Cisco ACI Virtual Edge Uninstallation

This chapter describes uninstallation of Cisco ACI Virtual Edge, including prerequisites and uninstallation methods.

About Cisco ACI Virtual Edge Uninstallation

You might need to remove Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Virtual Edge for testing or if you need to remove all configuration from the Cisco ACI fabric, resetting the fabric to its initial state.

You can uninstall Cisco ACI Virtual Edge by using the Cisco ACI plug-in for VMware vCenter, the VMware PowerCLI, or a Python script.

The Cisco ACI vCenter plug-in was originally designed to work with Adobe Flash. However, at the end of 2020, Adobe will stop updating Flash. Beginning with the VMware vSphere 6.7 release, the Flash version of the plug-in is deprecated. Instead, VMware vSphere 6.7 uses a new version—Cisco ACI HTML5 vCenter plug-in—is designed to work with HTML5. This section includes uninstallation procedures for both plug-ins.


Note
The name of the VMware vSphere client differs depending on whether you use the Flash or HTML5 version. The Flash version is referred to as the VMware vSphere Web Client; the HTML version is referred to as the VMware vSphere Client.

Note
In order to use the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge management tools (the ACI vCenter plug-in, the VMware PowerCLI, and Python scripts), we recommend that you use vCenter 6.0 Update 3 or later.

Workflow for Uninstalling Cisco ACI Virtual Edge

The order of tasks that you perform to uninstall Cisco ACI Virtual Edge depends on whether you want to keep using the VMM domain after uninstallation.

  • To remove Cisco ACI Virtual Edge and keep using the VMM domain (in native mode):

    1. Remove all VMs from Cisco ACI Virtual Edge port groups.

      Alternatively, change the switching mode of the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge EPGs from AVE to native.

    2. Uninstall the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge VM, using the Cisco ACI vCenter plug-in, VMware PowerCLI, or a Python script. Follow the instructions in this guide.

  • To remove Cisco ACI Virtual Edge and delete the VMM domain:

    1. Remove all VMs from EPG port groups.

    2. Uninstall the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge VM, using the Cisco ACI vCenter plug-in, VMware PowerCLI, or a Python script. Follow the instructions in this guide.

    3. Remove all hosts from the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge VDS.

    4. Remove all VMM domain associations to EPGs to delete port groups.

    5. Remove the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge VMM domain.

Uninstall Cisco ACI Virtual Edge Using the HTML5 Version of the Cisco ACI vCenter Plug-in

You can remove the Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Virtual Edge from a host by using the HTML5 version of the Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) vCenter plug-in.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to the VMware vSphere Client.

Step 2

On the Home page, in the left navigation pane, click Cisco ACI Fabric.

Step 3

In the Cisco ACI Fabric navigation pane, choose the fabric from the Fabric drop-down list.

Step 4

In the left navigation pane, click AVE to display the list of domains associated with the fabric, and then double-click the domain from which you want to remove the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge VM.

Step 5

In the AVE work pane, click the AVE tab.

Step 6

(Optional) In the upper right of the work pane, click Max concurrent tasks pencil icon to choose the number of deployments to run at the same time.

If you want to remove the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge VM from multiple hosts, if you specify the number of concurrent tasks, the VM will be removed from the number of hosts that you specify. For example, if you choose to remove the VM on five hosts and choose three tasks to run concurrently, removal will proceed on three of the hosts at the same time while removal for the other two hosts is queued.

Step 7

In the Datacenter table, check the check box for each host from which you want to remove the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge VM.

Step 8

Click REMOVE AVE.

The REMOVE AVE wizard appears.

Step 9

In the Summary pane, make sure that the Enter Maintenance Mode check box is checked, and then click FINISH.

Note 
We recommend putting the host in maintenance mode before you click FINISH and uninstall Cisco ACI Virtual Edge if you have a DRS cluster where other hosts have VMs using Cisco ACI Virtual Edge. Going into maintenance mode prevents other VMs from migrating to the host after Cisco ACI Virtual Edge is uninstalled. If there are no other hosts in the cluster where VMs use Cisco ACI Virtual Edge, then you can proceed with uninstallingCisco ACI Virtual Edge without putting the host in maintenance mode.

What to do next

Verify that the removal is underway. In the AVE work pane, a In the AVE work pane, a Remove AVE pop-up window appears on the host where you removed the VM. The host displays the percentage of how much of the removal has completed. You also can click the clipboard icon at the upper right of the work pane and in the ACI Tasks & Settings, view information about the Remove AVE task.

Uninstall Cisco ACI Virtual Edge Using the Flash Version of the Cisco ACI vCenter Plug-in


Note
We recommend putting the host in maintenance mode before you uninstall Cisco ACI Virtual Edge if you have a DRS cluster where other hosts have VMs using Cisco ACI Virtual Edge. Going into maintenance mode prevents other VMs from migrating to the host after Cisco ACI Virtual Edge is uninstalled. If there are no other hosts in the cluster where VMs use Cisco ACI Virtual Edge, then you can proceed with uninstalling Cisco ACI Virtual Edge without putting the host in maintenance mode.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to VMware vSphere Web Client.
Step 2

Choose Cisco ACI Fabric > ACI Virtual Edge.

Step 3

At the top of the central work pane, from the Select an ACI Virtual Edge Domain drop-down list, choose a domain.

When you choose a domain, the work pane displays the host or hosts in the vCenter related to the VMM domain.
Step 4

Choose one or more hosts by clicking the appropriate check box or check boxes.
Step 5

Below the Uninstall ACI Virtual Edge button, if you chose multiple hosts in Step 4, choose how many hosts on which to uninstall Cisco ACI Virtual Edge at the same time using the + and - buttons.

Step 6

Click Uninstall ACI Virtual Edge.

Step 7

In the Uninstall AVE dialog box, click Yes to confirm you wish to proceed with uninstalling Cisco ACI Virtual Edge.

If any of the selected hosts are part of a DRS cluster, a warning popup appears, asking if you agree to have the hosts put in maintenance mode as part of the uninstallation.

Step 8

Complete one of the following sets of actions:

If you... Then...
Want to proceed with the uninstallation with the hosts put in maintenance mode Click Yes.
Want to proceed with the uninstallation but not put the hosts in maintenance mode Click No.

An additional warning displays, asking you to confirm:

  • Click Yes to proceed with uninstallation without putting the hosts in maintenance mode.

  • Click No to cancel the uninstallation.

Do not want to proceed with the uninstallation Click No to cancel the uninstallation.
In the central work pane, the Status column for the host displays the uninstallation progress. You also can view progress of the individual uninstallation tasks in the Recent Tasks area. When uninstallation is complete, Not installed appears in the Status column for the host.

What to do next

If the host is part of a DRS cluster, do not move it out of maintenance mode unless it has been removed from the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge DVS.

Uninstall Cisco ACI Virtual Edge Using the VMware PowerCLI

If you have a Windows platform, you can use the VMware PowerCLI to uninstall Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Virtual Edge.

Before you begin

The script check for any existing data virtual machines (VMs) still dependent on the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge VM. Remove all data VMs from the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge DVS before deleting the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge VM.

Procedure

Uninstall Cisco ACI Virtual Edge using the Remove-AveVM command.

The following text shows the command syntax:
Remove-AveVM [[-HostName] Object] [[-DomainName] Object] [CommonParameters]

Example:

PowerCLI C:\> Remove-AveVM -HostName 172.23.143.129 -DomainName mininet
Output with maintenance mode:
Connecting to vCenter.................................................[ok]
Fetching existing AVE VM..............................................[ok]
The Host 172.23.143.129 is part of a DRS enabled cluster (cluster).
The uninstall procedure will place the host in maintenance mode in order to avoid hav
ing DRS automatically migrate Virtual Machine to this host.
Do you wish to continue? [yes/no]: yes
Validating DRS cluster cluster........................................[ok]
Adding affinity rule on DRS cluster cluster...........................[ok]
Waiting for all VMs to move out of host 172.23.143.129................[ok]
Powering off the AVE VM...............................................[ok]
Deleting VM...........................................................[ok]
Entering maintenance mode.............................................[ok]
Removing affinity rule on DRS cluster.................................[ok]
Cleaning up...........................................................[ok]
Output without maintenance mode:
Connecting to vCenter.................................................[ok]
Fetching existing AVE VM..............................................[ok]
The Host 172.23.143.129 is part of a DRS enabled cluster (cluster).
The uninstall procedure will place the host in maintenance mode in order to avoid hav
ing DRS automatically migrate Virtual Machine to this host.
Do you wish to continue? [yes/no]: no
Do you wish to cancel the uninstall, or continue the uninstall without placing the ho
st in maintenance mode (not recommended) [cancel/continue]: continue
Deleting VM...........................................................[ok]
Cleaning up...........................................................[ok]

Uninstall Cisco ACI Virtual Edge Using Python

You can uninstall Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Virtual Edge using a Python script.

Before you begin

The script checks for any existing data virtual machines (VMs) still dependent on the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge VM. Remove all data VMs from the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge VM before deleting the Cisco ACI Virtual Edge VM.

Procedure

Uninstall Cisco ACI Virtual Edge from a given host for a given domain using the remove-avevm.py script.

The following text shows the script usage:
usage: remove-avevm.py [-h] [--silent] --vcenter VCENTER --vc-username
VC_USERNAME [--vc-password VC_PASSWORD] --host-name
HOST_NAME --domain-name DOMAIN_NAME
[--ignore-active-vm]

Example:

(venv) $ python remove-avevm.py --vcenter 172.23.143.235 --vc-username admin 
--vc-password lab --host-name 172.23.143.129 --domain-name mininet
Output with maintenance mode:
Connecting to vCenter.................................................[ok]
Fetching existing AVE VM..............................................[ok]
The Host 172.23.143.129 is part of a DRS enabled cluster (cluster).
The uninstall procedure will place the host in maintenance mode in order to avoid hav
ing DRS automatically migrate Virtual Machine to this host.
Do you wish to continue? [yes/no]: yes
Validating DRS cluster cluster........................................[ok]
Adding affinity rule on DRS cluster cluster...........................[ok]
Waiting for all VMs to move out of host 172.23.143.129................[ok]
Powering off the AVE VM...............................................[ok]
Deleting VM...........................................................[ok]
Entering maintenance mode.............................................[ok]
Removing affinity rule on DRS cluster.................................[ok]
Cleaning up...........................................................[ok]
Output without maintenance mode: 
Connecting to vCenter.................................................[ok]
Fetching existing AVE VM..............................................[ok]
The Host 172.23.143.129 is part of a DRS enabled cluster (cluster).
The uninstall procedure will place the host in maintenance mode in order to avoid hav
ing DRS automatically migrate Virtual Machine to this host.
Do you wish to continue? [yes/no]: no
Do you wish to cancel the uninstall, or continue the uninstall without placing the ho
st in maintenance mode (not recommended) [cancel/continue]: continue
Deleting VM...........................................................[ok]
Cleaning up...........................................................[ok]