VMware have just recently released a Knowledge Base Article that provides guidance in how NSX objects should be powered off or on during maintenance windows or power outages.
If you’re already using NSX, then have a read here:
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2139067
So now that VMware have released their latest updates, I thought it would be a good time to upgrade my demo environment. Whilst I’ve carried out numerous upgrades/patches on previous releases of the vCSA, I’ve not yet carried one out for the vCSA 6.0.
BTW, I’ve previously documented my vCSA upgrades, so pop along to these posts if you want more info:
Upgrading vCenter Server Appliance to 5.5
Upgrading to vCenter Server 5.5.0a
Installing/Upgrading vCenter Server Appliance 6.0
One of the first things you will notice with the vCSA 6.0 is the lack of the Virtual Appliance Management Interface (VAMI) page – all configuration is now carried out via the Web Client! (Although this has been re-introduced with update 1, see further down this post).
For previous versions of the vCSA there were 2 upgrade/update processes:
In order to update or patch the vCSA 6.0 you will need to use the appliancesh command-line interface. There is a command called ‘software-packages’ which is used to update/patch the software on the VCSA.
One of the new features with vSphere 6.0 Update 1 is the ability to do an in-place update for major releases – accomplished by mounting the update ISO to your existing vCSA and performing the upgrade using the ‘software-packages’ command. This is a handy new feature that reduces the need to copy data between your old and new appliance which occurs with the migration update – obviously helping to reduce the overall downtime!
(Note: a vCSA 5.x to vCSA 6.0U1 upgrade still requires the migration approach as the vCSA has been re-architected!).
Another new feature is the reintroduction of the VAMI page (https:// <vCSA_FQDN> :5480), and the best thing about it is that VMware have now completely re-written it using HTML5…. Yay! =)
TBH, most of the features available on the VAMI page can be accessed by using the appliancesh CLI.
As part of the re-introduction of the VAMI page, you will be able to update the vCSA directly from the Update tab and configure it to point to VMware’s online repository to pull down the latest patch/update.
Anyways, I digress….. here are the instructions on how you go about upgrading the vCSA 6.0 to 6.0 update 1 (Remember, take a backup or snapshot your vCSA prior to upgrading!)
The whole upgrade process took me about 15mins to complete….. it’s quite a pain-free process (assuming you don’t run into any issues). =)
The clever bods at VMware labs have just released another new Fling… and this one’s a damn awesome Fling!
https://labs.vmware.com/flings/esxi-embedded-host-client
What it allows you to do (after installing the VIB) is to open up a browser to your ESXi host and gain access to a simple client allowing you to manage your freshly installed ESXi host (for example if you haven’t yet deployed vCenter Server or don’t have access to the C# client). The look and feel of it is very similar to the current Web client…. very simple to navigate and access the features/functions.
The client is still in the development phase, and as such does not open up all the features possible, the VMware engineers have only implemented a hand full of the most important features:
Only issue is it’s a VIB which means you need to copy it across to your ESXi host (using a SCP tool like WinSCP).
Then once copied over you need to install the VIB into the kernel (esxcli software vib install -v /tmp/esxui.vib)
Hopefully the next version will be a fully packaged installer that asks for the IP address of your ESXi host and goes off and deploys the VIB automatically!
The best thing about it – it’s HTML5 and JavaScript….. no Flash!!!! =)
Go off, have a try and then offer your feedback or post up any issues you encounter! Hopefully it’ll get rolled into vSphere ESXi in the future! =)
So the first minor release for vSphere ESXi 6.0 is out alongside the second minor release for vCenter Server 6.0.
https://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere6/doc/vsphere-vcenter-server-600b-release-notes.html
https://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere6/doc/vsphere-esxi-600b-release-notes.html
Looking through the release notes, I don’t think I’ve experienced any of those bugs that have been fixed – which is a good indication of a stable software release….. I’m guessing that the public beta of vSphere 6 actually ironed out a lot of bugs!
As always, read through the release notes prior to upgrading. =)
I’ve been itching to deploy vSphere 6.0 GA for weeks now (since it was launched last month – wanted to replace my vSphere 6.0 Beta environment) but due to work commitments I’ve had to put this pet-project on the back-burner….. really hate when vendors release new toys at the end of quarter as it means I can’t get to play with it for a month or so!! >_<”
Installing and upgrading the vCSA 6.0 is significantly different than previous releases, it no longer gets distributed as an OVA which means you don’t use the OVF import in vSphere Client that we’re all so used to doing! Instead, vCSA 6.0 gets distributed as an ISO image – which is a bit weird for an appliance!
Hmm…. “So how do I deploy it?” is the most obvious question that most end-users will ask…. Well, you pretty much have to mount the ISO image onto your workstation/laptop/desktop/VM and then run the installation from the mounted drive…..
You may think that it’s a bit of a pain, but the installation process is quite simple and the wizard is very intuitive!
But why would VMware do away with the OVA package?!?
Well if I was to make an educated guess then this could be because they want to phase out the vSphere C# Client, and if you aren’t able to client onto your newly created host then how do you deploy an OVA?
For example, in a freshly installed ESXi host there’s no easy way to manage it without either a vSphere Client or a vCenter Server – at present you can’t open a web-client to the host in order to manage it (see below screenshot of the ESXi hosts’ landing page), so it makes sense to do away with the OVA deployment method and design it so you can mount the installation package for deployment of the vCSA without having to import the OVA via the soon-to-be-retired (maybe) vSphere client!
Now there’s two ways you can install vCSA 6.0 – Guided or Scripted. For ease of deployment, I’m going to discuss the Guided approach using the installation wizard. The Scripted approach is aimed at people who wish to automate the deployment of (several) vCSAs.
So before we get started, there are certain pre-requisites which must be completed prior to deploying the vCSA (in addition to what is listed in the documentation)
Right, now you’re ready to mount the ISO on your deployment device (my case – my Win 7 laptop) and start the installation process! In my case I’m using MagicDisc to mount the ISO.
First up, install the Client Integration Plug-In which is found in vcsa directory.
Next launch the setup via the vcsa-setup.html file:
This will open up a webpage which will prompt you to allow the client integration plug-in to run, the screens below are for Chrome (left) and IE (right):
Next hit the Install button:
Accept the EULA and enter the ESXi host information where you are going to deploy the vCSA, accept any certification warnings:
Enter the FQDN for the appliance and the new root password.
Next choose the deployment type. In my case I want to deploy the embedded PSC. I won’t go into the technicalities of what the PSC is, and the different deployment scenarios – if you wish to learn more than head along to Derek Seaman’s site which explains the PSC in more detail!
Next enter the SSO password and domain details.
Select the appliance size based on your virtual environment (number of hosts and VMs)
Select the datastore you wish to deploy the appliance on
Choose whether to use the internal vPostgres DB or an external Oracle DB
Input the network configuration details, ensuring the FQDN is resolvable in DNS. Pay attention to the NTP server, especially if deploying/connecting to another PSC – if they’re out of sync, it could cause installation issues!
Review the configurations and click Finish to start the installation.
Once complete, the installation wizard will give you the details to connect to the web client, the URL will be https://fqdn/vsphere-client (no more port number required at the end of the url!!). Remember, if you’ve changed the SSO domain earlier, then the login user will be administrator@SSO-Domain
Now that the vCSA has been deployed, there is a new way of joining it to an Active Directory Domain, which will help you configure the Identity Sources for SSO. Log into the web client and then on the home page select System Configuration.
Under System Configuration, click Nodes and then select the vCenter Server and click the Manage tab.
Under Advanced, select Active Directory, and click Join. Type in the Active Directory details. Note: The User name must be in User Principle Name (UPN) format – eg joebloggs@acme.com.
Click OK to join the vCenter Server Appliance to the Active Directory domain. Now Right-click the node you edited and select Reboot to restart the appliance so that the changes are applied.
Now you can add in the domain as a SSO Identity Source as you would usually do. However, you can choose Active Directory (Integrated Windows Authentication) and it should populate the domain details and pick up the information from when you joined the vCSA to the domain.
For more information, point your browsers to the vCenter Server 6.0 Deployment Guide.
vSphere 6.0 is now GA….. visit My VMware Portal to download it today! =)
https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/login
So Tuesday was quite an eventful day….. not only did it snow in my neck of the woods (South West London) and cause chaos to road traffic – which meant I had to walk just over a mile to the station in freezing weather as the buses weren’t going anywhere – it was also the launch event for VMware vSphere 6.0 and also EMC’s EVO:RAIL offering – VSPEX Blue.
So lets start with a blog on vSphere 6.0 (VSPEX Blue to follow)……
I had previously blogged about all the goodies that were talked about at VMworld 2014 last October and on Tuesday, Pat Gelsinger and Ben Fathi announced the eagerly awaited 6.0 to the world! If you missed the event, then you can still register to view the video recording here: http://www.vmware.com/now.html
Whilst there was no date mentioned for GA, you can probably expect it to be available by the end of Q1 2015.
There are over 650 feature improvements with vSphere 6.0, and frankly I don’t even know more than 10% of what those improvements are!!
Anyways, here are what I think are the most important improvements:
vSphere 6.0
vCenter Server 6.0
Virtual SAN 6.0
(Obviously too good to be called 2.0)
PHEW……..
As you can see, that’s quite a hefty list of features – and it’s not even the complete list……. Anyways, like everyone else I’m itching to get my hands on the GA so that I can deploy it within MTI’s Solution Centre!
For more info pop along to: http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere/
