Installing Cisco Virtual Switch Update Manager

This chapter contains the following sections:

Information About Cisco Virtual Switch Update Manager

Cisco VSUM is a virtual appliance that is registered as a plug-in to VMware vCenter Server. The Cisco VSUM user interface is an integral part of VMware vSphere Web Client.

TheCisco VSUM enables you to install, migrate, monitor, and upgrade the VSMs in high availability (HA) or standalone mode and the VEMs on ESX/ESXi hosts.

The Cisco VSUM software is available on the Cisco Nexus 1000V VSUM download page on Cisco.com.

Compatibility Information for Cisco VSUM

The following table lists the compatibility information for Cisco VSUM.

Table 1 Version Compatibility for Cisco VSUM for Cisco Nexus 1000V

Minimum Required Cisco Nexus 1000V Release for Various Features

VMware vCenter Server Version (Includes Patches and Updates)

VMware Software Release Version (Includes Patches and Updates)

Cisco Virtual Switch Update Manager supports installations of the following releases:

  • Release 5.2(1)SV3(1.10)

  • Release 5.2(1)SV3(1.6)

  • Release 5.2(1)SV3(1.5b)

  • Release 5.2(1)SV3(1.5a)

  • Release 5.2(1)SV3(1.4)

  • Release 5.2(1)SV3(1.3)

  • Release 5.2(1)SV3(1.2)

  • Release 5.2(1)SV3(1.1)

  • Release 4.2(1)SV2(2.3)

  • Release 4.2(1)SV2(2.2)

  • Release 4.2(1)SV2(1.1a)

  • Release 4.2(1)SV1(5.2b)

Cisco VSUM supports the migrations from Release 4.2(1)SV1(5.1) and later releases.

Cisco VSUM supports upgrades from Release 4.2(1)SV1(4b) and later releases.

supports the monitoring functionality from Release 4.2(1)SV2(1.1) and later releases.

5.1, 5.5, 6.0

Note   

If you are using Cisco VSUM 1.5.2 or an earlier release and want to upgrade vCenter to 6.0, you must upgrade to Cisco VSUM 1.5.3 or later and only then upgrade vCenter.

ESXi 4.1

ESXi 5.0

ESXi 5.1

ESXi 5.5

ESXi 6.0

See the Cisco Nexus 1000V and VMware Compatibility Information for more information about compatibility for the Cisco Nexus 1000V.

System Requirements Cisco VSUM

  • VMware vSphere Web Client 5.1, 5.5, or 6.0.
  • All the web-based GUI client requirements as required by VMware vSphere Web Client.
  • The memory requirement is 4 GB RAM.
  • The CPU requirement is 2.
  • The disk space requirement is 80 GB.

Prerequisites

Cisco VSUM has the following prerequisites:

  • You have installed the VMware Enterprise Plus license on the hosts.

  • You have installed the vCenter Server 5.1, 5.5, or 6.0 with Web Client.

  • You have administrative credentials for the vCenter Server.

  • You have a username, IP address, subnet mask, and gateway IP address for deploying the VSUM OVA.

  • Cisco VSUM has IP connectivity on port 443 to all ESXi hosts.

  • Ports 80 and 443 are open in the vCenter to communicate with the host.

  • The IP address used for deploying the OVA can communicate with the IP address of the vCenter Server. Port 8443 is open for communication between Cisco VSUM and vCenter.

Verifying the Authenticity of the Cisco-Signed Image (Optional)

Before you install the Nexus1000v-vsum.1.5.x-pkg.zip image, you have the option to validate its authenticity. In the zip file, there is a signature.txt file that contains an SHA-512 signature and an executable script that can be used to verify the authenticity of the Nexus1000v-vsum.1.5.x-pkg.zip image.


Note

Verifying the authenticity of an image is optional. You can still install the image without validating its authenticity.

Before You Begin
You must be running a Linux machine with the following utilities installed:

  • openssl

  • base64

    Step 1   Copy the following files to a directory on the Linux machine:

    • Nexus1000v-vsum.1.5.x-pkg.zip image

    • signature.txt file

    • cisco_n1k_image_validation_v_1_5_x script

    Step 2   Ensure that the script is executable.

    chmod 755 cisco_n1k_image_validation_v_1_5_x

    Step 3   Run the script.

    ./cisco_n1k_image_validation_v_1_5_x -s signature.txt Nexus1000v-vsum.1.5.x-pkg.zip

    Step 4   Check the output. If the validation is successful, the following message displays: 
    Authenticity of Cisco-signed image Nexus1000v-vsum.1.5.x-pkg.zip has been successfuly verified!

    Installing Cisco VSUM

    You can install the Cisco VSUM OVA using the following steps.

    Before You Begin
    • Ensure that the Cisco VSUM OVA image is available in the file system.
    • Ensure that you have the IP address, subnet mask, gateway IP address, domain name, DNS server, and vCenter IP address and credentials for deploying the OVA.

      Note

      When you install Cisco VSUM, you must use the same credentials that you use for installing the thick client.

      Step 1   Log in to the VMware vSphere Web Client.
      Step 2   Choose the host on which to deploy the Cisco VSUM OVA.
      Step 3   From the Actions menu, choose Deploy OVF Template.
      Step 4   In the Deploy OVF Template wizard, complete the information as described in the following table.
      Window Action

      Source

      Choose the Cisco VSUM OVA.

      OVF Template Details

      Review the details.

      End User License Agreement

      Review the agreement and click Accept.

      Name and Location

      Enter a name and choose a location for the appliance.

      Host or Cluster

      Choose the host or cluster to run the OVA template.

      Datastore

      Choose the data store for the VM.

      Disk Format

      Choose either Thin provisioned format or Thick provisioned format to store the VM virtual disks.

      We recommend that you store the VM virtual disks in the Thick provisioned format.

      Network Mapping

      Choose the destination network for the VM that is reachable from the vCenter Server.

      Properties

      Provide the following information:

      • Management IP address

      • Subnet mask

      • Gateway IP address

      • DNS server IP address

      • DNS entry to resolve the fully qualified domain name (FQDN)

      • vCenter IP or FQDN

      • vCenter username

      • vCenter password

      • HTTP cleartext port and HTTPS port

      Ready to Complete

      Review the deployment settings.

      Caution    Any discrepancies can cause VM booting issues. Carefully review the IP address, subnet mask, gateway information, and vCenter credentials.
      Step 5   Click Finish.
      Step 6   After Cisco VSUM is successfully deployed, click Close.
      Step 7   Power on the Cisco VSUM VM. It might take 5 minutes for Cisco VSUM to be installed and registered as a vSphere Web Client plug-in.

      If the Web Client session was open during this installation, you must log out and log in again to view the Cisco VSUM plug-in.

      About the Cisco VSUM GUI

      Cisco VSUM is a virtual appliance that is registered as a plug-in to the VMware vCenter Server.

      The Cisco VSUM is the GUI that you use to install, migrate, monitor, and upgrade the VSMs in high availability (HA) or standalone mode and the VEMs on ESX/ESXi hosts.

      Figure 1. VMware vSphere Web Client—Home Page



      Figure 2. Cisco VSUM—Home Page



      Upgrading Cisco VSUM

        Step 1   Log in to Cisco VSUM as the root user.

        The default Cisco VSUM username is root and the default Cisco VSUM password is cisco.

        Step 2   Download from Cisco.com the zipped file containing the upgrade file for the version of Cisco VSUM that you want to upgrade to.

        The upgrade filename is vsum-upgrade-bundle-1.5.x.zip.

        Step 3   Copy the zipped file to Cisco VSUM by entering the following command: scp://vsum-upgrade-bundle-1.5.x.zip <user_name>@<VSUM_IP>:<destination_directory>
        Step 4   Unzip the file and display its contents.
        Step 5   Upgrade Cisco VSUM by entering the following command: ./upgrade-file-name.sh <vCenter-username> <vCenter-password>
        Note   

        The credentials are for the vCenter with which Cisco VSUM is associated.

        What to Do Next

        Wait until the upgrade is complete. You can then log back into vCenter and use the upgraded Cisco VSUM.

        If the VMware vSphere Web Client session was open during the upgrade, you must log out and log in again to view the Cisco VSUM plug-in.

        Replacing Cisco VSUM—Windows vCenter Server

        Use this procedure to replace an existing Cisco VSUM in the VMware vSphere Web Client.

        Before You Begin

        Power off the current Cisco VSUM before you begin this procedure.

          Step 1   Power off the current active Cisco VSUM VM.
          Step 2   Enter https://VCIP/mob and log in with the default credentials.
          Step 3   In a web browser, choose Content > Extension Manager > UnregisterExtension.
          Step 4   Enter com.cisco.n1kv and click Invoke method.
          Step 5   Choose Start > Run > services.msc.
          Step 6   Right-click the VMware vSphere Web Client and click stop.
          Step 7   From the C:\ProgramData\VMware\vSphere Web Client\ vc-packages\vsphere-client-serenity directory, delete the com.cisco.n1kv folder.
          Step 8   Choose Start > Run > type service.msc.
          Step 9   Right-click the VMware vSphere Web Client and click Start.
          Step 10   Install the new version of the Cisco VSUM VM.
          Step 11   After Cisco VSUM is successfully deployed, log in to the VMware vSphere Web Client to view the Cisco VSUM plugin.

          Replacing Cisco VSUM—Linux vCenter Appliance

          Use this procedure to replace an existing Cisco VSUM in the VMware vSphere Web Client.

          Before You Begin

          Power off the current Cisco VSUM before you begin this procedure.

            Step 1   Power off the current active Cisco VSUM VM.
            Step 2   Enter https://VCIP/mob and log in with the default credentials.
            Step 3   In a web browser, choose Content > Extension Manager > UnregisterExtension.
            Step 4   Enter com.cisco.n1kv and click Invoke method.
            Step 5   Enter the rm -rf /var/lib/vmware/vsphere-client/vc-packages/vsphere-client-serenity/com.cisco.n1kv-1.x/ command.
            Step 6   Enter the /etc/init.d/vsphere-client restart command.
            Step 7   Install the new version of the Cisco VSUM VM.
            Step 8   After Cisco VSUM is successfully deployed, log in to the VMware vSphere Web Client to view the Cisco VSUM plug in.