_bootbank_RP-Splitter_RPS-<version number>
VIBs Removed:
VIBs Skipped:
Confirm installation of the splitter in the ESXi host console by using SSH to run the following command:
esxcli software vib list
The RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines splitter installation bundle name should appear at the top of the list.
On the ESXi host, exit maintenance mode by running the following command:
esxcli system maintenanceMode set -e=false
vMotion the VMs back to this ESXi host.
Repeat this procedure for each ESXi host.
Upgrade the RecoverPoint for VMs plug-in.
Use the vSphere Web Client to upgrade the RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines plug-in.
Before you begin.
The vRPA is backward-compatible, but the RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines plug-in is not. New vRPAs work with older plug-ins, but a new RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines plug-in might not be able to communicate with older vRPAs. The RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines plug-in version must correspond with the version of the oldest vRPA cluster.
Upgrade the RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines plug-in for each vCenter in the system.
Procedure:
Access the vSphere Web Client at:
https://<vCenter-ip-address>:9443/vsphere-client/. In the vSphere Web Client home page, click the RecoverPoint for VMs icon.
Click the Help… link at the upper right of the RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Management screen, and select Upgrade RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines.
In the Upgrade RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines window, select the upgrade version and click OK.
Log out all active user sessions of the vSphere Web Client, and log back in. Verify that the RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines plug-in is listed under Inventories.
If the RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines plug-in is not listed under Inventories, restart the vCenter Web Client service to ensure that all active user sessions are disconnected.
After upgrading the plug-in, you are not able to access vRPA clusters that are running earlier versions of RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines.
RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines
26 Jan 2024
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