PowerFlex Manager - Release Certification Matrix 3.5.5.0 upgrade considerations.

Goal:
To successfully upgrade to Release Certification Matrix (RCM) 3.5.5.0.
 

Facts:

• vSphere 6.7 supports Intel NIC X710/XL710, X520, X540 driver version 19.5.12 for the 13G PowerEdge server.

• vSphere 6.7 supports Intel NIC X710/XL710, X520, X540 driver version 20.0.x for 14G PowerEdge server.

• PowerFlex Manager has introduced 2 separate RCM (3.5.5.0) compliance bundle for 13G and 14G PowerEdge server to support the upgrade for RCM 3.5.5.0.(Example:Flex_RCM_3_5_5_0_13G_rxx / Flex_RCM_3_5_5_0_14G_rxx )
• At this time only the 3.5.5.0 RCM requires separate bundles for 13G and 14G, for all other RCM's there is a single bundle that covers both platform generations

Solution:
Before you start:

CAUTION:- If environment contains 13G service, make sure you upload both RCM 3.5.5.0 compliance bundle for 13G and 14G to PowerFlex Manager. (Example:Flex_RCM_3_5_5_0_13G_rxx / Flex_RCM_3_5_5_0_14G_rxx )
Note: This will help us to update the PowerFlex Manager service with 13G and 14G separately.
For the manual upgrade procedure download the required driver from dell download center based on the node type.


PowerFlex Rack Upgrade Flow using PowerFlex manager

1. Upgrade the vCenter

2. Upgrade the Controller ESXi nodes manually                                                                                                                   
   Note: For controller node Manually download the Intel NIC card driver from Dell support center based on the node type.

3. Upgrade the Virtual Appliance 

4. Upload the compatibility file 

5. Load the RCM                                                                                                                                                       
   Note: Make sure to upload the Flex_RCM_3_5_5_0_13G_rxx and :Flex_RCM_3_5_5_0_14G_rxx RCM catalogue in PowerFlex manager.

6. Upgrade the CloudLink Center

7. Upgrade the PowerFlex 

8. Upgrade the presentation server

9. Upgrade the Nodes                                                                                                                                               
   Note:  Make sure to update the  13G service using  :Flex_RCM_3_5_5_0_13G_rxx separately and 14G service using :Flex_RCM_3_5_5_0_14G_rxx catalogue in PowerFlex manager.

10. Upgrade the VMware Distributed switches

11. Change the MTU value

12. Patch the Gateway and Presentation VMs

13. Upgrade the Network switches

PowerFlex Rack Upgrade Flow without PowerFlex manager

1. Upgrade the vCenter 

2. Upgrade the Controller ESXi nodes manually                                                                                                         
   Note: For controller node Manually download the Intel NIC card driver from Dell support center based on the node type.

3. Upgrade the CloudLink Center

4. Upgrade the PowerFlex 

5. Upgrade the PowerFlex Gateway and Presentation VMs

6. Upgrade the Hyperconverged and Compute only nodes                                                                                           
   Note: For HC/CO nodes Manually download the Intel NIC card driver from Dell support center based on the node type

7. Upgrade the VMware Distributed switches

8. Change the MTU value

9. Patch the Gateway and Presentation VMs

10. Upgrade the Network switches.
     

note: from a compliance standpoint in PFxM, either the 13G nodes or 14G nodes will show out of compliance, depending on which bundle is selected.  Users will need to flip between bundles to view compliance for 13G/14Gs

The procedure to upload the separate RCM catalogue file for 13G and 14G servers is applicable only with RCM 3.5.5.0, as VMware does not support the NIC driver 20.0.x package for 13G PowerEdge nodes.

All the above-mentioned procedure is available in upgrade guide.

Procedure while loading the RCM and upgrading the node in PowerFlex manager will change as we need to upload the separate RCM catalogue for 13G and 14G PowerEdge Servers.