Disclaimer: The upgrade process described in this article is tested on vCenter versions 6.5 and 6.7. It should work exactly the same on version 7.0. However, it is always recommended to read the official VMware documentation if there is any doubt.
Patching or upgrading a vCenter appliance is a relatively easy task, yet it still requires carefully following the upgrade process to guarantee the result is the expected.
The most important step is finding out whether the appliance has an embedded or external Platform Services Controller (PSC). The PSC runs several critical services required by the vCenter server to function properly, including Single Sign-On. You can find more information on the PSC here.
Prequirements:
- Access to vSphere web client to verify that vCenter works fine after the upgrade.
- vCenter appliance root password.
- If the PSC is external, root password for the PSC.
- SSH access to the vCenter appliance and/or vCenter Appliance Management Interface (VAMI).
- If PSC is external, SSH access to the PSC appliance and/or PSC Management Interface.
- IMPORTANT: Backups and/or recovery methods. E.g. snapshots, image-level backup, ftp/sftp backup, etc.
Finding Out If Platform Services Controller is Embedded or External
In order to determine if a PSC is external or embedded you can SSH into the appliance, type the username and check out the text after "Type". See comparison below.
In addition, the logon URL of the vSphere Client of a vCenter with external PSC differs from that of a vCenter with embedded PSC:
- Embedded PSC: https://<vCenter appliance FQDN or IP address>/ui
- External PSC: https://<PSC appliance FQDN or IP address>/... (redirected from vCenter vSphere Client URL)
Update Process - Method 1: Web Interface
There are 2 possible scenarios when updating vCenter.
- Embedded Platform Services Controller: We only need to patch/upgrade the vCenter Appliance.
- External Platform Services Controller: The PSC must be updated first and then the vCenter Appliance.
The process is exactly the same for both the vCenter Appliance and the PSC, so we will go over the steps for both at the same time.
Log into VAMI, https://vCenter_Appliance_FQDN_or_IP:5480 or PSC web management interface, https://PSC_FQDN_or_IP:5480. Remember PSC must be updated first when it is external. Log in with the root user account, select "Update" from the left menu. There are two methods for either appliance (vCenter or PSC) to get update packages:
1. VMware Servers (Internet)
If the appliance has the appropriate access to VMware update servers, it will be able to retrieve the list of available upgrade packages from the web. You can force a new update check by selecting "Check CD ROM + URL" from the "Check Updates" drop-down menu in the upper right corner. This will display a list of available updates.
2. ISO / CD ROM
Download the desired ISO file from vmware.com, mount the ISO into the CD ROM unit of the appliance and select "Check CD ROM" from the "Check Updates" drop-down menu in the upper right corner. This will display a list of available updates but only from the CD-ROM, so it's normally just one update.
Installing the Update/Upgrade Package
Once the desired patch has been selected from the previous step, we can proceed with the installation. There are two options to select from when applying the update: "Stage" and, "Stage and Install". Stage will only prepare the update/upgrade package for the installation but will not actually run it. "Stage and Install" will prepare and execute the installation as well. If you select "Stage", you will need to click on "Install" later. You can also "Unstage" an staged update.
Whether you staged first and then installed, or staged and installed in a single action, at the end the appliance will reboot, the vCenter server will be down for a few minutes during the installation. Once it goes back online, log into the management interface again, you should see the following message:
Update Process - Method 2: Command Line
When running the upgrade from a mounted ISO, we can perform the installation from the command line interface via SSH. This also applies for both vCenter and PSC appliance. Again, when upgrading or patching a vCenter with external PSC, always update the PSC first.
First mount the ISO into the appliance's CD ROM. Then SSH into the appliance and log in with the root account. Then run the following commands:
software-packages stage --iso: this will stage the package from the CD ROM, accept the EULA to continue.
software-packages install --staged: this will install the package staged by the previous command.
Optionally, after the first command you can run software-packages list --staged to verify which package(s) are staged for installation.
When the process ends, type shell and then reboot to restart the appliance.
Verifying New Build Number
To confirm the new build number log into vCenter via the vSphere Client. Select the vCenter node from the inventory. Then, select the "Summary" tab and scroll down until you see "Version Information", verify the build number is the expected.
