Updating the VMware VCSA appliance to the latest release is a very simple process. While at the time for writing the latest version is 7.0u2, this article focuses on the VMware 7.0u1 upgrade part3 started in a previous series dedicated to this topic. The process is very similar also to future version and therefore still valid. A word of caution before jumping on the 7.0u2 wagon as the in-place upgrade not always is smooth (issue currently under investigation from VMware Support) and is something to be avoided in a production environment. This is also covered in the first article. although the issue refers to the VMware ESXi rather than the VCSA appliance in reality it is a good practice keeping them hand in hand as this will ensure the “best handling” between ESXi features and vCenter APIs compatibility.
Having said that there are mainly two methods for upgrading the VMware VCSA. In fact this can be done using an ISO file with the latest patches or let the VMware VCSA appliance to download and stage the necessary files. This article focuses on the first method upgrading the VMware appliance from the stock 7.0u1 to the 7.0u1c release.
An exaustive list of what’s covered in the VCSA 7.0u1c can be found here, most notably:
- Physical NIC statistics
- Advanced Cross vCenter vMotion (more on this on William Lam great article)
- Parallel remediation on Hosts
- 3rd-Parties plugin for VSAN platform
VMware 7.0u1 upgrade part3
As part of the new VMware 7, the Update Planner component shows the available builds and updates. Another important tool is the ability to generate a report to find any incompatible components.
In addition before proceeding it s also a good idea to check the compatibility with the VMware ESXi Hosts before any upgrade.
Passing and verifying all the test next is to move to the VMware VCSA Management interface.
From the update section it is a matter to select the desired update. In this case the 7.0.1.00200 which corresponds to the 7.01c release. In this case no staging is required as this will be installed directly from the ISO file.
Next step is to download the ISO file with the patch, upload on the datastore and mount directly to the VMware VCSA appliance like a common ISO file.
At this point checking the updates from the mounted ISO will start the VMware VCSA upgrade wizard.
First is to accept the EULA and continue.
In this case the wizard requires the password for the Administrator account associated with the SSO authentication.
Before proceeding it is strongly recommended to take a backup of the VMware VCSA appliance.
At this point, mimicking the actual download, the VCSA installer will stage on the appliance all the necessary files directly from the ISO file. This is a great method for such situations where the VMware VCSA appliance has no access to the internet or the connection speed is not that great. It might be a lot easier download and upload the ISO file separately.
A few moments later and the VMware VCSA appliance is updated to the latest version.
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