Author : Priyanka Matadh, Kinshuk Tripathi
Planning and preparation:
- Validate ESXi, vSAN, NSX, hardware compatibility via VMware interoperability matrix.
- Take backups of SDDC Manager, all vCenters, NSX Managers and VxRail Manager.
- Ensure no running tasks or errors in SDDC Manager.
2. Download Upgrade Bundles
- In SDDC Manager:
- Navigate to Lifecycle Management → Bundle Management
- Download all available bundles from bundle management: SDDC Manager, vCenter, NSX, ESXi, VxRail,
Run prechecks
From SDDC manager UI, run the precheck for management domain.
Resolve if there are any errors.
Upgrade SDDC Manager
- In SDDC Manager UI go to Updates → SDDC Manager
- Initiate upgrade and monitor the progress.
Management Domain Component Upgrades
- NSX
- Supports skip-level NSX upgrade: from 3.1.x → 3.2.x → NSX 4.x.
- vCenter Server Appliance
- Proceed with upgrade via SDDC Manager, supply temporary IP as per the requirement
- ESXi Hosts
- Select clusters → run prechecks → upgrade hosts.
- VxRail Manager
VxRail components are upgraded using LCM and VxRail Manager bundle
Workload Domains Upgrade
- After management domain completes:
a. Go to Lifecycle Management → Workload Domains
b. Run prechecks → deploy upgrades for ESXi, vCenter, NSX, Aria components if present.
c. Repeat for all vi workload domains.
Post-Upgrade Validation
- Confirm healthy status for:
- vSAN cluster
- NSX fabric
- vCenter services
- Ensure licenses are updated, certificate are renewed, networking, and storage operations are good.
