Overview
This section provides information related to upgrading a Cisco HyperFlex Stretched Cluster. The procedure for performing a Stretched Cluster upgrade is similar to the regular HyperFlex cluster upgrade procedure.
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This section provides information related to upgrading a Cisco HyperFlex Stretched Cluster. The procedure for performing a Stretched Cluster upgrade is similar to the regular HyperFlex cluster upgrade procedure.
Review the Cisco HyperFlex Upgrade Guidelines in the Recommended Cisco HyperFlex HX Data Platform Software Releases - for Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series Systems.
Combined HXDP and UCS FW is not supported.
UCS FW upgrade from HX-Connect is not supported.
Manual cluster bootstrap is required for upgrade from a pre-3.5 release to 3.5(1a).
Auto bootstrap is supported for upgrade from 3.5(1a) to later releases.
When upgrading to any release from 3.0.x to 3.5.x or later releases:
If you manually bootstrap only one node, the ESXi checkbox will not appear under the Select Upgrade Type section of the Cluster Upgrade page. The ESXi upgrade option appears only after upgrading HX Data Platform to release 3.5.x or later releases.
If you manually bootstrap all the nodes to 3.5.x or later release, the ESXi checkbox will appear under the Select Upgrade Type section of the Cluster Upgrade page. However, you cannot perform an ESXi only upgrade at this point. You can do a combined upgrade of HX Data platform + ESXi.
HyperFlex Witness node version 1.0.2 is supported from 3.5(1a) or later releases. An upgrade of the HyperFlex Witness node is not required when upgrading stretched clusters to 3.5(1a) or later releases.
Hypercheck Health Check Utility— Cisco recommends running this proactive health check utility on your HyperFlex cluster prior to upgrade. These checks provide early visibility into any areas that may need attention and will help ensure a seamless upgrade experience. For more information see the Hyperflex Health & Pre-Upgrade Check Tool TechNote for full instructions on how to install and run Hypercheck.
Complete pre-upgrade validation checks.
Download the latest Cisco HX Data Platform Upgrade Bundle for upgrading existing clusters from previous releases, from Software Download .
Upgrade Cisco UCS Infrastructure.
Disable snapshot schedule, on the storage controller VM. SSH to HyperFlex cluster IP and run the command stcli snapshot-schedule –disable snapshot schedule.
If DRS is Enabled and set to fully automatic mode, the VMs are automatically migrated to other hosts with vMotion.
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If DRS is Disabled, vMotion the VMs manually to continue the upgrade process when prompted. For more information, see VMware Documentation for Migration with vMotion. |
Step 1 |
Log in to HX Connect.
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Step 2 |
In the Navigation pane, select Upgrade. |
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Step 3 |
On the Select Upgrade Type page, select HX Data Platform and ESXi and complete the following fields: |
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Step 4 |
On the Select Upgrade Type page, select HX Data Platform and complete the following fields:
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Step 5 |
Upload the VMware ESXi custom image offline upgrade bundle. |
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Step 6 |
Provide vCenter login credentials:
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Step 7 |
Click Upgrade to begin the combined upgrade process. |
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Step 8 |
The Validation screen on the Upgrade Progress page displays the progress of the checks performed. Fix validation errors, if any.
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Step 9 |
The HyperFlex Connect UI refreshes after the first step of the upgrade, and a banner pops up prompting you to provide the UCS and vCenter credentials and start the second stage of the upgrade process. Monitor the upgrade page and confirm that the upgrade is complete. When upgrade is in progress, you may see an error message Websocket connection failed. Automatic refresh disabled. You can either refresh the page or log out and log back in to clear the error message. You can safely ignore this error message.
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Select the Witness VM version that supports the HXDP version you are upgrading to. For supported versions see the HX Data Platform Software Versions for HyperFlex Witness Node for Stretched Cluster section of the Cisco HyperFlex Recommended Software Release and Requirements Guide.
For supported versions see the HX Data Platform Software Versions for HyperFlex Witness Node for Stretched Cluster section of the Cisco HyperFlex Recommended Software Release and Requirements Guide
Upgrade HyperFlex Stretched Cluster.
root@StCtlVM:~# stcli cluster info | grep healthy
Step 1 |
Log in to the witness VM using SSH and execute the following command to stop the service exhibitor.
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Step 2 |
Copy the exhibitor.properties file available in the /usr/share/exhibitor/ path to a remote machine from where you can retrieve the exhibitor.properties file.
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Step 3 |
Log out from the Witness VM. Power off and rename the Witness VM to WitnessVM.old.
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Step 4 |
Deploy a new Witness VM and configure the same IP address as the old Witness VM.
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Step 5 |
Log in to the new witness VM using SSH and execute the following command to stop the service exhibitor.
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Step 6 |
Copy the exhibitor.properties file from the remote machine (copied in Step 2) to the /usr/share/exhibitor/ path of the new Witness VM.
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Step 7 |
Verify if the following symlinks are preserved in the new Witness VM:
If the symlinks are not available, execute the following command:
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Step 8 |
Run the /usr/share/springpath/storfs-misc/setexhibitorconfig.sh command to upgrade the Witness exhibitor configuration.
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Step 9 |
Start the service exhibitor by executing the following command:
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Step 1 |
Select one of the hosts and put it in HX maintenance mode using the vSphere Web Client. After the host enters maintenance mode, complete the following steps. |
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Step 2 |
Copy files using SCP, start the SSH service in the destination ESXi hosts as well.
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Step 3 |
Log in to ESXi, and execute the following command to query the list of available image profiles and for profile name verification.
Example:
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Step 4 |
Run the following command to perform the upgrade.
Example:
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Step 5 |
After the ESXi host comes up, verify that the host has booted up with the correct version.
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Step 6 |
Exit maintenance mode using the vSphere Web Client. |
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Step 7 |
Ensure that the cluster becomes healthy between each ESXi upgrade.
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Step 8 |
Repeat this process for all hosts in the cluster in a sequence.
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HFP (Host Firmware Package) - Host Firmware Packages provide consistent firmware files for the multiple components of a HyperFlex node. This includes CIMC, BIOS, HBA and SAS Expander firmware, VIC and other components. Unlike typical UCS Host Firmware Packages, they also control disk firmware, due to the criticality of this to Hyperflex Data Platform. Note that Self Encrypting Drives (SED) firmware is controlled by HyperFlex Data Platform directly and not UCS Manager policies.
VNIC Templates - Virtual NIC (VNIC) templates provide consistent configuration of VNIC's between UCS fabrics. HyperFlex VNIC Templates are configured as redundancy pairs to ensure changes to Hyperflex VNIC's on one UCS fabric is applied to the other.
Ethernet Adaptor Policies - Ethernet Adaptor Policies provide performance related properties for HyperFlex VNIC's.
BIOS Policies - BIOS policies control configuration and performance of key hardware resources on a HyperFlex node, such as CPU and Memory. HyperFlex uses specific configuration to provide consistent high performance.
VNIC/VHBA Placement Policies - VNIC/VHBA placement policies determine the PCI addresses presented to the HyperFlex node for a given VNIC/VHBA. HyperFlex sets this in a consistent manner so further configuration can proceed succesfully.
Step 1 |
SSH to any CVM on a site and change directory into /tmp |
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Step 2 |
Run the following command: |
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Step 3 |
Edit the customer_site_config.json file to change the firmware version and the org name appropriately. For example: Example:
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Step 4 |
Execute the command again and enter the UCSM IP and credentials.
Example:
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Step 5 |
Ensure that the command runs without any error. If there is an error, contact Cisco TAC.
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Step 6 |
Perform the following steps in vCenter and UCSM:
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Step 7 |
Repeat Steps 4, 5 and 6 again for the other site. |